You probably know already that the emoji that you see on your iOS device are different, sometimes by a wild degree, from those that your Android friends do, and vice versa. This makes for some fun confusion—is that a grimace or a grin?—but also frustration, particularly on the Android side, because many core Android emoji are objectively worse. But not for long!
Google has announced several updates as part of its latest Android N preview, but we can skip past the new 3D rendering API and launcher shortcuts and head straight to the real news, which is that Android will finally deploy emoji that look like actual people.
If you own an iPhone, that sentence might confuse you. What else, you might be thinking, would an emoji look like? The answer, if you’re on an Android device, is: a bald, yellow, blob-like figure. Think Slimer mashed up with a Simpsons character. Literally dozens of them, blowing kisses, frowning, holding a rose between their teeth. It’s like a parade of minimalist Minions. To be clear, this is no way to live.
Henceforth, though, Android emoji will ditch the melting yellow Buddhas in favor of emoji that look like actual humans. Imagine! It will also allow for skin tone variations—the more abstract figures always felt like a little bit of a dodge in that sense—and will finally bring on Unicode 9 emoji, which could include such soon-to-be classics as “Drooling Face,” “Wilted Flower,” and “Shallow Pan of Food.”
For what it’s worth, right now this only applies to Android N, which means Android smartphone owners won’t actually see it for some time still, even if they have a Nexus device. If they have something slower to receive updates—which is basically anything else—it could be years.
And when the update does roll through officially, Android and iOS users will still see different versions of a smiling or crying or HRMMMing person. At least now, though, they’ll finally be sending each other the same species.
