Google is completely revamping Android emoji and it's about damn time
Yeah, yeah. Google's upcoming smartphone operating system, Android O, has tons of goodies: Picture in picture, Notification Dots, better autofill, and (finally) smarter text selection.
But the hiding in all of the new features is one update you'll really care about: Google is completely revamping every single Android emoji.
That's right, the weird blobby smiley faces from previous versions of Android are being replaced by round smiley faces, while other, more realistic emoji are getting a bit more detailed and, frankly, nicer.
In case you've never seen old Android emoji, here's a comparison of a popular "face throwing a kiss" in Android O beta and Android Nougat, below.
According to Emojipedia, absolutely every emoji in Android is getting a revamp. Plus, Android will be fully compatible with the Emoji 5.0 set of emoji, meaning some new emoji will be displayed properly, including the vomit face and the dinosaur.
Some might mourn Google's blob emoji, after all, their odd shape did make them different from most other emoji out there. But honestly, anyone who's ever struggled to figure out what the hell Google's emoji are supposed to represent will be relieved to see this change.
Also important: The default emoji dog on Android is now a Shiba. So cute.
Not all the news is good. Have you seen the extremely creepy clown emoji? It will haunt all our dreams.
Android O is coming in the second half of 2017. Right now, it is currently only available in beta which means for most users, there's nothing to do besides wait until the new version arrives. But for those who aren't afraid of a few bugs — and who own an eligible device, such as a Google Pixel phone — can go sign up for the beta right now.
Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.
