| Cult of Mac

The most confusing and misused emoji will melt your brain

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We have a winner: survey finds Woman Tipping Hand is most-confusing emoji.
We have a winner: Survey finds Woman Tipping Hand is the most-confusing emoji.
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac

Ever find yourself perplexed by the intended meaning of an emoji in a message? A new survey suggests you’re not alone. A lot of the little graphics have people scratching their heads and even offending each other.

Ukraine-based language-learning platform Preply sought to understand which emoji cause the most confusion and misuse — unintentionally or intentionally — among Americans. You can see the main findings below.

macOS Ventura 13.3 and iPadOS 16.4 usher in new emoji and other improvements

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First public betas for iOS 16, macOS Ventura arrive
Apple released OS updates for its various computers today, including Mac and iPad.
Photo: Apple

The wait is over for macOS Ventura 13.3 and iPadOS 16.4, which Apple released Monday. While not major upgrades, they do bring new emoji, a better way for devs to work with betas, and other changes (including security updates).

Apple also released iOS 16.4, as well as watchOS 9.4 and tvOS 16.4, today.

15 new features in iOS 16.4 you should try right away

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iOS 16.4 release candidate
After you upgrade your iPhone, try these new features in iOS 16.4.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple released iOS 16.4 on Monday, bringing significant changes and new features to its iPhone operating system.

Once you install iOS 16.4, the biggest point release of iOS 16 so far, check out these 15 features to try right away — including the new “high five emoji” combo.

iOS 16.4 beta 3: All the new features and changes

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New emoji will arrive in iOS 16.4 and macOS Ventura 13.3
iOS 16.4 beta packs plenty of new features and changes.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

A week after the second iOS 16.4 beta dropped, Apple seeded the third build to developers. Unlike the first and second build, the third beta is light on changes.

You can find everything new in iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 beta 3 below. There’s also an archive of the new features spotted in beta 1 and 2.

New emoji? Talk to the hand!

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Proposed new emoji list shows we already have all the emoji we need
These are some of the emoji coming to Apple devices... probably in 2023.
Image: Emojipedia

Emoji are about visual communication, and the some of the new ones just approved say “Talk to the hand.” And there’s a new way to express love, too. Or there’s good news for everyone desperately waiting on a moose emoji.

Other new additions approved by the Unicode Consortium include a shaking face, a donkey, a jellyfish and a flute.

And the world’s hottest laptop is … the M2 MacBook Air! [The CultCast]

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The CultCast Apple podcast: Nobody's got anything bad to say about the new MacBook Air.
Nobody's got anything bad to say about the new MacBook Air.
Image: Cult of Mac

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Everyone’s raving about the new M2-powered MacBook Air — and so are we. Although Erfon just bought a different Apple laptop (and offers up a pro tip for anybody thinking of getting the hot new MBA).

Also on The CultCast:

  • Bye-bye, Jony Ive. We’re gonna miss ya. Mostly.
  • The emoji people scrape the bottom of the barrel.
  • Toys are about to get personal (but brace yourself for disfigured plastic selfies).
  • BMW foists an outrageous subscription plan on car buyers.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video livestream, embedded below.

Our sponsor: CultCloth

Get the only cleaning cloth you need: CultCloth!

Proposed new emoji list shows we already have all the emoji we need

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Proposed new emoji list shows we already have all the emoji we need
These are some of the emoji that might be added to Apple devices in 2023.
Image: Emojipedia

The collection of emoji will grow in the coming months, with the 31 proposed new entries including a shaking face, a donkey, a jellyfish and hearts in a range of colors. The proposal also includes an array of left- and right-facing hands, which likely will be used to indicate high fives.

This is by far the shortest list of new emoji proposed in years. It seems the Unicode Consortium thinks the already available collection is close to complete.

MaskerAid effortlessly masks faces with emoji in your photos

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MaskerAid auto-detects faces in photos and adds emoji in their place
MaskerAid will auto-detects faces in photos and add emoji in their place
Screenshots: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

I rarely share photos of my family – and more specifically, my daughter – online. I believe that she should have the right to choose if, and when her face is shared online.

This means that I typically only share photos with her face cropped out, or I resort to clunky editing processes to obscure her face. With the brand new app MaskerAid, now hiding her face can be done instantly.

Microsoft Teams emoji gets a cute 3D makeover

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Microsoft Teams 3D emoji
A sweet emoji upgrade.
Image: Microsoft

How do you make your emoji stand out in a sea of similar designs? You give them an awesome 3D makeover, of course! That’s exactly what Microsoft is doing with more than 1,800 emoji characters inside Microsoft Teams.

The redesign, which starts rolling out today in an early preview, will be available all platforms — including macOS, iOS and the web.

Incoming: New features in iOS 15.4, new gear at Apple’s March event [The CultCast]

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The CultCast: Face ID might play nice with masks in the near future. Better late than never!
Face ID might play nice with masks in the near future. Better late than never!
Photo: Julio Lopez/Unsplash license; Image: Killian Bell, Cult of Mac

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: iOS 15.4 packs a punch with some fun and useful new features. It’s still just a beta, but it will give us lots of new emoji for our critical, high-level communications when it goes live. Plus, the beta includes a convenient new way to unlock your iPhone while wearing a face mask — just in time for the end of the pandemic! 🤞

Also on The CultCast:

  • An Apple event in March looks quite likely.
  • Mini-LED iMac Pro might be delayed.
  • An Apple car patent sheds light on an advanced sunroof.
  • How to download Wordle, just in case The New York Times screws up the popular game.
  • Donkey talk!

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video livestream, embedded below (down by the headlines and donkey links).