Emojis have become an essential way for people to express themselves online. Whether you’re texting a friend or commenting on social media, emojis allow you to communicate tone and emotion in a simple, visual way. While many devices come with a default emoji keyboard, getting an emoji keyboard on all your devices can take a bit of work. Here’s a look at why you may want an emoji keyboard and how to easily get emojis on all your devices.
Why Use an Emoji Keyboard?
Here are some of the key reasons why people love using emojis and want an emoji keyboard on all their devices:
- Emojis help convey tone and emotion – Rather than writing out how you feel, you can just insert a quick emoji to share your exact sentiment.
- Emojis can enhance or add meaning to text – Sprinkling some emojis throughout your messages can help clarify the meaning or just make the text more fun and engaging.
- Emojis allow for visual communication – Sometimes getting your point across is easier with a visual cue like an emoji rather than trying to describe something in words.
- Emojis are universal – People from different cultures and who speak different languages can all understand the meaning behind common emoji symbols.
- Emojis humanize digital communication – Inserting emojis into digital messages helps add back some of the personality and nuance that can get lost in text-based communication.
Having an emoji keyboard makes accessing this useful visual communication system quick and easy on any device. Rather than copy-pasting emojis from other sources, an emoji keyboard puts all the most popular icons right at your fingertips wherever you’re typing.
How to Get Emoji Keyboard on iPhone
If you have an iPhone, you’re in luck – the iPhone comes with a built-in emoji keyboard as part of its default keyboard. Here’s how to access and use the emoji keyboard on your iPhone:
- Go into any app where you can send messages or text (Messages, Notes, Mail, etc).
- Tap the text field to bring up the keyboard.
- On the lower left corner of the keyboard, tap the emoji icon (a gray smiley face).
- The emoji keyboard will open up, allowing you to select from a variety of emoji categories.
- Tap an emoji to insert it into your text.
- You can toggle back and forth between the text keyboard and emoji keyboard by tapping the icon in the lower left.
The iPhone emoji keyboard gives you access to all the default emoji options, arranged in different categories. You can tap through the various tabs to find the perfect emoji to use. Certain emoji will dynamically change based on the skin tone you select for them.
If you want even more emoji options, you can enable the emoji keyboard to allow long-pressing on some icons to reveal additional variants and related emojis. To turn this on:
- Go to Settings > General > Keyboard.
- Under KEYBOARD, turn on “Show Emoji and Symbols tabs.”
- Now when using the emoji keyboard, long press on certain icons to reveal more options.
This makes the iPhone emoji keyboard even more robust and customizable to access emoji variations you want.
How to Get Emoji Keyboard on Android
Unlike iPhone, Android devices do not automatically come with an emoji keyboard. However, it’s easy to download and install an emoji keyboard app to get emoji capabilities.
Here are some top options:
| Emoji Keyboard App | Features |
|---|---|
| Google Gboard | Integrated emoji search, GIF support, Glide typing |
| SwiftKey Keyboard | Powerful autocorrect, multilingual support, theme customization |
| Bitmoji | Animated emojis featuring your avatar, abundant sticker options |
| Fleksy | Fun themes, fast typing, extensions and plugins |
To install one of these emoji keyboard apps:
- Open the Google Play Store app on your Android device.
- Search for the emoji keyboard app you want to use.
- Tap Install next to the app icon.
- The app will download and install. You may need to accept certain permissions.
- Once installed, you can enable the app as your default keyboard.
- Now when you tap a text field, your emoji keyboard will open up automatically!
Take some time to explore all the fun emoji options on your new emoji keyboard. Different keyboards have different emoji designs, categories, and ways to access them, so customize it to fit your preferences.
How to Get Emoji Keyboard on Windows
Windows 10 and 11 do not come with an emoji keyboard by default. But you have a couple options for getting an emoji keyboard on your Windows desktop or laptop computer.
Install an Emoji App
You can download free emoji apps that function like an emoji keyboard for Windows. Here are top picks:
- Win + Period Shortcut – Windows has a built-in emoji panel that you can access by pressing the Windows key + Period key. It opens a panel with some basic emoji you can select and insert.
- Touchify – This app gives you a full customizable emoji keyboard you can access from any app.
- Swype + Dragon Emoji – Integrates an emoji keyboard with the popular Swype typing app.
Install the emoji app, then look for it in your Start menu or system tray to configure the keyboard or access and select emojis.
Enable On-Screen Keyboard
The Windows 10 and 11 on-screen touch keyboard includes an emoji tab you can use. To enable:
- Go to Settings > Devices > Typing.
- Under Touch Keyboard, turn on “Use the touch keyboard when not in tablet mode” and “Show the touch keyboard when there’s no keyboard attached.”
- Now click in any text field and the on-screen keyboard will pop up.
- Tap the Emoji button to the left of the spacebar.
- Select emojis to insert them into your text.
This gives you access to the Microsoft emoji library without needing to install anything additional. The on-screen keyboard only shows up when you’re in a text field and goes away when not in use.
How to Get Emoji Keyboard on Mac
MacOS comes equipped with emoji support and an emoji keyboard out of the box. Here’s how to use it:
- Click into any text field to bring up the keyboard.
- Press the Control + Command + Space keys together. This will open the Mac Character Viewer panel.
- In the panel, click the emoji category you want.
- Double click an emoji in the panel to insert it where you have text selected.
You can also enable the emoji keyboard directly by going to System Preferences > Keyboard > Input Sources. Click + and add “Emoji” as an input source. Then you can switch your keyboard to emoji input whenever you want.
MacOS lets you skin tone variations for human emojis. To adjust skin tone:
- Select the human emoji on the emoji panel.
- Click and hold the emoji.
- Drag to change the skin tone variant.
- Release to insert the color emoji you want.
The Mac emoji keyboard gives you quick access to hundreds of great emoji to enhance all your communications.
Third-Party Emoji Apps and Keyboards
In addition to the default emoji options on your devices, you can further expand your emoji capabilities with third-party emoji apps and keyboards.
Here are some top options to consider:
- Emoji> – Gives you thousands of unique emoji not available in standard sets.
- JoyPixels – Features diverse range of emoji with inclusive skin tones.
- Bitmoji – Use your customized avatar emoji in tons of stickers and GIFs.
- Swifkey – Offers emoji prediction and replace-as-you-type capabilities.
- GIPHY – Search and share GIFs, stickers, and artists emojis.
These apps generally function via clipboards or keyboards, allowing you to easily access and insert the emojis into messaging and social apps. Explore different emoji ecosystems to see which unique designs appeal most to your personal style.
Conclusion
Emojis are a fun and engaging way to communicate visually on any device. While emoji capabilities vary across operating systems, there are options to enable emoji keyboards or input on any smartphone, tablet, computer or other internet-connected device. Look to the native emoji keyboard on devices like iPhone and Mac. For other systems, download a trusted emoji keyboard app for easy access. With the right tools, you can efficiently insert emojis anywhere you’re typing to enhance your texts, messages, emails, and online posts.