Emoji 18.0 Rollout Tracker: Which Devices Have the New Emoji?
Emoji 18.0 was approved on 16 September 2026, but approval only means the characters exist. Each company still has to draw them and ship an update. As of our last check on 19 October 2026, 0 of the 5 platforms we follow had shipped them to phones or computers, while 4 of 8 public emoji artwork sets already draw all 19. This page records each step as it happens.
Phones, computers and apps
A platform counts as shipped only when a released update puts the new emoji on its keyboard, confirmed by the vendor or by a hands-on check. Beta builds do not count. The last two columns show how long each platform took to ship the previous version, Emoji 17.0, and the date it would reach if it kept exactly that pace this time.
| Platform | Emoji 18.0 | Emoji 17.0 arrived in | Days after Unicode 17.0 | Same pace for 18.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple (iPhone, iPad, Mac) | Not yet (checked 19 October 2026) | iOS 26.4, 24 March 2026 | 196 days | 31 March 2027 |
| Samsung (One UI) | Not yet (checked 19 October 2026) | One UI 8.5, 25 February 2026 | 169 days | 4 March 2027 |
| Not yet (checked 19 October 2026) | WhatsApp 2.26.8.72, 6 March 2026 | 178 days | 13 March 2027 | |
| Microsoft (Windows 11) | Not yet (checked 19 October 2026) | Windows 11 26H2, 27 August 2026 | 352 days | 3 September 2027 |
| Google PixelPixel 11 uses Google's Noto 3D set, which Emojipedia reported had not received Emoji 18.0 on phones when the designs were published. | Not yet (checked 19 October 2026) | No dated record | ยท | ยท |
Does your device already show them?
Each row is a real Emoji 18.0 character. If your device draws it, you will see a picture; if not, an empty box or a question mark. The check runs in your browser and sends nothing anywhere.
Checking your deviceโฆ
This takes a moment.
| Emoji | Character | On this device |
|---|---|---|
| Any Emoji 18.0 | ๐ซซ ๐ซน ๐ซบ ๐ซ ๐ซ ๐ ๐ช ๐ช ๐ช | not tested yet |
Each new emoji
| Emoji | Character | On this device |
|---|---|---|
| cracking face | ๐ซซ | not tested yet |
| leftwards thumb sign | ๐ซน | not tested yet |
| rightwards thumb sign | ๐ซบ | not tested yet |
| monarch butterfly | ๐ซ | not tested yet |
| pickle | ๐ซ | not tested yet |
| lighthouse | ๐ | not tested yet |
| meteor | ๐ช | not tested yet |
| eraser | ๐ช | not tested yet |
| net with handle | ๐ช | not tested yet |
| Thumb with skin tone | ๐ซน๐ป ๐ซน๐ผ ๐ซน๐ฝ | not tested yet |
Emoji artwork sets: who has drawn them
Before an emoji reaches a phone, its artwork usually appears first in a vendor's published font or image set, which developers and sites like this one use. Our script asks each of these sets for all 19 Emoji 18.0 images on every run, and first confirms each set still serves an old emoji such as ๐, so a broken link can never be reported as 'not drawn yet'.
| Artwork set | Draws | First seen in our checks | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Noto (Google Fonts image CDN) | 19 of 19 | 19 October 2026 | The flat Noto Color Emoji design, which Android apps and Chrome on many systems use. |
| Google Noto 2D (source repository) | 19 of 19 | 19 October 2026 | The same flat set in Google's public source files. |
| Google Noto 3D (source repository) | 19 of 19 | 19 October 2026 | Google's 3D style is drawn, even though Pixel phones do not show it yet. |
| OpenMoji | 19 of 19 | 19 October 2026 | An open-source set used by some apps and websites; it often draws new emoji early. |
| Twemoji (jdecked) | 0 of 19 | not yet | The maintained continuation of Twitter's original set. Its newest release does not include Emoji 18.0 yet. |
| Apple images (emoji-datasource) | 0 of 19 | not yet | The package developers use to show Apple's designs. It follows Apple's own updates with a delay and is still at emoji-datasource-apple@16.0.0. |
| Facebook images (emoji-datasource) | 0 of 19 | not yet | Meta's design as packaged for developers, currently emoji-datasource-facebook@16.0.0. |
| Microsoft Fluent (public repository) | 0 of 19 | not yet | Microsoft's open Fluent files. The public repository has not added anything newer than Emoji 15.0, even though Windows ships newer emoji. |
The nine new emoji
Shown in Google's Noto design, the first to draw them. Tap a name for its full page; copying works now, but the character will show as a box until your device supports it.
A face splitting with cracks, for being emotionally overwhelmed or close to breaking. It replaced 'face with squinting eyes' from the draft list before approval.
A thumb pointing left, for 'over there', 'previous' or a sideways 'meh'. Comes in five skin tones.
Its mirror image, a thumb pointing right, for 'next' or 'this way'. Also in five skin tones.
The orange and black monarch, separate from the generic ๐ฆ butterfly.
A pickled gherkin, distinct from ๐ฅ cucumber, for food, jokes and anything 'in a pickle'.
A lighthouse, for coasts, travel, and guidance or hope.
A meteor streaking through the sky. Not the same as โ๏ธ comet.
A pencil eraser, for undoing, mistakes and school.
A net with a handle, the kind used to catch butterflies or fish.
Why 'released' does not mean 'on your phone'
Unicode only publishes the character codes and a reference sketch. Every company behind an emoji keyboard, from phone makers to messaging apps, then has to design its own picture, add it to a font and push that font out in an update. Until that update reaches you, an Emoji 18.0 character arrives as an empty box, and the two thumbs with a skin tone may show as the box followed by a colour swatch.
How this tracker checks
The artwork table comes from a script that requests every Emoji 18.0 image from each set and records the result with the date. It keeps a history: the 'first seen' date is the first of our checks in which that set drew the emoji, so it can be later than the day a vendor actually published it. The platform table is checked by hand against vendor announcements and release notes, and each row shows when it was last confirmed. Nothing on this page is marked shipped because of a rumour or a beta.
Timeline so far
- Google quietly publishes the Noto Color Emoji font with Emoji 18.0 designs, a day before approval.source
- Unicode 18.0 and Emoji 18.0 are approved: 9 new emoji, 19 code points with skin tones.source
- Google tags the Unicode 18.0 release of its noto-emoji source repository (2D and 3D).source
- Our first automated check: 4 artwork sets draw all 19; no phone or computer ships them.
How fast each company moved last time
Emoji 17.0 was approved on 9 September 2025. Samsung (One UI) was first, 169 days later, and Microsoft (Windows 11) took 352 days. Apple's pattern is the steadiest we have on record: each of the last 5 emoji versions arrived in an iOS '.4' update, between 5 March and 31 March in the year after approval. The 'same pace' column applies each platform's 17.0 delay to 18.0's approval date. It is arithmetic, not a forecast, and no vendor has announced a date.
Sending them before your friends can see them
You can copy and send an Emoji 18.0 character today, and it will survive the trip: the code is stored correctly and will turn into a picture as soon as the reader's device updates. Until then most people will see a box. If you need the message understood now, add a word, or use an older stand-in such as ๐ฅ for the pickle or โ๏ธ for the meteor.
Unicode 18.0: every new characterThe newest emoji, with picturesDraft emoji for future versionsTest every emoji version on your deviceOur log of vendor emoji updates
Emoji 18.0 rollout: questions
When will the new Emoji 18.0 emoji come to iPhone?
Apple has not announced a date. It shipped each of the last 5 emoji versions in a '.4' iOS update in March, about six months after approval, so the same pattern would point to an iOS 27.4 update around March 2027. Treat that as a pattern, not a promise.
Can I get the pickle or lighthouse emoji on Android now?
Not as part of the system keyboard yet. Google has published the artwork in its Noto font and source files, but no Android phone had shipped it when we last checked on 19 October 2026. Some apps that bundle their own emoji may add them sooner.
Why do I see a box instead of the new emoji?
Your device's emoji font does not have a picture for that code yet, so it draws a placeholder box. The character itself is fine. It will display once your phone, computer or app gets an update with Emoji 18.0 support.
How many emoji are in Emoji 18.0?
Nine new emoji. Counting the five skin tones for each of the two sideways thumbs, that is 19 new code points, which is why some sites report 19.
How often is this page updated?
The artwork check is re-run regularly and each run is kept with its date; the most recent was 19 October 2026. Platform rows change only when a vendor ships, and each row shows the date we last confirmed it.