Apple unveils 72 new emoji - but still no Saltire

A set of 72 new emoji are on the way to Apple devices with the release of the new operating system.

The tech giant already redesigned the emoji system for iOS10, adding gender and race options.

However, with iOS10.2 - thanks to the addition of full Unicode 9.0 support - the emoji library will be extended for the hundreds of millions of people using the Apple emoji.

Included in the library are new emoji professions - firefighters judges with female and male versions in multiple skin tones.

Also included among the useful (depending on your definition of the word) additions are an avocado, a spoon, and a (not-all-that-scary) clown.

A Pinocchio-style face and a graphic replacement for the ‘shrug’ usually represented by the more convoluted ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ are also likely to gain fans.

Apple has also reworked the styling of the unchanged remaining emoji, making them “more bulbous.”

The OS update also adds three new wallpapers, a Preserve Camera setting to remember the last-used mode or filter, a new Video widget for the Videos app, and a new “Press and Hold to Speak” menu for the Home Button that allows selecting between Siri, Voice Control and Off.