The Unicode Consortium on Tuesday, June 20, released version 10 of the Unicode Standard, adding emoji counterparts of a T-Rex and Stephen Colbert's signature quizzical look, which sees one eyebrow raised as if to depict a kind of doubtfulness.
Unicode 10 Now Released
The release of Unicode 10 also means that code points required for the new batch of emoji have now been finalized and considered as stable enough for major device manufacturers, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, or Samsung, to include in their software.
What Kind Of Emoji Are Included?
The promised batch of emoji contains 56 in all, which includes a roster of new characters, beasts, zombies, vampires, fairies, and dinosaurs. Also included are emoji for breastfeeding women, a woman in a hijab, and a yoga pose. What else? A broccoli, a merman and mermaid, a grasshopper, a vomiting emoji, a pretzel, a pie, and even a fortune cookie — all these are part of Unicode 10.
While not an emoji, Unicode 10 also brings support for the Bitcoin symbol, which looks like a regular uppercase "B" but with two vertical lines. In addition, Unicode 10 also adds support for "lesser-used languages and unique written requirements worldwide".
You can view all the new emoji in Emojipedia's video.
Don't Get Excited Yet, Though
It's worth noting, however, that one shouldn't expect for all these characters to be available right away, since your device will most likely require a software update before Unicode 10 can take into effect, and there's a good chance that you might wait a while before that happens. Android users would probably have to wait until Google releases the stable version of Android O to use the new set of emoji, while iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users would probably get it once iOS 11 officially launches.
According to the Emojipedia blog, the final emoji list for 2017 was announced in March, with the code points for many of these now finalized, as previously mentioned. The blog explains that vendors have had a few months notice with regard to which emoji are final, and the release of Unicode 10 simply makes sure that vendors can support them in any future software update.
Last summer, The Unicode Consortium made Unicode 9.0 available, containing 72 new emoji including ones for bacon, a person taking a selfie, a clown face, and much more. Majority of those made it into iOS with the iOS 10.12 update, so it stands to reason that iOS 11 will support Unicode 10 once it arrives this fall.
It's no doubt that the emoji library has been continuously diversifying the objects, events, and individuals it can represent, from animals, to people of color, down to LGBT couples. That's always a good thing, of course, since using emoji is akin to using a new type of language, and when everyone can understand a given language, the efficiency of communication improves.
Thoughts about the new emoji in Unicode 10? What's your favorite out of the new batch? As always, you can hit up the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions!
