New emoji coming to iPhone and Android in 2024

The Unicode Consortium — the non-profit group overseeing the standardization of text and emoji in software — has unveiled seven new proposed emoji, which if vetted could appear on smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other devices starting later in 2024. These include a beet, a harp, a shovel, a fingerprint, a leafless tree, a purple liquid splatter, and a face with baggy eyes. The face is so far available only in yellow, unlike a growing number of emoji available with realistic skin tone options.

The characters are a part of the Unicode 16.0 standard, which is still undergoing beta review. That process should complete by July 2. After that it will be up to companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google to devise their own variations, since different operating systems have different styles and resolution requirements. All told, it could take several months for any new emoji to reach the public. That will likely happen before the end of 2024, but there’s a chance we might have to wait until 2025.

What will I need to do to get the new emoji?

Assuming they’re given the green light, you’ll have to wait for an operating system update, since Unicode is so fundamental that it’s baked in at that level. There’s a strong chance mobile users will be waiting for the finished versions of iOS 18 and Android 15, both of which are due this fall alongside new iPhone and Google Pixel models. There’s a possibility we’ll get the emoji beforehand or afterwards, however, since it’s not uncommon for characters to be added in smaller point releases. Either way, expect similar plans for Windows, macOS, iPadOS, and wearable devices.

Android 15 is already in public beta, and will likely be done by October if it follows the schedule of its predecessor. iOS 18 is unannounced, but should be revealed very soon, since Apple is scheduled to begin its Worldwide Developers Conference on June 10. That’s where the company shows off all of its major software updates for the year, barring the launch of completely new product categories. Most of those updates tend to go final in September, though occasionally they have to wait a month or so.

The Unicode Consortium is backed by some of the largest corporations in the tech industry. Beyond Apple, Microsoft, and Google, other full voting members include Adobe, Airbnb, Meta, Netflix, and Salesforce. Some notable non-voting parties include Oracle, SAS, and the Wikimedia Foundation. A full vote means a party gets a say in every technical committee, among other privileges, giving it the opportunity to steer Unicode in a direction that benefits any text-based products, such as messaging apps.