OS X 10.10.3 and iOS 8.3 Beta 2 Updates Introduce New Emoji, Skin Tone Modifiers

by

Today's second OS X 10.10.3 beta builds on the emoji groundwork laid with the first OS X 10.10.3 beta, introducing all new emoji and emoji skin tone modifiers. When selecting an emoji with a skin tone, such as one of the many people emoji, it's now possible to choose a specific skin tone from one of six options.

There are also several new people emoji that introduce greater diversity. Family emoji now include multiple same sex couples, both with children and without, all with variable skin tone options. Apple first promised to add more diversity to its emoji character set in early 2014, stating at that time that it was working with the Unicode Consortium to add more characters, and it appears the company will be making good on that pledge with the release of 10.10.3.

10_10_3_emoji
Along with a range of diversified people emoji, today's update brings 32 new country flags, including flags for Canada, Australia, and India.

newflags
Apple has also made several changes to emoji that are related to Apple products. The existing standard watch emoji has been replaced with an emoji that's based on its upcoming Apple Watch, with a black band and an analog watch face. The iPhone emoji has been updated to resemble the iPhone 6, and the computer emoji is now an iMac.

apple_watch_emoji

Screen Shot 2015-02-23 at 2.30.16 PM
In addition to new emoji characters, OS X 10.10.3 introduces a renamed Character palette that focuses more heavily on emoji. Accessible through the "Edit" menu in most Mac apps, the palette was previously named "Special Characters," but is labeled "Emoji & Symbols" in OS X 10.10.3. The emoji picker has also been redesigned, featuring a layout with a single larger vertical-scrolling page for easier access to emoji.

The same diversified emoji options will be coming to iOS as well. Today's iOS 8.3 beta 2 update includes the same diversified emoji options and a redesigned emoji picker.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tags: iOS 8.3, OS X 10.10.3
Related Forums: iOS 8, OS X Yosemite

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
Read Full Article
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
Read Full Article • 57 comments
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
Read Full Article • 158 comments
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
Read Full Article • 64 comments
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
Read Full Article • 147 comments
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Read Full Article • 115 comments
macos tahoe

Here Are Apple's Release Notes for macOS Tahoe 26.1

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:21 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of macOS Tahoe 26.1, which means the update will likely see a public launch next week. The release candidate includes notes on what's in the update, so we have a full picture of the new features that Apple has included. macOS Tahoe 26.1 adds AutoMix support over AirPlay, improved FaceTime audio...
Read Full Article • 64 comments
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
Read Full Article • 66 comments
iPhone Car Key Kia

Another Vehicle Brand Gaining iPhone Car Keys Support

Tuesday October 28, 2025 5:27 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to bring support for its digital car key feature to Jetour vehicles, according to evidence uncovered on Apple's backend by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. Introduced in 2022, Car Keys allows an iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock a vehicle through the Wallet app. A digital version of a car key is stored in Wallet, and unlocking can be done by holding an Apple Watch or...
Read Full Article • 15 comments

Top Rated Comments

maflynn Avatar
maflynn
140 months ago
I see this is pretty high up in Apple's priority, I kind of wished that they spent their liimited time and energy fixing the existing bugs instead.
Score: 68 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Frign Avatar
Frign
140 months ago
Diversity my ass, emojis are so great because they are actually free from racial influences, or actually, have been now.
Score: 68 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JDee Avatar
JDee
140 months ago
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Serious?
Score: 53 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nad8e Avatar
nad8e
140 months ago
Missing emojis?

No ginger emoji? Downs emoji? Albino emoji? Missing eye emoji? Orthodontics emoji? Cleft pallet emoji? :eek::eek:
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
Rogifan
140 months ago
Can't wait to see the Jony Ive video describing the thought process that went into the design of these new emojii..... :rolleyes:

Nah, that would come from Tim Cook. He's the one obsessing over stuff like this. Like incorporating gay rights into a cybersecurity speech.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AlecZ Avatar
AlecZ
140 months ago
The only thing I'd care about would be having every country's flag, just because I sometimes want to send a flag but don't have it available. Who actually uses the non-yellow faces?
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments