Unicode 14.0 Adds New Emojis

Smartphone users who like to communicate with emojis now have new options thanks to the release of Unicode 14.0. The latest version of Unicode Standard launched on September 14, formalizing the previous draft release. In all, there are 838 new characters in Unicode 14.

Out of those 838 new characters, 37 of them are new emoji and emoji sequences. With the new standard published, all-new characters and emoji will show up on devices sometime next year. Along with the 37 brand-new emojis, there are 75 new skin tone variations, making 112 new emojis available for users.

It's worth noting that no changes were made to the draft emoji list since it was first revealed on World Emoji Day on July 17 of this year. With the new additions to the list, there are a total of 3633 emojis available. For those who might not be aware, there is a distinction between Unicode 14.0 and Emoji 14.0.

Emoji 14.0 includes sequences that combine two or more code points to display a single emoji. Among the new face emojis are a melting face, salute, smiley with big teary eyes, dotted line face, and a face with both eyes covered with one peeking out between open fingers. Presumably, the dotted line face is supposed to represent someone unseen or invisible.

The new emoji also adds gender options for pregnancy with a pregnant man emoji. The pregnant man emoji will likely also find plenty of use to represent a full belly. Another interesting change is that the handshake emoji will feature versions that have a combination of skin tones. However, the organization behind the new emojis says that most vendors, except for Apple, support shared skin tones.