New emoji for 2019 include wheelchairs, waffles and sloths
Inclusiveness is a major theme this year.
It's that time of year when the Unicode Consortium decides which new emoji you'll see, and this year's selection of 59 new base emoji (230 if you include all gender and skin variations) is both inclusive and eclectic. To start, Apple's accessibility emoji play a central role: you'll find wheelchairs, guide dogs and deaf people, among other additions. Beyond those, you'll find many different couple combinations based on skin color and gender.
Some of the additions are decidedly... sillier. New animals include a sloth, a flamingo and an orangutan, while foodies will like presence of a waffle, a juice box and an onion. You'll also find a Hindu temple, a sari and a tuk-tuk among the other additions.
You'll have to wait a while to see them. Unicode says new emoji "typically" arrive in September and October, or right around when Apple and Google release their major OS updates. You might have to wait later still if your Android device maker doesn't provide updates right away. Still, these are welcome additions if you're looking for more ways to express yourself.
