Proposed Update UTR #50, Unicode Vertical Text Layout

A Proposed Update of this UTR is now available for public review and comment. The UTR is being reissued with a set of data updated to the character repertoire of Unicode Version 8.0. In this revision, four characters are added to the arrows tailoring set. For details on the proposed changes in the data, please refer to the Modifications section in the UTR.

For information about how to discuss this Public Review Issue and how to supply formal feedback, please see the PRI #309 page.

New Unicode Pages on Emoji

New information about emoji is available on The Unicode Consortium website, including the following:

Emoji Candidates — The comprehensive list of all 67 emoji candidate emoji characters that have been accepted by the UTC (Unicode Technical Committee) as candidates, but are not yet added to the Unicode Standard.

Emoji Resources — External resources with useful information about Emoji.

In addition, the Emoji charts have been refreshed with new emoji images and two reformatted pages from UTR#51. Most of the new images are from Apple's September 2015 releases (OS X 10.11 and iOS 9.0), mainly additional flag emoji.

Emoji Recently Added — the emoji characters mostly recently added to the Unicode Standard.

Emoji ZWJ Sequences — a catalog of emoji zwj sequences that are supported on at least one commonly available platform.

Media Articles on Emoji has also been updated.

The UTC will be meeting the first week of November, and on the agenda will be additional emoji recommendations from the Emoji Subcommittee.

Proposed Update UAX #31, Unicode Identifier and Pattern Syntax

Unicode Standard Annex #31, Unicode Identifier and Pattern Syntax, will be updated for Unicode 9.0. The proposed update is now available for general public review and comment.

A major change in the proposed update is the addition of a new section with recommended syntax for Unicode hashtags, also including emoji characters.

The draft also makes it clearer that XID_Start/Continue properties are preferred over ID_Start/Continue, and modifies the syntax of the definition to customization cleaner, and allow for medial-only characters in identifiers.

EmojiXpress Joins the Unicode Consortium

The Unicode Consortium is pleased to announce that EmojiXpress has joined as a Supporting member. EmojiXpress is one of the most popular iOS Emoji keyboards worldwide, focused on providing the best Emoji and Sticker messaging experience.

EmojiXpress is looking forward to contributing their data and user feedback to Emoji related discussions. By joining the Unicode Consortium, EmojiXpress is demonstrating the importance of supporting the world’s languages on mobile communication devices, and joining other members to craft common solutions.

We look forward to their contributions to Unicode projects, and are grateful for their financial support of the consortium’s work. Supporting members of the consortium have a half vote in all technical committees. See the complete list of members.