Apple proposes new emojis for people with disabilities

To better represent people with disabilities, Apple in its March proposal has requested that Unicode Consortium, the organisation responsible for emojis to create characters that accurately represent people with disabilities.

"Apple is requesting the addition of emoji to better represent individuals with disabilities," the company wrote in its proposal. "Diversifying the options available helps fill a significant gap and provides a more inclusive experience for all".

The proposed emojis depict people who experience blindness or low-vision, those who experience deafness or have trouble hearing, those with physical disabilities, as well as those with hidden disabilities like Autism, anxiety and PTSD.

The list also includes men and women walking with a cane and touching their ear, as well as standalone icons of a hearing aid and prosthetic arm.

To develop the new emojis, Apple will work with the American Council of the Blind, Cerebral Palsy Foundation and National Association for the Deaf.

The next meeting of the Unicode Technical Committee takes place next month where they will vote on whether to approve the new emojis. If approved, those characters would get shortlisted for Emoji 12.0, which is scheduled for a March 2019 release.