How Good are the New Android 17 3D Emoji?

Yesterday, Google announced so many new changes and features coming to Android in the near future that we’re still trying to process it all. One of the easier changes to absorb has to be the new 3D emoji that are coming with Android 17. We pointed these out in our massive change list post, but figured we’d get more thoughts in here today.

In the shortest of blog posts, Google explained emoji are so frequently used, that people respond to their own boss with little imagery instead of words. I actually don’t know how common that is, but the idea is that emoji are used now more than ever and changing them frequently is an investment worth making to keep things fresh and alive in our conversations.

Google mentioned the old and beloved blob emoji that they retired in 2017 before getting into these new Android 17 3D emoji. The days of fully flattened emoji are gone in Android it seems, and the time for digital physicality is here.

Below, we have the transition from old emoji to the new, so let’s see if you can spot all of the subtle differences in many.

And if you couldn’t, here is a side-by-side of old vs. new 3D emoji. So many don’t look that different, outside of an edge or shadow that gives them the difference in presence. I think I prefer the previous cat and fireworks.

Got any favorites? Love them or hate them?