Technical Term
Unicode Version
The release number of the Unicode Standard that introduced a set of new characters; emoji were first included in Unicode 6.0 (2010).
In-depth Analysis
Unicode releases a new version approximately once per year. Each version may add new emoji alongside other Unicode characters. Key milestones: Unicode 6.0 (2010) introduced the first official emoji set; Unicode 8.0 (2015) added skin tone modifiers; Unicode 13.0 (2020) added gender-inclusive options; Unicode 15.0 (2022) added 31 new emoji; Unicode 16.0 (2024) added new symbols including the Phoenix 🐦🔥. Understanding the Unicode version of an emoji helps predict cross-platform support — newer emojis may show as tofu on older devices.