The Unicode Consortium has introduced Unicode 15.1. This is a minor update to the last Unicode 15.0; it adds 627 new characters. The total number of Unicode characters rises to 149,813, including 3,782 emojis. The most exciting thing for most users will once again be the new emojis among the new characters.
These are the new emojis
- Unicode 15.1 adds 6 completely new emojis: shaking and nodding heads, a phoenix, a lime, an “edible mushroom” and a broken chain.
- The family emojis also got an update, now offering four new options for gender-neutral parents and children.
- There are also 108 new variants for emojis showing people: all emojis depicting a person moving to the right can now be flipped to show them to the left, as Arstechnica explains.
Technically interesting: All new emojis are based on existing emojis and are therefore a further development.
In total, Unicode 15.1 brings 118 new emojis, you can find the full list at this link. Besides that came “622 new CJK characters (Chinese, Japanese and Korean)” added_
When can you use the new emojis?
As always, after the release of new Unicode characters, it is now the job of major IT companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Samsung or Google to implement them on their devices. Only after this implementation can you use the new emojis on your smartphone, computer or tablet, for example. By the time all new emojis are actually usable on your devices, the first half of 2024 will probably be over. Some companies may implement Unicode 15.1 by the end of 2023. This has to be seen on a case by case basis.
The Unicode Consortium is a non-profit organization that oversees the further development of the Unicode standard. Members include Apple, Google and Microsoft.
Unicode 15. was the last major update
Unicode 15.0 introduced a total of 4,489 new characters (mostly written characters) in September 2022. These included 20 new emojis and 11 new sequences such as the hand sliding left or right. Unicode 15.0 brought a total of 31 new emojis in the expanded sense. The total number of emojis in Unicode rose to 3,664 at that time.
Unicode 15.0: These are the 20 new emojis – a total of 4489 new characters
