Windows 11 Now Supports Emoji 17.0
Microsoft has begun rolling out Emoji 17.0 support to select users via a Windows 11 Release Preview update. Available now in select regions, the update previews features coming to Windows 11 version 26H2, with a full global rollout expected later this year.
Microsoft has begun rolling out support for 2025's Emoji 17.0 recommendations as part of a servicing update ahead of the formal release of Windows 11, version 26H2.
The update was released yesterday alongside the announcement of Windows 11, version 26H2, and made available via the Release Preview Channel.
It is now available for select Windows 11 users in select regions, with global rollout continuing over the coming weeks and months, expected to culminate in the official release of Windows 11 26H2 later this year.
As shown above, a total of 163 emojis have been added to the Fluent emoji design set. Of these, 13 represent new emoji concepts, while the remaining 150 are skin tone sequences for the existing 🤼 People Wrestling and 👯 People With Bunny Ears emojis. The completely new emoji concepts are as follows:
- Distorted Face
- Fight Cloud, as seen in cartoons and comic books
- 🧑🩰 Ballet Dancer (with full skin tone support)
- Orca, also known as a "killer whale"
- Hairy Creature, inspired by various global "Big Foot"-esque cryptids
- Trombone
- Landslide, represented as a series of rocks falling down a cliff
- Treasure Chest
Each of the new emojis featured in today's update were recommended in September 2025's Emoji 17.0 list.
The animated 3D Fluent designs for these emojis were initially previewed by Microsoft on World Emoji Day this year:
What about the 2D set?
As shown above, the 2D Fluent emoji set was also updated in this release.
However, as discussed in our coverage of Windows 11's last emoji update in 2025, the rich 3D version of the Fluent design set has firmly established itself as the default experience across Windows 11, powering the vast majority of applications, web browsers, and Microsoft 365 apps.
This shift was driven by the widespread adoption of Microsoft’s COLRv1 color font format.
This dominance was further expanded in this recent update, with the 3D designs beginning to render in even further instances where the 2D designs would have previously rendered (e.g. browser tab text).
When the Fluent set first made its debut within Windows devices in late 2021, the 3D incarnation was only available on select platforms like Microsoft Teams, with most applications defaulting to a 2D rendering instead. You can learn more about this here.
⏯️ Changed
Various designs have been updated in this release, with many of the changes made in the name of greater design convergence with other vendors (particularly Apple).
🫡 Saluting Face is no longer smiling, instead spouting a neutral straight mouth.
🫣 Face with Peeking Eye no longer has its mouth open, instead also showing a neutral straight mouth.
🤒 Face with Thermometer has had its eyebrows relaxed compared to their previous worried, downturned angle.
😽 Kissing Cat no longer has a heart beside its kissing lips, though rosy pink blush marks were added to its cheeks.
🤏 Pinching Hand now faces left instead of right.
🪿 Goose is now fully white.
🦪 Oyster now has its shell opening from the top, with the pearl's size reduced.
🪷 Lotus has had its green lily pad removed and is now shown from a side angle.
🍋🟩 Lime now points to the lower right.
🧁 Cupcake's icing color has changed from bright pink to a pale cream tone.
🛞 Wheel now shows a modern tire instead of a wooden wheel.
🪮 Hair Pick is now facing downward to the left.
🎺 Trumpet is also now facing downward to the left.
🔦 Flashlight, too, is now facing downward to the left.
💻 Release
This update to Windows 11 26H2 is now available as a free update for select Windows 11 users in select regions, with global rollout continuing over the next few weeks and months.
Those using Windows Insider builds would have already received Emoji 17.0 support at various stages over the past few years, varying based on their Windows Insider channel settings. The set was first made available via Windows 11 Insider Experimental Preview Build 26340.9212 on August 17 2026.