There Will Be More Emoji on Twitter
Pop some (emoji) champagne bottles, Twitter users.
Twitter.com now supports all the new Unicode 8 emoji, aka the ones Apple addedwith iOS 9.1, and they will soon work on TweetDeck, Twitter Design Manager Bryan Haggerty promised.
So, the next time you want to brag on Twitter about that delicious taco or burrito you’re eating, need to flip off some annoying troll, or just share a thumbs up in a skin color other than yellow, your emoji will show up in its full glory and not as a little white box.
The Twitter update comes after Unicode in June announced its latest set of symbols, including 41 characters like nerd face, hot dog, popcorn, unicorn head, crab, and prayer beads. Apple in October pushed the new emojis — including zodiac signs, burrito, volleyball, and table-tennis paddle and ball — to its devices via iOS 9.1 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
Meanwhile, a new batch of emojis — including a unicorn, lion, and crab — are set to arrive on Android soon but unless you have a Nexus device, which are usually the first to receive new Android software and security updates, you might be waiting a bit. Individual Android device manufacturers like Samsung, Asus, and HTC will be in charge of pushing out an update to their respective handsets.
This was a big year for emojis. The Oxford English Dictionary last month used one to represent the 2015 Word of the Year: the “Face with Tears of Joy” emoji, which accounted for 17 percent of all emoji use in the U.S. and 20 percent in the U.K. this year.