iOS 14.5 includes vaccine and 217 new emoji — here’s all the best options

News
By
published

iPhones to get a ton new emoji, including new inclusivity options

iOS 14.5 emoji
(Image credit: Emojipedia | Remix via Henry T. Casey)

The iOS 14.5 beta is underway, and a new wave of 217 emoji have been released. The new emoji include vaccine, a heart on fire, exhaling face, plus a slew of inclusivity options. 

Emojipedia has a rundown of all the new emoji, and apart from vaccine and more mixed-race couples, Apple was sure to include some AirPods Pro Max branding as well.

During president Joe Biden's Town Hall on CNN earlier this week, he recounted that commercials look completely different now than it did 20 years ago. He said that it's common to see mixed-race couples in advertising, indicating a generational change. It seems that Apple has noticed, too.

iOS 14.5 will now support emoji 13.1. This means that iPhones will soon include more diverse options, including different skin tones, including those for same-sex couples.

iOS 14.5 emoji

(Image credit: Emojipedia)

There are three new smiley emoji as well, including exhaling face, face with spiraling eyes, and face in clouds.

iOS 14.5 emoji

(Image credit: Emojipedia)

There are two new heart emoji in iOS 14.5, which includes heart on fire and mending heart.

iOS 14.5 emoji

(Image credit: Emojipedia)

Beards have now also jumped genders in emoji. So, it's not just men that can be customized with certain beards, so can women emoji. There's also a mix of hair and skin color options.

iOS 14.5 emoji

(Image credit: Emojipedia)

And of course, Apple was quick to change the headphone emoji to its new expensive AirPods Pro Max, which is some clever integrated advertising. 

iOS 14.5 emoji

(Image credit: Emojipedia)

Along with new emoji, a slew of new features are slated to come to iOS 14.5 when it officially goes public this spring. This includes being able to unlock your phone with the Apple Watch while wearing a face mask, requiring apps like Facebook to ask for more permissions when tracking user data, using Apple Maps to track car accidents and speed traps, and setting default music to another service, like Spotify. Gamers will see some added features, too, like PS5 and Xbox Series X controller support. 

Of course, anyone wanting to jump into iOS 14.5 cause sign up for the public beta now. And while it's stable, it's still not final. So proceed with some caution.

Imad Khan
Imad Khan

Imad is currently Senior Google and Internet Culture reporter for CNET, but until recently was News Editor at Tom's Guide. Hailing from Texas, Imad started his journalism career in 2013 and has amassed bylines with the New York Times, the Washington Post, ESPN, Wired and Men's Health Magazine, among others. Outside of work, you can find him sitting blankly in front of a Word document trying desperately to write the first pages of a new book.