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 72 new emoji. Picture: Contributed

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.