July 18, 2022, 11:35 am | Read time: 2 minutes
Just in time for this year’s World Emoji Day on July 17, new designs for the small smileys and symbols were announced. Unlike the previous year, which saw over 100 new additions, the number of new emojis for 2022 is much more manageable.
A total of 31 new emojis have been proposed as part of the update to Unicode 15.0. Whether all of these will make it to the web and onto Android and iOS remains to be seen. So far, the new designs are merely proposals. If approved–which is usually the case–they will likely be available with Emoji 15.0 starting in fall 2022.
The New Emojis in the Update to 15.0
Not only is the number of new emojis small, but the designs themselves are somewhat disappointing. We won’t see anything truly new in the update to Emoji 15.0. Many of the designs appear multiple times because they are offered in different skin tones, each counted separately.
According to Emojipedia, new additions include the “shaking face,” the only new smiley in the update. There are also new hearts in blue, gray, and pink, as well as a pushing hand in various skin tones, which could also represent a high-five. The update to Emoji 15.0 might introduce new animals, provided the proposals are accepted. These include a moose head from the front, a donkey, a raven, a goose, and a jellyfish. Additionally, there are symbols for ginger and peas, angel wings, a comb, a fan, musical instruments, and the hyacinth as a new flower. As pure symbols, Emoji 15.0 includes the Wi-Fi symbol and the Khanda–the religious symbol of Sikhism. Overall, the new emojis aim to better express different cultures.
Read also: The 10 Most Popular Emojis in 2021
Changes Still Possible
It will take some time before the update to Emoji 15.0 is officially released in September and all the new designs are officially introduced. Until then, the appearance of some emojis could still change. The introduction is planned for October or November. The new emojis will then be available on Android and iOS, as well as on numerous software programs that use emojis.