The Unicode Consortium has proposed nine new emoji for inclusion in Unicode 18.0, including a pickle, meteor, and lighthouse. These still require final approval, typically given in September, with potential rollout on devices in 2027. The list features changes like a cracking face replacing an originally suggested squinty face.
In October, the Unicode Consortium proposed nine new emoji as candidates for Unicode 18.0. The organization, which standardizes emoji across platforms, usually finalizes approvals in September each year. If accepted, companies such as Apple and Samsung would then design their versions, with emoji typically appearing on devices through software updates the following year—potentially 2027 for these candidates. The author notes still awaiting orca and Sasquatch emoji, approved in 2024, and mentions the 2025 withdrawal of an apple core emoji before approval. The proposed emoji are: a cracking face; a leftward thumb sign gesture; a rightward thumb sign gesture; a monarch butterfly; a pickle; a lighthouse; a meteor; an eraser; and a net with a handle. An initial squinty face proposal was revised in January by the Unicode Emoji Standard & Research Working Group to a cracking face. Approval is not guaranteed, as past proposals have been dropped.
