Nine new emojis are set to hit phones and keyboards in the next year or so. But the list isn’t set in stone, and one of them might still change.
A non-profit called the Unicode Consortium decides which emojis to add, and they quietly posted a list of nine new ones late last year. But they’ve got another meeting this week, and it looks like one of them might get replaced.
“Face with Squinting Eyes” WAS on the list. But it might get knocked out by a “Cracking Face” emoji that looks like shattered glass.
“Squinting Eyes” could mean something’s small and you can’t see it. Or, it could mean you’re suspicious and taking a closer look at something. (That’s kind of what the “Monocle” emoji is for though.)
The “Cracking Face” emoji is supposed to mean you’re damaged, physically or emotionally, but you made it through, and you’ll be okay. They expect people to use it sarcastically too.
They’ll decide which one they’re adding this week. But the other eight emojis sound like they’re pretty locked in.
The other eight are: Left Thumb, Right Thumb, Monarch Butterfly, Butterfly Net, Lighthouse, Eraser, Pickle, and one that looks like a world-ending ASTEROID. (That one will get a lot of use.)
Whatever the final nine are, they won’t hit most phones until early 2027.
(Here are all nine, assuming Cracking Face makes the cut.)
(The emojis they approved last year still aren’t on most phones, but should land in a few months. They include Trombone, Orca, Treasure Chest, Fight Cloud, and “Hairy Creature”, a.k.a., Bigfoot.)
