The female triathlete emojis have arrived
With the newest update to Apple’s operating system comes the much-anticipated female runner emoji as well as a female cyclist and swimmer emoji.
Apple’s iOS 10 was released on Sept. 13 which brings to fruition American Molly Huddle’s campaign for the inclusion of a female runner emoji as well as other sports. Only a male runner was available before Tuesday’s release. Huddle, an American track runner, submitted a female runner emoji design last fall and has since been campaigning for its inclusion.
Those looking to download the new operating system will need to go into their “settings” category on their Apple device and click on the “general” category. Under the “software update” option, eligible devices give users the option to download the latest version of Apple’s operating system.
Huddle, in a blog for Saucony, says that her inspiration came from the lack of a female runner emoji “when wishing luck to my training partners, congratulating female friends on races, referring to myself running, as I do that for a living.”
In addition to new female emoji designs, iOS 10 focuses on diversity as each mini character is available in multiple skin tones and with different hair combinations. A female mountain biker, surfer, weight lifter, swimmer and basketball player are among the additions to iOS 10.
Some users have noted that the female runner emoji does not have a hair tie. Other tweaks include the male runner wearing shorts instead of jeans.
The design was confirmed at the beginning of August when information on the iOS update surfaced. The newest Apple software comes during a week when the iPhone 7 is expected to be released.
Earlier this summer, Facebook Messenger launched a female runner emoji but it was only available on the application. Now, the runner is available across Apple devices and not just the third-party Messenger app.
Currently, there is no female runner emoji listed on Emojipedia’s database for Android devices.
