The company made the announcement on Monday, stating the new operating system for iPhones and iPads will be available this spring.
The change comes after Apple, one the largest members of the keyboard app manufacturer Unicode Consortium used their influence to stop the production of an Olympics-inspired gun.
Weapon-inspired emojis (like guns, knives, bombs, and grenade) have placed some users in legal trouble, with courts equating the use of weapon emojis to death threats in certain contexts.
Apple's pistol emoji (Left) to be replaced with green water pistol (Right) (via Twitter / iOS10) Source: Twitter
In March, a French court awarded a prison sentence of three-months to a man who sent his girlfriend a pistol emoji, claiming the its use, in conjunction with other factors, constituted a death threat.
Last December, a 12-year-old in Virginia, was charged with a felony after she allegedly threatened her school by using the pistol, bomb, and knife emojis in an Instagram post.
People have taken to social media to share their views on Apple’s announcement. Though some have praised the technology giant for ridding itself of the emoji, many appear skeptical of its effect as a deterrent of gun and violence culture.
Only last year, Apple was the target of protest, regarding the pistol emoji.
In 2015, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence launched a campaign – Disarm the iPhone - lobbying Apple’s pistol emoji and advocating for its removal and replacement.
iOS 10 will also include new featuring women performing stereotypical male jobs - detective, construction worker, and police officer, pride flags, and single parent emojis.
Microsoft (MSFT and Tech30) keyboards have used a toy gun in lieu of a pistol emoji since July last year, when Windows 10 was released.
(via Twitter / Apple iOS10) Source: Twitter
Samsung, Facebook, and Twitter still use and support realistic pistol emojis.
