How to get the new emojis on Android

You got to use your friend’s smartphone and … surprise: his emojis are more numerous – and more beautiful! – of yours. At your specific request to provide you with explanations on how he obtained them, your friend confided to you that he did not have the faintest idea, and it is precisely for this reason that, well-intentioned to use them in turn, you immediately opened Google in search of a guide who could teach you how to do it.

Well, if this is the way things are, know that you are in the right place, at the right time! In the following bars of this tutorial, in fact, I will explain to you in detail how to get the new emojis on Android without applying complicated procedures and using only the tools available in the Google operating system.

I assure you that, despite what it may seem, it is an extremely simple operation and within everyone’s reach, even for those who, like you, do not “chew” technology so well. So, without hesitating a second longer, make yourself comfortable and carefully read everything I have to explain to you on the subject: you’ll see, it’s much easier said than done! I wish you a good read.

Index

  • How to get the new emojis on Android: update the operating system
  • How to get the new emojis on Android: update keyboard and messaging app
  • Other ways to get new emojis on Android

How to get the new emojis on Android: update the operating system

The fundamental requirement to be able to have the new emojis on Android is to update the operating system to the latest version possible.

The reason is obvious: when the Unicode Consortium, the non-profit organization that deals at the forefront of the development of emojis, releases new ones, it is essential that the operating systems that use these graphic symbols are updated, in order to correctly associate the character sequences with the expected drawings.

The simplest way to update Android is to take advantage of OTA (over-the-air) updates, i.e. the official ones distributed by manufacturers via the Internet and can be safely installed directly from your smartphone or tablet.

To check the availability of OTA updates for your phone/tablet, tap on the gear symbol located on the Home screen or in the Android drawer, in order to open the operating system settings. Then reach the System> Advanced> Updates menu and wait for the automatic search for available OTA updates to be completed.

If there are updates available, Android will notify you via a specific message: if this happens, tap the button to download the update, wait for the download to finish and choose whether to install the update immediately, or whether to apply it in the night when the device will presumably be inactive.

Since the versions of Android can be very different from each other, the options you see on your screen may not be the same as those I mentioned earlier.

For example, if you use a Xiaomi branded device, you must go to the Settings> System info menu, press the button indicating the MIUI version and, once the search is done, touch the Download update button, in order to obtain any available updates; on Samsung, however, the path to follow is Settings> Software updates> Download and install.

In all cases, once the download is complete, you can choose whether to install the update immediately or overnight, by pressing the dedicated button.

If the automatic search fails to identify available updates, I recommend that you search Google for news on the support status of the smartphone/tablet in your possession, in order to know in advance if the manufacturer of the same intends to release new updates, or no.

If your device is still supported by the manufacturer, all you have to do is wait for the availability of a software update, through which the new emojis will be introduced, in all likelihood.

If, on the other hand, your manufacturer has discontinued support for your device, it is no longer possible to use OTA updates, but it is necessary to proceed with the installation of a custom ROM based on the latest version of Android: this procedure, however, it is not without risks, as it completely invalidates the warranty of the device, resets the contents of the memory but, above all, could lead to the complete breakdown of the smartphone or tablet.

In any case, if you are interested in learning more about how to update Android and the radical change of operating system, I suggest you to read my tutorials on how to update Android easily and how to change the operating system on Android, full of useful information concerning the issues in question.

How to get the new emojis on Android: update keyboard and messaging app

Another operation to be carried out in order to have the new emojis released by the Unicode consortium is to always keep the keyboard used to type text on Android updated, together with the messaging apps that make use of special “doodles”.

By default, Google’s operating system automatically downloads and installs app updates (including keyboard) as soon as they are available and when the device is connected to a Wi-Fi network.

However, you can download and apply any updates available also by hand: to do this, open the Play Store, tap on your avatar located at the top right and touch the Settings item, from the menu that appears at the top.

Now, tap on the item My apps and games and then on the Update all button, to download the updates available for all the apps installed on the device; if, on the other hand, you are interested in downloading only those dedicated to the keyboard and messaging apps, locate the respective names (eg Google / Gboard keyboardSwiftKeyWhatsApp and so on) in the list below the wording To update and tap the button Update, placed in correspondence of each of the apps of your interest.

Alternatively, you can simply search for the app to be updated in the store of your device and press, if present, the Update button next to it (if you only see the “Open” button, it means that the app is already updated to the latest version available).

For completeness of information, I remind you that you can activate automatic updates for apps (if you have deactivated them), so that you no longer have to worry about retrieving them manually, as I indicate below: after opening the Play Store, tap on your avatar located at the top right, select the Settings item from the menu that appears and expand the General section, by tapping on its name.

Now, tap on the Automatic app update item and indicate when you prefer to download the updates, placing the check mark next to the option you prefer: only via Wi-Fi, to download and install updates only when you are connected to a wireless network, or On any network, to get updates even if you are connected to the mobile network. Be careful, though: some updates can be very large in terms of data to download!

How do you say? Have you carried out all the steps I have indicated to you in detail and the new “smilies” are available within the apps, but do not appear on the keyboard? Then you may have unintentionally disabled the display of the buttons dedicated to emojis.

Solving the problem is really simple: all you have to do is enter the Android keyboard settings, by tapping on the appropriate button, and then go to the menu dedicated to preferences and intervene on the options dedicated to emojis. Unfortunately, it is not possible for me to identify the exact sequence of operations for your case, as each keyboard has a different procedure.

For example, if you are using the Gboard typing app (which is Google’s default), proceed as follows: open any of the apps with which you can enter text, call up the Android keyboard and tap on the shape symbol d ‘ gear at the top visible, to access its settings.

Now, tap on the Preferences item and move the lever corresponding to the Show key item to change emoji from OFF to ON, so as to make the button visible to access the list of available emojis (in the shape of a smile and generally located at the bottom left).

In the same way, if you deem it appropriate, change the remaining options dedicated to graphic symbols: the lever Show emoji in the symbols keyboard allows you to view the recently used ones also in the suggestions bar of the symbols keyboard; the Emoji stickers lever allows you to add a list of “stickers” (ie larger emojis) to the emoji keyboard; and the Emoji Quick Access Bar toggle, on the other hand, displays the most used emojis at the top of the keyboard.

Other ways to get new emojis on Android

In addition to the tricks I have given you so far, there are also other ways to have emojis – or rather, symbols, drawings and animations, even outside those distributed by the Unicode Consortium – always new and original.

For example, you can make the emojis displayed on your Android device resemble those of the iPhone, by following the tips I gave you in my guide on how to have iPhone emojis on Android.

Still, on the subject, there are “clever” but simple methods to create and use Memoji and Animoji of the iPhone (respectively, the static drawings and animations depicting one’s person, characteristic of iOS / iPadOS) also on the Google operating system:  I talked about it in my tutorials on how to create Memoji on Android and how to make Animoji on Android.

In any case, please avoid third-party keyboards made by semi-unknown software houses: they could record everything you type on Android, including passwords and credit card data. Then don’t tell me I didn’t warn you!

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *