Android Apps Will Soon Get Backward-Compatibility for Emojis

Android users often lament that they are not able to see the emojis sent to them by others as their device is not upgraded to the latest version of platform. Soon, this complaint might be resolved as Google will add support for EmojiCompat library to the platform, which will implement backward-compatibility for the emojis to Android 4.4 and later versions.

Notably, users currently see crossed-boxes, which indicate incompatible font, when a new emoji is sent to them on a previous version of Android. However, with the support for EmojiCompat library, the users will be able to see the latest emojis without needing to upgrade their entire OS. Emojipedia points out that EmojiCompat doesn't change the way emojis are rendered but provides the app with a font that features the latest emoji glyphs. The support for new library is said to be rolled out with Android O.

As this library required the app developers to implement the support for the library, there is nothing that is required to be done from the user's end to see the latest emojis. In the Android Developers blog post, the instructions have been provided for app developers to include support for EmojiCompat to their apps.

To recall, Unicode Consortium announced the launch of Unicode 10 in June. Notably, with Unicode 10, 56 new emojis were added including emojis for Hijab, Zombie, 'Colbert Emoji', Scarf among others.

Considering that this problem plagues a majority of Android users, this is a much-needed change that is likely to be welcomed with both hands by the community. Now it is up to app developers to implement this support and keep their apps up-to-date.