Android 10 Q is bringing with it lots of new features, like updated gesture navigation and a dark theme, and now another Q feature has been revealed.
Google is adding 53 non-binary emoji to Android Q. They're available to Pixel phones in the Android Q beta this week and will roll out to all Android Q phones later this year, explains a report from Fast Company. Because they're not all compatible with other devices, though, they may appear differently if you send them to other people.
In developing the new emoji, Google worked on different designs to figure out how best to represent emoji that weren't obviously male or female. The company ended up with hair that's parted with some curls and little length. The outfits and changes from existing emoji were tweaked, like giving the vampire a chain instead of a bowtie and having the merperson cross their arms across their chest.
We regularly see new emoji added to the library of characters available, and these new emoji from Google help to give users even more choice to express themselves when chatting. Right now Google is the only company offering non-binary emoji, but the company hopes that now that it's rolling the characters out, other companies will follow. “It’s like we’re all at the pool and it’s like the water is cold. Some people want to go swimming, but we’ll wait for someone to swim first,” said Jennifer Daniel, director of Android emoji. “We just dove in first.”