--- title: Emojis: Apple to Add New Racially Diverse Emojis to iPhone description: This has taken way too long canonical: https://time.com/40097/apple-racially-diverse-emojis/ author: Laura Stampler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-27T14:57:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:48:45.377Z og:title: Apple Is Finally Adding Racially Diverse Emojis That Aren't Complete Stereotypes og:description: This has taken way too long og:url: https://time.com/40097/apple-racially-diverse-emojis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Apple Is Finally Adding Racially Diverse Emojis That Aren't Complete Stereotypes twitter:description: This has taken way too long twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Apple Is Finally Working on Racially Diverse Emojis That Aren't Complete Stereotypes by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Mar 27, 2014 2:57 PM UTC by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Mar 27, 2014 2:57 PM UTC Apple’s emoji language has left a lot to be desired. Namely, racially diverse depictions of people who aren’t complete stereotypes:  There are 63 different animals but zero black emojis. Other than salsa dancing Latinas and turban wearing South East Asians, faces, families and even hand gestures have always, well, looked like this:  And that’s just a rough sampling. Emojis have infiltrated our modern lexicon. [Some advertisers](http://time.com/33548/peta-uses-emojis-to-shame-people-in-its-latest-ad/) have even exclusively used the language to reach a millennial audience in commercials. And now, finally, after years of people [petitioning](http://www.dailydot.com/lifestyle/emoji-racist-petition/), [tweeting](http://betabeat.com/2012/12/miley-cyrus-emoji-racist-iphone/), and [begging](http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/people-are-really-mad-that-there-are-no-black-emoj) for a racially diverse representation, Apple is making an “effort to update the standard.” An Apple VP emailed an [MTV blogger who asked Tim Cook what the deal was:](http://act.mtv.com/posts/apple-responds-to-lack-of-diversity-in-emojis/) --- > “” --- Finally! Diverse emojis were indisputably the most egregious absence in the the pictorial language. But as long as Apple is updating selection, here are a few other things we’d like to see: * A menorah. Or really any religious symbol outside of Christianity. (No offense Santa.) * Men dancing. They like to salsa, too! * More food. Tacos, bacon, for the love of God some CHEESE. * Beyonce’s face with a crown on top * A mustache. Or if the hipsters petition effectively, [a monocle ](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/fashion/the-monocle-returns-as-a-fashion-accessory.html?%5Fr=0). * A big middle finger, because come on Apple. It really shouldn’t have taken this long. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/40097/apple-racially-diverse-emojis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/40097/apple-racially-diverse-emojis/"},"headline":"Apple Is Finally Working on Racially Diverse Emojis That Aren't Complete Stereotypes","datePublished":"2014-03-27T14:57:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:48:45.377Z","description":"This has taken way too long","url":"https://time.com/40097/apple-racially-diverse-emojis/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Tech","Apple","Internet","Technology","Race","emoji"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/40097/apple-racially-diverse-emojis/","name":"Apple Is Finally Working on Racially Diverse Emojis That Aren't Complete Stereotypes"}}]}] ```