Unicode Emoji Version History (1993–2026)

Unicode 18.0 (September 16, 2026) is the newest emoji release: 9 new codepoints rolling out to devices through 2027 — 🫫 cracking face, 🫹 leftward and 🫺 rightward thumb signs, 🫌 monarch butterfly, 🫝 pickle, 🛙 lighthouse, 🪋 meteor, 🪌 eraser, and 🪍 net with handle.

Unicode 17.0 (September 2025) introduced 🫪 distorted face, 🫯 fight cloud, 🫈 hairy creature, 🫍 orca, 🛘 landslide, 🪊 trombone, and 🪎 treasure chest — with 🧑‍🩰 ballet dancer added as a new sequence.

Unicode 16.0 (September 2024) added 🫩 face with bags under eyes, 🫆 fingerprint, 🪾 leafless tree, 🫜 root vegetable, 🪉 harp, 🪏 shovel, and 🫟 splatter — plus 🇨🇷 Flag: Sark as a new sequence.

Unicode 15.1 (September 2023) added no new codepoints but shipped 118 new sequences — the first directional people emoji (🚶‍➡️), plus 🐦‍🔥 phoenix, 🍋‍🟩 lime, 🍄‍🟫 brown mushroom, ⛓️‍💥 broken chain, and new family combinations such as 🧑‍🧑‍🧒.

Unicode 15.0 (September 2022) added 20 new codepoints — 🫨 shaking face, the 🩷🩵🩶 heart trio, 🫎 moose, 🫏 donkey, 🪿 goose, 🪼 jellyfish, and 🫚 ginger root — plus 🐦‍⬛ black bird as a new sequence.

Unicode 14.0 (September 2021) introduced 37 emoji for new emotions and gestures — \u{1FAE0} melting face, \u{1F979} face holding back tears, \u{1FAF6} heart hands, \u{1FAF5} pointing at you — plus \u{1FAC3} pregnant man and \u{1FAB7} lotus.

Unicode 13.0 (March 2020) added 55 new emoji — \u{1F978} disguised face, \u{1F977} ninja, \u{1FAC2} people hugging, \u{1FAC0} anatomical heart, \u{1F9CB} bubble tea, \u{1FAB4} potted plant, and \u{1F6FB} pickup truck — the biggest single batch since 2016.

Unicode 12.0 (March 2019) expanded accessibility and expression with \u{1F9CF}\uFE0F deaf person, \u{1F9BD} manual wheelchair, \u{1F9BC} motorized wheelchair, \u{1F971} yawning face, \u{1F90D} white heart, \u{1FA90} ringed planet, and the \u{1F7E0}–\u{1F7EB} colored shape family.

Unicode 11.0 (June 2018) added 66 emoji — 🥵 hot face, 🥺 pleading face, 🦞 lobster, 🦘 kangaroo, 🦜 parrot, 🥭 mango, 🧭 compass, 🧩 puzzle piece, plus hair components 🦰🦱🦳🦲 for custom avatars.

Unicode 10.0 (June 2017) delivered 🤩 star-struck, 🤯 exploding head, 🧠 brain, the gender-neutral 🧑 person, the fantasy crew 🧙🧚🧛🧜🧝🧞🧟, 🦖 T-Rex, and winter gear 🧣🧤🧥🧦.

Unicode 9.0 (June 2016) added 72 emoji including 🤣 rolling on the floor laughing, 🤠 cowboy, 🤡 clown, 🤦️ facepalming, 🤷️ shrugging, food favorites 🥑 🥓 🥞, and 🥇🥈🥉 medals.

Unicode 8.0 (June 2015) introduced the five Fitzpatrick skin-tone modifiers — the update that made emoji inclusive — alongside 🙃 upside-down face, 🤖 robot, 🦄 unicorn, 🦁 lion, 🌭 hot dog, and 🌮 taco.

Unicode 7.0 (June 2014) shipped more than 100 new emoji — 🙂🙁 faces, 🖖️ vulcan salute, 🕵️ detective, 🏌️ golfer, the 🌦️🌧️🌨️🌪️🌫️🌬️ weather family, 🏎️ racing car, 🖨️ printer, and 🏴 black flag.

Unicode 6.1 (January 2012) was a focused facial update — 13 new faces including 😀 grinning, 😗😙😛 kissing and tongue faces, 😴 sleeping, 😬 grimacing, and 😕😟😮😯😦😧 expressions.

Unicode 6.0 (October 2010) was the first Unicode release built around emoji — 700+ new pictographs defined the modern keyboard with the classic faces 😃😂😍, 💯, ❤️, 💩, and 🍕.

Unicode 5.2 (October 2009) pulled Japanese broadcast and travel symbols into the emoji pipeline — ⛪ church, ⛩️ shrine, ⛽ fuel pump, ⛵ sailboat, ⛷️ skier, ⛅ sun behind cloud, ⛔ no entry, ❗ red exclamation, and 🅿️ parking.

Unicode 5.1 (April 2008) delivered four keyboard staples: ⭐️ star, 🀄 mahjong red dragon, and the ⬛⬜ large square pair used as status and layout glyphs.

Unicode 5.0 (October 2006) added no new emoji codepoints — the emoji timeline pauses here between Unicode 4.1 (2004) and Unicode 5.1 (2008).

Unicode 4.1 (2004) contributed symbols such as ☘️ shamrock, ⚓️ anchor, ⚔️ crossed swords, ⚙️ gear, ⚖️ balance scale, ⚰️ coffin, ♿ wheelchair, ⚛️ atom, ⚕️ medical, ⚧️ transgender, ♾️ infinity, and ⚫️⚪️ circles.

Unicode 4.0 (April 2003) contributed everyday pictographs that still anchor keyboards: ☕ hot beverage, ⚡️ high voltage, ⚠️ warning, the ⬆️⬇️⬅️ arrow trio, and ⏏️ eject.

Unicode 3.2 (March 2002) added the curved arrows ⤴️ ⤵️, the ♻️ recycling symbol, part-alternation mark 〽️, and the ◼️◻️◾◽ square family later promoted to emoji status.

Unicode 3.1 (June 2001) introduced the Tag characters used to encode geographic subdivisions inside flags — the mechanism behind \u{1F3F4}\u{E0067}\u{E0062}\u{E0065}\u{E006E}\u{E0067}\u{E007F} England, Scotland, and Wales — without adding any standalone emoji codepoints.

Unicode 3.0 (September 1999) added the keycap family — #️⃣ *️⃣ 0️⃣–9️⃣ — plus ℹ️ information and ⁉️ exclamation-question mark, the numeric building blocks every emoji keyboard still leads with.

Unicode 1.1 (June 1993) pre-dated modern emoji keyboards by nearly two decades, yet seeded the set with enduring symbols — ☺️ ☹️ smileys, ❤️ heart, ✌️ victory, ✍️ writing hand, ♨️ hot springs, ✈️ airplane, the ☀️☁️☂️❄️☃️☄️ weather family, ♠️♥️♦️♣️ card suits, and the ♟️ chess pawn.