Android devices, iPhones, iPads, and many websites might have the latest emoji, but Windows 11 still hasn’t caught up. Thankfully, that might finally change soon, as Microsoft is once again testing Emoji 16.0 support.
The Unicode 16 standard was released in September 2024, which also included an updated list of cross-platform emoji, known as Emoji 16.0. The update added emoji for Fingerprint, Leafless Tree, Root Vegetable (resembling a radish), Harp, Shovel, and Splatter. It also includes “Face with Bags Under Eyes,” which perfectly represents how I’m feeling so far about 2026.
Back in September 2025, Microsoft was testing Emoji 16.0 support in the Windows 11 Release Preview Channel, but the change was later put on hold for “a future update.” Several months later, Emoji 16.0 has returned in the Beta Channel and Dev Channel.
Microsoft announced in a blog post today, “We’re starting to roll Emoji 16.0 back to Insiders. The Emoji 16.0 release introduces a small but thoughtfully curated set of new emojis—one from each major category—designed to resonate across cultures and contexts. With this build, you will see these new emoji available in the emoji panel.”
Many applications and websites use their own emoji icon set, so if you were sent a shovel or splatter emoji on your PC and it worked, that was probably the reason. With this update, all software on Windows 11 can display the new emoji, so you won’t see any missing icons or other errors.
Apple already added the new emoji to its platforms in March 2025, with the release of iOS 18.4/iPadOS 18.4 and macOS Sequoia 15.4. Android 16 includes the new emoji, and apps using the EmojiCompat library can use them on older devices. Microsoft is taking a much longer time to bring the same update to Windows 11 PCs.
The preview updates also include a new settings panel for cameras. If your connected camera supports zoom levels, panning, tilting, brightness controls, or other options, they can now appear in the Windows Settings app. This only works with “supported cameras”—the screenshot from the blog post mentioned the Logitech BRIO webcam.
Microsoft is also improving the “visual experience and performance for several scenarios,” including the bottom of the screen when the taskbar is set to automatically hide, desktop icons unexpectedly flashing, and the Windows Security prompt appearing.
These changes should roll out to the stable version of Windows 11 once any bugs are fixed. The Emoji were already reverted once, so hopefully they don’t need much more time in the metaphorical oven.
