Today, July 18, marks World Emoji Day. In celebration, Google has announced an expansion of its Emoji Kitchen platform. Initially launched in 2020 on Android devices, Emoji Kitchen allows you to create mash-ups of different emoji characters. Now, Google is integrating this feature into its search engine. But that’s not all. YouTube Shorts will soon get the Emoji Kitchen update too. Keep reading to learn more.
You can now create new emojis on Google Search
Emoji Kitchen is now on Google Search and you can access it from your Chrome browser. Other browsers are also eligible, considering you only need the Google Search engine to activate the Kitchen. You’ll simply search “Emoji Kitchen” and you’ll see a Get Cooking button just below the search bar. Select two emojis you’d like to combine and you’ll instantly see the result.
Tap the Randomise button if you’re feeling adventurous and the Kitchen will automatically combine two emojis for you. You can copy and paste your emojis anywhere. Don’t forget to tell loved ones where it’s from so that they can experiment for themselves. I tried many combinations, from the robot pumpkin to a pig mermaid. It’s amazing how there are no restrictions to what you can merge. If you’re out of ideas, tap Explore to see interesting creations and the combinations that inspired them.
Of course, the Emoji Kitchen feature isn’t new and already exists on the Gboard keyboard. But it has limited combinations. It’s possible Google will bring this expansion to the keyboard, since they added more options earlier in May.
Unicode Consortium to introduce new emojis
Search users are not the only ones enjoying this perk. YouTube Shorts users will soon be able to create custom emojis and make videos more animated. In the preview video, we see someone using head movements to stop randomized emojis and combine them.
The Unicode Consortium, the organization that standardizes emojis has also approved new emojis, and they’ll roll out to various platforms, including Google’s, in the coming days. The Unicode 16.0 update will bring seven new emojis, including Fingerprint, Leafless tree, Harp, Splat, Face with Bags Under Eyes, Shovel, and Root vegetable.
It can take one to two years for an emoji to go from an idea to landing on your keyboard. And once an emoji becomes part of the Unicode Standard, it can’t be removed — which is why there’s such a high benchmark for emoji induction. The Emoji Subcommittee works with experts around the world to identify common ways we express ourselves historically in literature, film, media and pop culture.
New emojis will officially arrive on Android in 2025
From September 2024, you’ll see the new emojis on websites as fonts available in black or white. Google even has its own emoji font already, and it’s called “Noto Emoji”. You can download it for free and use it for your website or personal projects.
By March 2025, expect the new emojis to appear on Android devices and spread across different Google products by then. In the meantime, you can commemorate World Emoji day with wallpapers from the Emoji Workshop or send lots of them to loved ones via text message or social media.
