In case you’ve not been keeping up with the latest news in tech, Google recently released the second developer preview of Android O. There are some noticeable changes in this release compared to the last one. Mostly, these are visual changes and one of them happens to be emoji. For years now, the stock Android’s emoji set has retained a blob-like appearance which rather resembles the Android mascot. Android O will, when it officially releases, bring a new set of emoji instead that you’ll actually recognize. The new emoji are the ones used on almost all popular messaging services. If you were not a fan of stock Android’s emoji, you can actually install Android O emoji right now.
That is, if you have an Android device running Android 5.0 Lollipop and above, which also has a custom recovery installed at least or has been rooted with Magisk. Below you can see the difference between the new set of emoji and the old ones that carried on until the first developer preview of Android O.
Other than the emoji, the quick settings panel and icon colors have been changed too. The new release also brings some more features such as notification dots and a redesigned app shortcuts menu which now also houses the option to choose widgets. If you have a Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 6P or a Nexus 5X you can get the Android O Developer Preview 2 right now. But if you don’t have any of those devices, you’ll probably have to settle with installing the Android O emoji for now.
Downloads
- Magisk Module – Magisk-AndroidO-NotoColorEmojiReplacer.zip
- Flashable Zip – Flashable-AndroidO-NotoColorEmojiReplacer.zip
Requirements
- Magisk 11.6 or higher
- Custom recovery such as TWRP recovery
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Install Android O Emoji on any Android device
Even if you have Magisk installed, you can choose the normal flashable zip. But it is recommended that you download the Magisk version since it is a systemless mod. Meaning it won’t trip the safety net and is also slightly safer than the traditional flashable zip. Also, the flashable zip will modify your system’s font so there is a slight risk involved. You might want to create a backup of your system partition first.
- To install the new emoji, download one of the zips above.
- Boot your device into recovery mode.
- In the TWRP menu, select Backup if you’re flashing the normal zip and then select the system partition. Swipe right to initiate the backup process.
- Select Install in the TWRP main menu and browse to the downloaded zip file.
- Select it and then swipe right to flash the zip. Both the Magisk module zip and the normal flashable zip can be installed like this.
- Once the installation is complete, tap Reboot System.
Your device should reboot now and you are now ready to send some Android O emoji to your friends.
Source: XDA
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