Android may de-couple emoji from system updates

[Ink]

Content source

https://9to5google.com/2020/11/24/android-emoji-update-decouple-commits/

Nowadays, emoji are essentially a part of our normal language. That’s why it’s frustrating that, as it stands today, Android requires a full system update to add new emoji, leaving some devices hopelessly out of date. Soon, though, that may change.

As noted by the folks over at XDA, some unmerged commits to AOSP strongly hint that Google is preparing to allow emoji to be added to Android without the need for a full system update.

Apparently, Google will be allowing “system_server” to modify font files that opens up the ability to modify emoji without requiring a full system update. Right now, it remains unclear just how flexible this will be. It would be great to be able to swap out emoji packs just as easily as third-party launchers can swap icons on your homescreen (#bringbacktheblobs), but it also feels somewhat unlikely that Google will allow any app to do this on a whim. It’s much more likely that only system apps (such as Play Services) will be able to alter emoji.