Major releases of Android might not bring the same sweeping changes that were common years ago, but new emoji is still worth getting excited about (unless you hate fun). Emojipedia has released its traditional emoji changelog for the latest release of Android, and as usual, there's a mix of new emoji and updated styles.

Android 10's updated emoji set was introduced with Beta 3, so most of this information isn't strictly new, but Emojipedia's analysis is far more detailed than Google's own announcement. There are a total of 236 new emoji, consisting of 230 from the Emoji 12.0 standard and six flags from Emoji 1.0. Google has also updated almost 800 existing icons, and around 300 of those tweaks are gender-neutral redesigns.

Most emoji depicting people now use a gender-neutral design by default, though you can still use the man/woman designs by holding down on the emoji (this might vary by keyboard). Before this, emoji would use either the man or woman variants by default, with the behavior being inconsistent. For example, the 👮 Police Officer icon was depicted as a man, while 💇 Person Getting Haircut was a woman. Of course, Google could have saved itself a lot of work here by keeping the pre-Oreo 'blob' emoji, which were already gender-neutral.

Other themes for Android 10's emoji set are accessibility, more options for people holding hands, and more colored shapes. There are icons depicting hearing aids, people in wheelchairs, sign language, mechanical arms, and so on. Google has also added every possible combination of people holding hands. As for shapes, there are 14 new hearts, circles, and squares available in a variety of colors. I've never actually seen anyone use the circle and square emoji, but someone must be happy for those additions.

My favorite additions are always animals, and I'm happy to report that we finally have a sloth emoji! Other new animals include an organtuan, otter, skunk, flamingo, oyster, and a few versions of guide dogs. If you like food emoji, there's now garlic, onions, waffles, falafel, butter, a 'beverage box' (looks like a juice box), maté (a traditional South American drink), and an ice cube.

If you're interested in all of Android 10's changes, you should definitely read Emojipedia's full blog post at the link below. Now we wait for Samsung and LG to ruin all these nice new emoji in their Android 10 updates.

Source: Emojipedia