The new racially diverse emojis have finally arrived — but there's one problem
No, the problem-in-question is not that the new package left out the highly-anticipated middle finger emoji. (But really — why, Apple? Why can't you give this to us?).
Emoji users have long advocated for a more racially-inclusive package, which they finally got today in the new iOS 8.3 beta update. Unfortunately though, users who don't have the updated iOS can't see the new emojis properly. When someone with the update sends, let's say, a black nose, to someone without it, the receiving user sees a white nose and a little alien box, which is obviously problematic and offensive.
It's unlikely Apple meant any harm by this, especially when they were trying to correct the problem, but it certainly seems like a controversy that could have been avoided.
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Perhaps this is why they declined to make the middle finger emoji.
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Stephanie is an editorial assistant at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Modern Luxury Media.
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