New Emoji Coming in Unicode 17.0: Which Android Phones Have Them

Unicode 17.0 is finalized, and the eight new emoji coming in Unicode 17.0 are locked in. Samsung has already shipped all of them to millions of devices. Pixel users are still waiting, and when Google's update does arrive, it won't just add eight new characters it's expected to rebuild how every emoji on the device looks. That second part hasn't been confirmed as a single bundled update, and that distinction matters.

Who has the new emoji right now

The short answer:

• Samsung One UI 8.5: All eight Unicode 17.0 emoji, already shipped
• Pixel: Not yet. Android 17 launched June 16 without either the new emoji or the forthcoming Noto 3D redesign, per Emojipedia. Whether both arrive in the same update is unconfirmed
• Other Android phones: Possibly in specific apps, not system-wide

The longer version follows.

The Unicode 17.0 new emoji list: what new emoji are coming in 2026

Eight characters, confirmed by the Unicode Consortium: Trombone, Treasure Chest, Distorted Face, Hairy Creature, Fight Cloud, Orca, Ballet Dancer, and Landslide. The Consortium previewed the set on World Emoji Day, describing the characters as having "long-standing symbolic meanings" and being "visually distinctive," per the Unicode Blog.

Eight is a lean number for a release of this scale. Unicode 17.0 adds 4,803 new characters total four new scripts, a block of over 4,200 CJK ideographs, and a range of other symbols bringing the encoded character count to 159,801, per the Unicode 17.0 release announcement. Emoji are a thin slice of that. For most users, they're the only part of the release anyone will ever interact with.

The finalized list is stable now, but the road to finalization matters for understanding what went slightly wrong at Samsung. Apple Core appeared in early Emoji 17.0 draft materials before being cut in early 2025. That's how Unicode's review process works: character names, code points, and repertoire are fluid during alpha review, then locked once beta begins, per the Unicode Blog's alpha documentation. Build against alpha data before that lock, and you risk shipping a design tied to a code point that has since been reassigned to something else entirely. Samsung's One UI 8.5 rollout illustrates exactly what that looks like in practice.

Samsung shipped all eight, and added an uninvited guest

Samsung moved quickly. One UI 8.5 first landed on the Galaxy S26 series on February 25, 2026, then began a broader rollout on March 25, starting with the Galaxy A37 5G and Galaxy A57 5G, according to Emojipedia. The update brought all eight Unicode 17.0 emoji as part of a 133-emoji package drawn from the full Emoji 17.0 recommendation list.

That 133-emoji figure is worth pausing on. Beyond the eight new Unicode 17.0 characters, the update also introduced expanded skin-tone combinations for People Wrestling and People With Bunny Ears sequences Unicode only formally recommended with Emoji 17.0, even though Samsung had supported partial single-tone variants for those emojis since 2016 and 2017 respectively, Emojipedia noted. The remaining entries in the 133-emoji total fill out that expanded sequence support.

Speed came with a separate problem. The same update shipped an Apple Core design tied to code point U+1FADD. Apple Core is not one of the eight new Unicode 17.0 emoji it's a character that appeared in early draft materials and was cut before finalization. That code point has since been reassigned to Pickle in the current Emoji 18.0 draft. Samsung devices running One UI 8.5 now display an Apple Core where a Pickle is expected to land, as Emojipedia reported. When Samsung eventually updates for Emoji 18.0 support, the expectation is that the Pickle design would replace it.

It's a concrete example of what the alpha-to-beta lock process is designed to prevent. Vendors who build from draft data before beta review closes can end up locked to a code point that no longer means what they shipped. Samsung got the eight confirmed emoji right; the Apple Core issue is a separate, additional character that hitched a ride on the same update.

Pixel users are waiting on two things, and only one is confirmed

Pixel users sit at the other end of the timeline. Android 17 launched June 16 without the Unicode 17.0 emoji set or Google's Noto 3D redesign, per an editorial update from Emojipedia. Google has confirmed that Noto 3D is coming to Pixel phones later this year. Whether Unicode 17.0 emoji support arrives in that same update has not been confirmed.

Noto 3D is not a minor refresh. Previewed at the Android Show I/O Edition in May, it's a complete aesthetic overhaul of Google's Noto Color Emoji set, with roughly 4,000 emoji redesigned individually by hand, per Emojipedia. Google's emoji lead Jennifer Daniel described the results on Instagram, as relayed by Emojipedia, as "hand-modeled 3D emoji" that are "YES THEY ARE ACTUALLY TRUE 3D OBJECTS." Noto 3D would represent the fifth major aesthetic version of Google's emoji set, excluding their initial animated Gmail set, Emojipedia noted. The closest comparable rollout from another major vendor is Microsoft's Fluent emoji overhaul, announced in 2021 and still ongoing in some respects.

Several specifics remain unconfirmed: whether Noto 3D replaces Noto Color Emoji outright or ships as a separate font, and whether animated emoji will receive a matching update, per Emojipedia. Beyond the move to 3D, the Noto 3D set could also contain structural changes to select emoji designs, Emojipedia noted potentially incorporating findings from the Unicode Consortium's ongoing audit of emoji design coherence across vendors.

What's clear is the implication for Pixel users: if the Unicode 17.0 characters arrive bundled with Noto 3D, they won't slot quietly into a familiar interface. They'd debut inside a completely rebuilt visual environment, one that changes how every emoji on the device looks, not just the eight new ones. That pairing is plausible. It is not yet confirmed.

Everyone else: apps as a stopgap

For Android users on neither Samsung nor Pixel, the situation is inconsistent. A 2021 update to Android's AppCompat library allows apps using updated compatibility libraries to render newer emoji even when the device's system font hasn't been updated, according to Emojipedia. That means some users may encounter the new Unicode 17.0 characters inside individual apps before any system-level update arrives. Coverage varies by app and by how recently each developer has updated their compatibility libraries.

It's not a clean solution. But for non-Samsung, non-Pixel Android users, it's the most likely path to seeing the new emoji first at least until their device manufacturer issues a system update of its own.

What comes next

Unicode 18.0 beta is already open, with nine new emoji characters in the pipeline, per the Unicode Blog. The standards process runs on a fixed annual rhythm; a new release arrives each fall regardless of where vendors stand with the previous one.

That gap between standardization and device delivery has always existed. This cycle makes it unusually legible: Samsung users have all eight Unicode 17.0 emoji already, Pixel users are waiting on a redesign with no confirmed ship date, and other Android users are relying on app-level rendering in the meantime. Same standard, three different answers, depending on which phone you're holding. The Pickle situation suggests that being first isn't always the cleanest position to be in either.