Every September, the Unicode Consortium releases a new version of its universal character standard – and buried inside its dense technical documentation is something the whole internet pays attention to: new emojis. Unicode 18.0 is due in September 2026, and the draft proposal list is already live. Here’s your complete guide to what might be coming.
The 9 New Emoji Concepts Proposed for Emoji 18.0
The draft list currently comprises 9 brand-new emoji concepts, plus 10 additional skin-tone variants tied to two of those base characters. The images shown are only proposed designs, and each platform (such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft) will ultimately render their own versions. Here’s a closer look at each one:
The Emoji That Changed Its Face
The Emoji 18.0 draft hasn’t been without its drama. Originally, the list included a “Face With Squinting Eyes” – a skeptical, side-eye expression that many thought overlapped too much with existing emojis. In January 2026, the Unicode Emoji Standard & Research Working Group recommended replacing it entirely.
We have since determined that one of these characters requires additional scrutiny before encoding and now recommend replacing it by changing the name to CRACKING FACE.
The reasoning was sound: Unicode already has several emojis that convey skepticism and distrust. The Cracking Face – depicting a face appearing to split apart – fills a genuinely new expressive niche. It joins a long line of unusual face emojis that have become fan favourites.
This wasn’t the first late-stage drama for Emoji 18.0, either. The Apple Core emoji – a symbol of a half-eaten apple – had been proposed, removed from Emoji 17.0, added back to the Emoji 18.0 draft, and then removed again in October 2025, effectively stalling its path to encoding indefinitely.
The Road to Your Keyboard
Approval is just the first hurdle. After Unicode finalises the list, every major platform – Apple, Google, Samsung, Microsoft, Meta – independently designs and ships their own versions. Here’s the expected timeline:
As a reference point: the Emoji 17.0 set was approved in September 2025, and as of early 2026, it still hadn’t landed in stable iOS or Android releases. Patience is required.
How Does an Emoji Actually Get Approved?
It’s not as simple as popular demand. Almost anyone can submit a proposal, but it has to be backed by hard evidence: search volume data, social media usage examples, cultural significance across multiple regions, and a clear argument that the emoji fills a gap that existing characters don’t cover.
Proposals are reviewed by the Emoji Standard & Research Working Group (formerly the Emoji Subcommittee), which passes recommendations to the broader Unicode Technical Committee for final approval. The whole cycle – from proposal to phone keyboard – typically takes two to three years.
Should You Be Excited?
The Emoji 18.0 list is admittedly modest in size – 9 new concepts is on the smaller side compared to some past releases. Critics have noted that many of the candidates already have “older siblings” in the standard: there’s already a butterfly, a net, and various celestial bodies. But that’s the whole point. Specificity matters. The difference between a generic butterfly and a monarch butterfly is the difference between saying “I saw a bird” and “I saw a blue wren.” Nuance is the point.
The Cracking Face, in particular, feels genuinely fresh – a new emotional register that existing face emojis don’t quite capture. And the humble pickle has been a long time coming.
Keep an eye on the draft list between now and September 2026. As history has shown, it’s a living document – and the final roster may yet surprise us.