Windows users can’t escape Clippy. The much hated personal assistant is coming back. Fortunately, it’ll be far less prominent than back in 1997. And Mac users won‘t have to see it at all.
Apple has made its share of mistakes over the years. But few of these can compare to Clippy’s irritating attempts to help people using Microsoft Office.
Soon there could be new emoji that let you show you are melting, have a low battery or are feeling ambivalent or teary-eyed. These and more are on the list for approval in Emoji 14.0. But they might not appear in iPhones and other devices until 2022.
The list appears with World Emoji Day coming July 17.
In something of a rare sensitivity slip-up for Apple, the company is being blasted by STAMMA, the British Stammer Association, over an emoji recommendation that seemingly mocks people with the speech disorder also known as a stutter.
When users write the word “stammering” in the iPhone’s predictive keyboard, it suggests the comical “woozy face” emoji as a substitute. STAMMA CEO Jane Powell described this as “demeaning and damaging.”
The fresh emoji appearing in iOS 14.5 will set your heart afire. Or at least let you show that in texts. The new collection of pictographs also includes some new faces, and plenty of additional variations to show how we couple up in the 21st century.
iPad users get the same emoji thanks to iPadOS 14.5 and macOS 11.3, which also launched on Monday.
iPhone fans were first able to search for emoji last year, and Apple is finally bringing this feature to iPads. It’s built into the iPadOS 14.5 beta 1 released to public beta testing on Thursday.
Also, those with the Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad get a horizontally-oriented boot screen.
Apple on Friday gave developers access to iOS 14.2 golden master, along with the iPadOS equivalent. This is the last step before releasing these new versions to the public.
When available to all, iOS 14.2 will offer plenty of fun new emoji, as well as Shazam music recognition integrated into the Control Center.
Apple updated the mask-wearing emoji in the latest iOS 14.2 beta so it shows the person is happy to be wearing a mask. It’s a change very much in sync with 2020, when health experts say masks are a vital part of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
Apple seeded a second beta of iOS 14.2 to everyone on Wednesday, along with the iPad equivalent. It brings plenty of fun new emoji like ninja, the transgender symbol and a certain Italian hand gesture. And beta testers get Shazam music recognition integrated into the Control Center.
But anyone hoping to get an iPhone 12 in October might want to skip this beta.
The new emoji set to appear in 2021 will help you express relief or confusion. Or show that your heart’s afire, or that it’s mending.
Those might seem fairly ordinary, but there is something extremely odd about the the list of upcoming emoji: It’s very short. The group responsible for coming up with new emoji picked just seven new designs to debut next year. The reason is simple: COVID-19.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when wearing a face mask slows the spread of this disease, Apple really must change its medical mask emoji. It seems like a small tweak, but it’s important.
Currently, the face shown is unhappy about having to wear a mask. The design needs to show the person is glad to do their part.
