The Next Big Batch Of New Emoji Just Got A Release Date
If you're perpetually frustrated that you can't invite your friends for a bagel with the appropriate emoji, salvation is at hand. The release of Unicode 11.0 – which includes not only the circular bread but a lobster, parrot, and numerous other graphics, for a total of 62 new emojis – has been dated, and there's not long to wait.
We first saw the final emoji list of new additions back in February, though it was still to be several months before they could actually show up on devices. That will happen for Emoji 11.0 – formerly known as Emoji 6.0 – on June 5th, it's been confirmed. Of course, when they'll actually land on your smartphone is another question.
While the June 5th date is the first official time that companies can start using the Unicode 11.0 emojis, actually pushing them to users is down to them. The expectation for iPhone and Android handsets is that they'll be included in the next significant release of each respective platform. That means iOS 12 for the iPhone, and Android P for Android devices.
Elsewhere – like Facebook and Twitter – they'll probably show up sooner than that. After all, it's easier to add Unicode 11.0 support when you're not dealing with a whole smartphone OS. The downside to that is, if someone sends you a new emoji from a device or service with Unicode 11.0 support, but you're on a device or service that hasn't yet updated with that, you'll see a black square instead.
Among the new options you'll eventually be getting are a selection of extra faces: smiling face with three hearts, hot and cold faces, partying and woozy faces, and pleading face. There's a superhero now, and a supervillain, together with body parts like leg, foot, bone, and tooth. New clothes have been added, including goggles and a lab coat, a hiking boot, and a flat shoe.
In animals, there's now a raccoon, llama, hippo, kangaroo, and badger. There's also a swan, peacock, parrot, and a lobster. Smaller creatures haven't been left out, either: there's now a mosquito and a microbe.
In food, there's a mango, leafy greens, a bagel, salt, a moon cake, and a cupcake. Items get a compass, brick, skateboard, luggage, and firecracker. There's also a red gift envelope, softball, frisbee, and lacrosse stick. A Nazar amulet has been added, together with a jigsaw, a teddy bear, an abacus, and a receipt.
A toolbox and test tube are also joined by a magnet and a Petri dish; there's a DNA emoji too. A fire extinguisher is also part of Unicode 11.0, plus a lotion bottle, a thread and yarn, a safety pin, and a broom. There's a basket, soap, a sponge, and finally a roll of toilet paper.
In addition to the 62 new emoji that you'll see eventually added to your smartphone keyboard of choice, there are actually four more emoji components that arrive in Unicode 11.0. These, Emojipedia points out, aren't specific emojis in their own right but are variations on others. Now, there'll be a red hair option, curly hair option, white hair option, and a bald option, making it more likely that you'll be able to pick the emoji that best resembles you.
As for how closely that is – and, indeed, what all of these new emoji actually look like – that will depend, again, on what platform or device you're using. It's down to Apple, Samsung, Google, Facebook, and the rest to figure out how to portray each of the new emoji types. That can lead to some mixed understandings, as we've seen with the gradual evolution of the gun emoji.