What you need to know
- Microsoft first announced 3D Emojis to be a part of Windows 11 nearly 2 years ago.
- When Windows 11 launched, the 3D emojis were nowhere to be seen, causing some Windows users to take to social media to air their grievances.
- The 3D emojis have suddenly returned in the latest Windows Insider Preview Build (25905), but only for those on the Canary Channel.
Windows 11 fans rejoice—3D emojis seem to finally be on the cusp of a release nearly 2 years after Microsoft officially announced them. 3D emojis were expected to be a feature of Windows 11 when it launched, but instead, emoji users were greeted with an array of flat, simplified emojis. This kicked off Emojigate as disgruntled users took to social media to voice their disdain for the flat 2D emojis.
Emojigate somehow managed to be a flashpoint that made some question how much consumers opinions matter and if Windows 11 could ever have a unified design especially as 3D emojis were promised for Microsoft Teams and became open source. The release never happened, however, and it is most likely that 3D emojis were just victims of COVID-era delays and set backs much like we saw hit the gaming industry. Microsoft's focus was forced to prioritize other elements of Windows 11 and the emojis were put on the back burner.
All that is in the past, hopefully, as 3D emojis make their way through the necessary Insider process for testing. Right now, only those Windows Insiders users can access the 3D emojis, and even those users are narrowed down to those who have Windows Insider Preview Build (25905) and are a part of the Canary Channel are included. As testing continues, the 3D emojis will gradually be rolled out to more users.
