How Google solves its Emoji problem
Have you ever received an SMS from a friend containing a series of unidentifiable black boxes instead of emoticons? These black boxes are called “Tofu” and are the subject of a recent “Ask a Techspert” article on Google’s “The Keyword” blog which explains the reason why this is happening and describes the steps Google is taking to permanently resolve this issue.
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Why do you see black boxes instead of emojis?
This issue has existed on Android and web apps for many years. In fact, although Google was ahead of Apple when it added support for the latest emojis in 2016 with the release of Android 7.0 (Nougat), 96% of Android users still saw those little black boxes in their texts.
The problem is that previously new emoji updates have been bundled with system updates, because fonts and corresponding Unicode support were provided at the operating system level. The result was that users who didn’t have the latest version of Android or iOS would be left behind in many ways, one of which was missing out on the latest set of emoji.
As anyone who has used Android for a while knows, most phone manufacturers are not particularly timely in releasing operating system updates. The problem is improving, but it is still a problem plaguing the Android ecosystem. You could very well buy the latest Android phone from manufacturer X and end up using an outdated version of Android, resulting from the fragmentation that occurs when you give multiple manufacturers the responsibility of pushing updates after taking their time to add their skin on different phone models. . Thereby, not all Android phones have the same operating system update at the same time.
This has not been the case with iOS. Only iPhones run iOS, and all iPhones are made by Apple, which also handles the distribution of system updates. Therefore, it is rare to come across an iPhone user who is not running the latest iOS update. Unless their phone is a very old model that no longer supports updates, their phone is completely out of space, or they deliberately refuse to take the update, most users use the same version of the operating system at a given time.
On web applications, the problem is also the result of greater fragmentation. For example, Gmail supported the same set of emoji from 2008 to 2016, then from 2016 to 2021. It’s at least five years between updates, which has resulted in Gmail incorrectly displays skin tone and gender variants of emoji. Of course, this would also be the case with any web application that created its own emoji rather than relying on the operating system.
What is Google doing to fix this problem?
Starting this year, Google is decoupling emoji updates from OS updates. This means that you can now have the latest set of emoji without being on the latest version of your operating system. Google explains:
Starting this month, all apps that use Appcompat (a tool that makes Android apps compatible with multiple Android versions) will automatically get the latest and greatest emoji so you can send and receive emoji even if you don’t have the latest phone.
The key word
Google relies on Noto Emoji, a set of 3,670 emojis that work across Google and its appsso you can rest assured that the latest emoji will appear on Android, Gmail, Google Meet, ChromeOS, and more. Android 12L is now using Emoji 14.0, which includes the new melting face, dotted face, and heart-shaped hands emoji.
Out of curiosity, I sent a melting face and heart emoji from my Pixel running Android 12 QPR3 to my colleague Michael Perrigo on Discord. What I saw on my Pixel, ChromeOS, and macOS was very different from what he saw on Windows 11. This is an example of how communication can be interrupted simply by having a device that does not support the same Emoji set.
I think Google’s decision to decouple emoji from system updates is a step in the right direction, and goes a long way to simplifying communication in the digital age. Even if you’re not a fan of emojis or think communicating this way is lazy, there’s no denying that this change in communication happens no matter what. Google has recognized this, and maybe it’s time for the rest of the world to do the same.