Where new emojis actually come from

New emojis don't appear on your phone because Apple or Google invented them. They come from the Unicode Consortium, a nonprofit organization made up of tech companies, academics, and other members who decide which characters — including emojis — become standard across all devices and platforms.

Unicode releases new emoji sets once a year, usually in September. The Consortium votes on proposals submitted by anyone: companies like Apple and Google, individual researchers, cultural organizations, and sometimes just people who think a particular emoji is missing. If a proposal passes, that emoji gets assigned a code point — a unique number that tells your phone how to display it.

Your phone then receives these new emojis through an operating system update. When you update iOS, Android, Windows, or macOS, you're partly updating the emoji library that your device knows how to display. Without that update, your phone literally cannot show the new emoji, even if someone sends it to you — you'll see a blank box or a question mark instead.

Key Takeaways

  • The Unicode Consortium, not individual tech companies, decides which emojis become standard, and releases new ones once per year.
  • New emojis arrive on your phone only through operating system updates, which is why older devices sometimes show blank boxes instead of new emoji.
  • Each emoji is assigned a unique code point that your device uses to recognize and display it, similar to how your operating system recognizes letters and numbers.
  • Emoji updates are bundled with security patches and bug fixes, so updating for new emojis also protects your device from known vulnerabilities.

Why your phone needs an update to show new emojis

An emoji is not a picture file sitting on your phone waiting to be unlocked. It's a character code — a number that your operating system knows how to render as an image. When Unicode approves a new emoji, it assigns it a code point, say U+1F979 for the "cold face" emoji. Your phone's operating system has to be taught what that code point means and how to draw it.

Older versions of your operating system don't have that instruction. If someone with a newer phone sends you the cold face emoji and your phone is running an older version of iOS or Android, your device receives the code point but has no instruction for what to do with it. That's why you see a blank box or a question mark — your phone is saying "I received something, but I don't know what it is."

This is why you sometimes see emoji mismatches between iPhone and Android users, or between someone on the latest update and someone who hasn't updated in months. They're literally looking at different versions of the same character code.

How emoji proposals actually work

Anyone can propose an emoji to the Unicode Consortium, but the process is formal and takes years. A proposal typically includes the character's use case, examples of how people would use it, and evidence that it fills a real gap in communication. Recent additions like the "coral" emoji and the "axe" emoji went through this same vetting process.

The Consortium evaluates proposals against criteria like whether the character is likely to be used across multiple languages and cultures, whether it's distinct enough from existing emojis, and whether it represents something that people actually need to express. A proposal for a very niche or culturally specific emoji might be rejected, while a proposal for something like a new hand gesture or animal that appears in multiple cultures is more likely to pass.

Once approved, the emoji goes into the next Unicode release. That release is then adopted by operating system makers — Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others — who design how that emoji looks on their specific platform. This is why the same emoji can look slightly different on iPhone versus Android. The code point is the same, but the visual design varies by company.

The connection between emoji updates and security

Emoji updates don't happen in isolation. When your operating system releases a new version with new emojis, that same update usually includes security patches that fix vulnerabilities in your device's code. Delaying an update to avoid new emojis means you're also delaying security fixes that protect you from malware, data theft, and other threats.

This is why security experts recommend updating your phone regularly, even if you don't care about new emojis. The emoji update is the visible part of a much larger package that keeps your device safer. If you're holding off on updating because you prefer the old emoji designs, you're trading security for aesthetics.

Why emoji design varies between phones

Once Unicode approves an emoji, each company designs its own version. Apple's "smiling face with hearts" looks different from Google's, which looks different from Microsoft's. All three are the same emoji — they have the same code point — but the visual appearance is unique to each platform.

This is intentional. Companies want their emoji to match the overall design language of their operating system. Apple's emojis tend toward a rounder, more illustrative style, while Google's are flatter and more geometric. Neither is wrong; they're just different design choices.

The downside is that an emoji can look completely different depending on what device receives it. A joke or expression that works on iPhone might land differently on Android because the emoji looks different. This is why some people screenshot emojis before sending them — they want to control how the message is perceived.

What happens when you don't update your operating system

If you don't update your phone for months or years, you'll eventually encounter emojis you can't display. Someone sends you a recent emoji and you see a blank box. You can still read the text around it and understand the message, but you're missing the visual element.

More importantly, you're missing security updates. Operating system updates fix bugs and vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit. The longer you go without updating, the more exposed your device becomes to known threats. Your phone becomes easier to hack, your data becomes easier to steal, and your accounts become easier to compromise.

The emoji is just the visible reminder that an update is available. The real reason to update is the security work happening behind the scenes.

How to know if your emojis are out of date

If you see blank boxes or question marks when people send you recent emojis, your operating system is out of date. You can also check by looking at your phone's settings: on iOS, go to Settings > General > Software Update; on Android, go to Settings > About Phone > System Update. If an update is available, install it.

You don't need to wait for a specific emoji you want. Updating your phone regularly — roughly every month or two — keeps you current with both emoji and security patches. Set your phone to update automatically if possible, so you don't have to remember.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get new emojis without updating my whole operating system?

No. Emojis are part of your operating system's core character library, not a separate app or read. The only way to get new emojis is to update iOS, Android, or whatever system your phone runs. Some apps like Slack or Discord have their own custom emoji sets, but those are separate from your system emojis.

Why do the same emoji look different on my iPhone and my friend's Android?

Apple and Google design their own visual versions of each emoji, even though they use the same Unicode code point. It's like how the letter "A" looks slightly different depending on the font. Both are the letter A, but the design varies. This is why an emoji can seem to have a different tone or meaning depending on what device displays it.

Do I have to update my phone to get new emojis?

Yes, but you should update anyway for security reasons. Operating system updates fix vulnerabilities that put your data and accounts at risk. New emojis are just the visible part of a much larger update that protects your device. If you're avoiding updates, you're trading security for the sake of keeping old emoji designs.

What if I update my phone and don't like the new emoji designs?

You're stuck with them. Once you update, you can't downgrade to older emoji designs without downgrading your entire operating system, which would remove security patches and expose you to known threats. If a specific emoji bothers you, you can straightforward avoid using it, but you can't change how it looks on your device.

How often do new emojis get released?

Unicode releases new emoji sets once per year, usually in September. The number of new emojis varies — sometimes it's dozens, sometimes over a hundred. Your phone receives these through operating system updates, which may arrive weeks or months after the Unicode release, depending on your device and manufacturer.