Samsung One UI 8.5 Emoji Changelog

Samsung’s latest version of its Android firmware, One UI 8.5, has begun rolling out globally. Included in this update is support for Unicode’s latest emoji recommendations, alongside a number of revised emoji designs. Notably, the update also introduces a mismatched design tied to a code point currently listed in the draft for Emoji 18.0.

🆕 New In One UI 8.5

A total of 133 new emojis from Unicode’s official Emoji 17.0 recommendation list make their their Samsung set debut in One UI 8.5.

This number includes the following brand-new concepts:

• 🫪 Distorted Face
• 🫯 Fight Cloud, as seen in cartoons and comic books
• 🧑‍🩰 Ballet Dancer (with five additional skin tone options)
• 🫍 Orca, also known as a "killer whale"
• 🫈 Hairy Creature, inspired by various global "Big Foot"-esque cryptids
• 🪊 Trombone
• 🛘 Landslide
• 🪎 Treasure Chest

In addition to these new concepts, One UI 8.5 introduces expanded support for multi-person skin tone sequences for the existing 🤼 People Wrestling and 👯 People With Bunny Ears emojis.

While Unicode only formally recommended skin tone combinations for 🤼 People Wrestling and 👯 People With Bunny Ears as part of Emoji 17.0, Samsung had already supported single skin tone variants for these emojis as early as 2016 and 2017 respectively.

🔀 Apple Core Emojis Puts Samsung In A Pickle

Alongside the Emoji 17.0 additions, One UI 8.5 also includes an unusual case of mismatched emoji support.

Samsung’s update features an Apple Core design assigned to the Unicode code point U+1FADD. However, this code point is no longer associated with that concept within Unicode documentation.

The Apple Core emoji was provisionally included in early drafts of Emoji 17.0, before being removed from consideration in early 2025.

The same code point was later reassigned to the 🫝 Pickle in the current Emoji 18.0 draft list.

As a result, Samsung devices running One UI 8.5 currently display an Apple Core design where a 🫝 Pickle is expected to be standardized.

What happens next remains to be seen. A recent update to WhatsApp may offer a clue: version 2.26.8.72 briefly included the Apple Core design before it was removed in a subsequent release.

Samsung may follow suit, or it may retain the current design until Emoji 18.0 is finalized, at which time we would expect they'd swap in an apporpriate design for the 🫝 Pickle.

This is not the only example of code point reassignment within the Emoji 18.0 draft. In January 2026, a proposed Face with Squinting Eyes was removed and replaced with a Cracking Face. You can learn more about that change here.

🤔 I had these already?

Although One UI 8.5 marks the first time these new emojis appear in Samsung’s native emoji font, some users may have encountered them earlier.

This is because several Android apps, including keyboards and social platforms, have been able to display newer emojis using Google’s font fallback system. In particular, apps such as Gboard and X have previously shown these characters via Google’s Noto Color Emoji font.

This capability stems from a 2021 update to Android’s AppCompat library, which allows apps using updated compatibility libraries to render newer emojis even if the device’s system font has not yet been updated.

As a result, users on older Samsung devices may have already seen these emojis in certain apps, despite their absence from the system-wide emoji keyboard until now.

🆙 Updated in One UI 8.5

The One UI 8.5 update also introduces a small number of revised emoji designs, many of which bring Samsung’s set closer in line with other major vendors. Several of these changes are highlighted below:

💮 White Flower no longer features the central dotted markings seen in previous Samsung designs.

🍕 Pizza removes its white onion and black olives toppings, aligning more closely with other platforms.

🏦 Bank now displays a large dollar sign above its entrance, replacing earlier text-based signage.

🌀 Cyclone is now depicted as a simple spiral

🚢 Ship has been reoriented to face left, instead of the previous front-facing perspective.

🌚 New Moon Face now more closely resembles 😏 Smirking Face, similar to Google’s design.

A similar change was also made to the 🌝 Full Moon Face.

This update also includes subtle revisions to the designs of 🤼 People Wrestling and 👯 People With Bunny Ears, matching their new skin tone combination options.

View all the changed emoji designs in One UI 8.5 here.

📶 Release

Samsung’s One UI 8.5 was first released on the Galaxy S26 series on February 25, 2026.

The update began rolling out more broadly from March 25, 2026, starting with the Galaxy A37 5G and Galaxy A57 5G.

Further devices expected to receive the One UI 8.5 update include (subject to regional variation and carrier approval):

• Galaxy S25 series
• Galaxy S24 series
• Select Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip models

As with all Samsung firmware updates, rollout timing may differ depending on market and carrier testing requirements.