Now that iOS has provided default support for emoji icons for over a year, the company finally appears to be taking action to remove the seemingly endless number of third-party emoji apps on the App Store.
TechCrunch obtained an email sent by Apple to one particular app store developer, letting the seller know that their previously approved emoji app would be removed from sale. The email cites App Store guidelines that prohibit the sale of apps that "are not very useful."
It's hard to argue with the logic here, and if a feature is already supported by iOS, the need for a third-party app is indeed non-existent. Apple first introduced emoji support in iOS 5 which launched in October 2011.
[Source: TUAW]