The Unicode 13.1-based designs will come to phones in 2021
Android 11 brought one of the most significant Android emoji refreshes since saying bye to the blobs, and now Google has shared some upcoming new emoji designs from Unicode 13.1 that are expected to land next year. There are some fun new additions, like the exhaling face and a heart that's on fire — check out Google's early designs for yourself after the break.
New emoji based on Unicode 13.1 will likely include a face hidden by clouds, an exhaling face, a face with spiraling eyes, a bandaged heart, and a heart that's engulfed in flames. The official new emoji candidates in Unicode 13.1 aren't expected to be finalized until October, but Google has already started work on introducing these new friends.
That sighing face is definitely going to show up in my frequently used section.
Along with these new additions, gender and skin tone variants are being added for multiple existing designs, including the beard, kiss, and couple with heart emoji. There are over 200 new combinations in total, so it's a good thing the Gboard team is working on making picking between them easier.
These new additions to the Noto emoji set are still a work in progress, but once the Unicode Committee finalizes the 13.1 proposal, these updates could show up on phones as soon as early next year. If you're interested, check out the complete list of changes being considered for Unicode 13.1 over at Emojipedia.
