Pixel 11 ships with Android 17’s new 3D emoji [Gallery]

Unveiled earlier this year, Google is shipping Android 17’s new 3D emoji design on the Pixel 11 series.

Google first showed off its 3D emoji redesign back in May, with the company later explaining why it settled on this design which effectively boils down to adding “dimension” and life to the design. These new designs are built by a team of designers, and are not AI-generated as some assumed may be the case.

In a poll of 9to5Google readers, most liked the new design.

Now, we get to actually experience them.

Google ships its new 3D emoji on the Pixel 11 series. Older Pixel phones, despite being on Android 17, do not yet have the new design, though it should be coming soon.

Notably, the “Emoji Kitchen” has not yet adopted the 3D style, with the huge library of custom stickers likely needing a major update to embrace the new aesthetic.

9to5Google’s Take

Having used these new emoji for a week on my Pixel 11 Pro Fold – review coming soon! – I am pretty mixed in my feelings about the look and feel. The new designs are growing on me, but it also feels a lot like my Pixel stole emoji from an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy device. I was a little surprised by that, but I think it boils down to seeing emoji on their usual small format vs on a bigger blown up screen as we did in Google’s previous marketing and announcements.

The previous styling felt unique, while still fully recognizable, for Pixel. I’m sure it’ll continue to grow on me and feel normal over time – just like when we lost the blobs – but it sure does feel just a little bit weird right now.

More on Pixel 11:

• Pixel 11 Pro Initial Review: Gemini Intelligence is the highlight, not HiLight
• Google Pixel 11 Initial Review: This probably could have been a software update [Video]
• Pixel 11 tidbits: The key details you should know about Google’s latest phones

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