The tech giant has submitted a new proposal to the Unicode consortium, a non-profit organization that coordinates the development of the Unicode standard. The company also detailed the main reason for its submission to the Unicode consortium. The company said that it plans to add new disability-related emojis to provide a much better experience for people with disabilities.
Apple to address accessibility issues with new emojis
The Cupertino-based company has announced plans for a new suite of emoji, which will include images of an ear with a hearing aid, images of prosthetic limbs, images of a guide or service dog, images of a guide dog with a harness, images of a person using a white cane, images of people using wheelchairs, and images of person making the sign for the deaf.
The company has proposed a total of 13 new emojis, which will be divided into four categories. These are the physical disabilities category, the blind and low vision category, the hidden disabilities category, and the deaf and hard hearing category.
In submitting the proposal, the tech giant has teamed up with the National Association of the Deaf, the Cerebral Palsy Foundation and the American Council of the Blind. The company said that the proposal is just a starting point, suggesting that we could expect even more accessibility emojis in the coming days.
Apple is not the first one to make a serious call for disability-related emojis. The U.K.-based Scope, a non-profit organization that promotes inclusion for people with disabilities, has already released 18 disability-related emojis in 2016.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Creative Commons
No comments:
Post a Comment