Unicode 9.0's 72 new emoji threaten to kill the beloved ROFL and Picard face palm pics
Yes, Unicode managed to kill ROFL from text messages and Twitter replies overnight, as well as put the beloved Picard face palm reaction on the endangered list.
Other notable additions to Unicode 9.0 include emojis for selfie, fox, gorilla, scooter (both kick and motorized), as well as bacon—what took you so long, UC Anyone interested in checking out the complete list of the 72 new emoji can find it on the Unicode site.
The additional emoji are new to Unicode, but some of them may not be new to your messaging app of choice. Some apps choose to add their own emoji to enhance the standard character set supplied by Unicode. The advantage of a standard, however, is that you get cross-platform compatibility and system-wide availability.
The various platforms are free to interpret the actual look of the emoji as they see fit.
The impact on you at home: So when can you expect to see the new emoji on your phone or PC Unicode 9.0 support is expected to be a part of Windows 10 when the Anniversary Update rolls out this summer. Meanwhile, Google is expected to support Unicode 9.0 as part of the Android N roll out in the coming months, according to Emojipedia. No word when Apple might support it, but the iOS 10 roll out in the fall is a good bet.
Unicode 9.0 brings fun new emoji, but the new standard isn’t all stuffed pitas and canoes. The Unicode Consortium also introduced six new language scripts including Osage, a Native American language; Nepal Bhasa; Fulani, an African language; Bravanese, a Swahili dialect from Somalia; Warsh orthography for Arabic; and Tangut, an ancient Chinese language.
All told, Unicode 9.0 brings 7,500 new characters to the standard for a total of 128,172 Unicode characters.