There's the EmojiCompat library that can be used now by apps to support the full set in previous versions of the OS: https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/

There's the EmojiCompat library that can be used now by apps to support the full set in previous versions of the OS: https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/look-and-feel/emoji-compat.html https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/look-and-feel/... So it looks like it's not a "ploy", but an actual technical reason. Baffles me.