Windows 11 will be updated this week to include Microsoft’s Fluent-style emojis. Several major bug fixes have been included in the latest update for the operating system, which also contains the new emoji that Microsoft teased earlier this year.
Despite the fact that it’s a whole new design, Microsoft resolved to go with 2D instead of the 3D style it had originally announced.
Among the new Windows 11 emoji is the reintroduction of Microsoft’s Clippy character, which Microsoft has replaced the regular paperclip. Although the emoji has undergone a change, it still lacks 3D effects.
According to Microsoft’s design blog, a modest update from July explained that the new emoji style is only available in Windows 11 and that it is a 2D representation. Microsoft says the still has a variety of emojis [sic] available for its users. This same blog post continues to emphasise that Microsoft “opted for 3D designs over 2D and chose to animate the majority of our emoji.”
As far as Microsoft’s 3D emojis are concerned, there’s no guarantee they’ll be seen in Windows 11. Because of technical constraints in Microsoft’s colour font format, which the company uses to display emoji within Windows, the lack of 3D could be attributed to this.
When it comes to rendering its emoji, Apple employs bitmaps, whereas Microsoft uses a vector format, which is significantly more scalable and provides file size advantages if the emoji are flatter.
The Fluent emoji will likely emerge in 3D and animated versions in apps such as Microsoft Teams, but if you want the new emoji on Windows, you’ll need to upgrade to Windows 11 in order to use them. Windows 10 won’t be getting this new emoji, as Microsoft has made that abundantly plain.
