The draft list for the next round of new emoji was announced today, two days ahead of World Emoji Day on July 17th. Contenders include a melting smiley face, a low battery, a disco ball, and several new hand shapes — like heart hands and index finger pointing at viewer — for courting your sweeties or taunting your enemies.
The release of new emoji was delayed this year because of the pandemic, and proposal submissions were on pause until April. This list won’t be finalized by the Unicode Consortium until September, but in general, most candidates shown in the draft make it through. The final versions should roll out to different devices and platforms starting in late 2021 through 2022.
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