Samsung’s Android 14 update, One UI 6, isfinally widely availableafter a months-long beta period. Phones like last year’s flagship S22 series have started getting the latest software, and many devices that don’t have it yet areexpected to see the update soon. It’s a fairly meaty one, withlots of improvementslike a better first-party weather app, a retooled quick settings panel, and more. Samsung’s also introduced a whole new suite of emojis, replacing the style the company’s been usingsince 2018— an upgrade that I think was long overdue.
The outgoing suite of Samsung emojis, introduced in Android Oreo-based Samsung Experience 9.0 nearly six years ago, featured a relatively distinctive look that was easily identifiable as Samsung’s own. But subjectively, compared to what companies likeGoogle,Microsoft, and evenAppleoffer, I’ve always found Samsung’s emojis off-putting, with designs that made their meanings less easy to understand at a glance and a general look that was… I don’t want to saycreepy, but the smiley emojis' beady black eyes never sat quite right with me.
Left:Emojis in One UI 5.Right:Emojis in One UI 6.
By contrast, Samsung’s new One UI 6 emoji look considerably more modern. Not every emoji has been refreshed for One UI 6, but many of the most commonly used ones are new — the majority of emojis that depict a person or an expression have been updated, as have many animal and food emojis. Lesser used emojis, like ones depicting activities, objects, and most symbols, are the same.
For someone like me who gets excited about even the smallest aesthetic changes that software updates bring, the visual overhaul is great: Samsung’s increasingly dated emojis genuinely made me enjoy older versions of One UI that much less, and the fresh coat of paint here really spruces things up. But more to the point, it’s also good for usability.
Note how different the joy emojis are in the graphic above: in One UI 6, the tears are larger, and rendered in a shade of blue that makes them more visible against the classic emoji yellow. The skull emoji’s another good example: the new version is slightly larger overall, has better contrast, and its defining features — eye sockets and lines that imply teeth — are proportionally bigger. Changes like these make emojis easier to understand at small sizes.
These fresh new Samsung emojis do look a little samey in the greater emoji landscape than the old versions did, with many emojis now sharing similar detail and color to Apple’s set. Losing a sliver of the One UI identity in that way is a little bit of a bummer, but uniformity is kind of the name of the game with emojis: they’re meant to be easily recognizable across different interpretations. One UI 6’s emoji fit that bill, and almost as importantly, they just look a lot better. We’ll have to wait and see how long it takes for Samsung to implement updated designs across the board, but what’s already here in One UI 6 is a great start.
