The new emojis are finally coming to Android, starting first with Nexus devices
Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google’s senior vice president for Chrome and Android, took to Twitter to share that an Android software update is on its way for Nexus devices.
In follow-up tweets he noted that the requisite updates have been shared to other Android handset makers, who will be responsible for sending it out on their own. Lockheimer said enabling the emojis require ”new keyboard, new font, new code,” hence the need for a software update.
If you don’t have a Nexus device, well, get patient. Android handset makers and carriers are often notoriously slow with updates. Chalk this up as one more reason why when it comes time for a new Android phone, you should probably go with a Nexus.
Why this matters: Lions, unicorns, champagne bottles. What’s not to like When someone with an iPhone sends you a message with one of these emoji, you won’t have to see that annoying missing character box anymore. Of course, hopefully Android will stay up-to-date when Unicode 9.0 comes out, which is scheduled for mid-2016.