Apple to Add Rainbow Flag Emoji with iOS 10 Release this Fall

As Apple prepares to roll out the newest version of their iPhone and iOS operating system for mobile devices this fall, the tech giant gave fans a preview of some of the new emojis that will become available on the popular gadgets.

"More than one hundred new and redesigned emoji characters will be available to iPhone and iPad users this fall�with iOS 10," read a statement released by Apple on Monday. "This exciting update brings more gender options to existing characters, including new female athletes and professionals, adds beautiful redesigns of popular emoji, a new rainbow flag and more family options."

"Apple is working closely with the Unicode Consortium to ensure that popular emoji characters reflect the diversity of people everywhere," the statement concluded.

In 2015, Apple came under fire in Russian courts for their inclusion of same-sex couple emojis that came pre-loaded on iPhones. These emojis were seen by many as a violation of Russia's law against "gay propaganda."

After much debate, in January 2016, the Russian government concluded that pre-installed emojis don't violate the law against promoting homosexuality to minors.