Unicode 14 launch delayed for six months due to Covid-19

Covid-19 has changed the way the tech industry works. Software updates have been delayed and smartphone launches and developer conferences are being held online as countries are forced into a state of lockdown. Amid the present circumstances, Unicode Consortium has announced that it has delayed the launch of the version 14 of the Unicode Standard by six months.

The unicode that was scheduled to be released in March 2021 will now be released in September 2021.

In addition to delaying the launch of Unicode 14, the organisation has also extended the deadline for submission of new emoji character proposals. Developers can now submit their proposal by September 2020. "The Emoji Subcommittee will be accepting new emoji character proposals for Emoji 14.0 from June 15, 2020 until September 1, 2020. Any new emoji characters incorporated into Emoji 14.0 would appear on phones and other devices in 2022.," the Consortium wrote in a blog post.

"Under the current circumstances we've heard that our contributors have a lot on their plates at the moment and decided it was in the best interests of our volunteers and the organizations that depend on the standard to push out our release date," Mark Davis, President of the Consortium said in a blog post.

The organisation also announced that while it had delayed the launch of Unicode 14, Unicode 13, which includes emojis such as smiling face with tear, ninja, feather and olive among others, will be released on time.

Unicode Standard version 13.0 was announced on March 10, 2020 and it will be available on smartphones in fall 2020.