Apple is Rolling Out New Emojis with Face Masks to Keep Up with the Pandemic Mood

Face masks, along with hand sanitisers, have become our primary weapon to fight off the coronavirus as we await a vaccine. But those face covers haven't been without their own controversies. Several political leaders across the world even refused to wear one during the start and middle of the pandemic, leading to criticism.

But there is one thing that we all do complain about which the mask definitely hinders inspite of guarding those germs, and that is a smiling face. So much so, that Apple has decided to take matters in their own hands, for your emojis at least!

In the now updated emoji of the face with a mask, which is known as the “Face with Medical Mask,”, instead of a plain looking face with a sad face and mask on it, the new face does seem like it is happy. The new face looks like it is smiling behind the mask and even has a bit of rosy cheeks! Maybe it's spotted someone it knows.

However, this change is still not yet final, its a still a beta version of iOS 14.2, this just goes on to suggest how the idea behind it is to try and normalise wearing a mask for everyone.

Emojipedia also said how the 'Face with Medical Mask' dates back to the original Japanese emoji sets, and was added to Unicode in 2010.

According to gizmodo.com, as the emoji has not been finalised and is only visible in iOS 14.2 beta 2, it will still in its original sad look when it is sent to others who do not have the beta or are on other platforms.

The tech giant also got into the holiday frenzy and unveiled inclusive Christmas-themed emoji as part of its drive for greater digital diversity. This non-binary emoji, approved by the Unicode Consortium, will roll out with the iOS 14.2 update due in October.

But as experts all over the world are emphasizing on, while we can wait for Apple to confirm the smiling face mask emojis, we really must have a face mask on at all times. Good health can surely not wait.