If you haven’t yet updated to Apple’s iOS 11, you may not want to. It’s got its own set of obnoxious features, such as Night Shift residing in the brightness settings rather than the Control Center, a completely reformatted Control Center that some seem to hate, significantly decreased battery life, and all around slow functionality.
However, a lot of people love the new iOS! And those who’ve updated but are too lazy to switch back have just gotten used to it. If you’re not too crazy about iOS 11, there’s a saving grace: new Emojis!
But there’s a catch. You have to sign up for beta testing, or else wait for the official release.
If you’re brave enough to download and install the just-released Public Beta, you could have a world of unique new Emojis at your fingertips (make sure to charge and backup your iPhone if you do!). Apple announced: “Hundreds of new emoji, including more emotive smiley faces, gender-neutral characters, clothing options, food types, animals, mythical creatures and more, are coming to iPhone and iPad with iOS 11.1.”
We got pie. We got scarves. We got hedgehogs, brontosauri, and broccoli. We got mermaids, wizards, fairies, and vampires.
Chinese takeout! Dumplings! A trench coat and a rock climber, thank god.
There’s also a Woman with Headscarf (about time!), Breastfeeding (ditto), a Sandwich and Coconut (AT LAST) and a really cool Love-You gesture, which Apple says is designed after the “I love you” hand sign in ASL.
If you don’t mind potentially sacrificing some battery life (betas are known to drain) as well as the hassle of restoring your iPhone in case of an OS crash in order to stunt on your friends (understandable), then follow these steps to begin testing iOS 11.1 beta ASAP: