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Android P DP3 features preview of the controversial new Emojis for 2018
June 11, 2025
We’ve written previously about thenew sets of Emojisslated for release this year. But those of you who are trying out the Android P beta versions and upgraded tothe third developer’s preview todayare the first who get to actually use those Emojis.
Some users might be in for a bit of a surprise.
According tothe official Emojipedia, the latest Android P beta features some gender-neutral Emojis by default, rather than the heteronormative defaults Android currently uses. This is likely to cause some controversy, as these gender-neutral Emojis now supersede the heteronormative ones.
If you’re confused by this, allow me to explain. When you use the word “family” to search for a family Emoji, you usually don’t signify that you want the Emoji that showsa man, a woman, and a boy. You just type “family” and that’s the one that shows up automatically.
However, according to Unicode standards, this is incorrect. The default family Emoji should instead be a gender-neutral display because no signification is given to the specifics of that family. It’s similar to the“thumbs up” Emoji, which defaults to an inhuman yellow color unless you specifically select the thumbs up Emoji that matches your own skin tone.
In the latest Android P beta, this error is rectified, so when you type in things like “family” or “couple,” the gender-neutral will show as default:
To be clear, the heteronormative Emojis are not going anywhere; you will still be able to send an Emoji of a man, a woman, and a boy, or a man and a woman with a heart. It just won’t be the default anymore.
In the Android P DP3 release, only the family and couple Emojis adhere to this rule, but it’s likely Google will adopt a similar strategy for the full release of Android P and institute the rule across all Emojis.
In less controversial news – but still working towards inclusiveness – there are also redhead Emojis added to the Emoji canon. This new hairstyle will join curly hair, white hair, and bald heads in the future.
Finally, the previous changes to certain Emoji also appear in the latest Android P beta, including the pistol’s change from a life-like gun toa water pistol.
If you would like to try Android P DP3, you’ll need a compatible device and the system images, which you canlearn more about here.
NEXT:The 2019 Emoji candidates feature an accessibility theme
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