Gmail to introduce ‘Emoji Reactions’ for expressive email responses: Report

livemint.com:

Gmail app, and with a few adjustments, you can activate and utilize them. A blog post by @AssembleDebug has shed light on this partially functional feature. In this new configuration, an emoji reaction button is integrated into emails, right alongside the traditional reply button.

Initially, it offers a selection of popular emojis such as hearts, party hats, thumbs up, laughter, prayer hands, and smiley faces. Additionally, there is a convenient "+" button at the end, allowing you to choose from a wide range of emojis to react to the email. Once you have selected your emoji, it will be displayed at the bottom of the email.

Furthermore, users are not constrained to providing just one reaction per email. They have the flexibility to include multiple reactions in a single email, though there appears to be a limit of 50 distinct reactions, adds the report from the publication. For the recipient, especially if they are not utilizing Gmail with emoji reactions, your reaction will manifest as a distinct email, prominently showcasing the chosen emoji.

However, for Gmail users, the reaction is seamlessly integrated into the original email, rather than being treated as a separate reply. Reportedly, when you use emoji reactions in Gmail, fellow Gmail users will perceive your reactions as part of the original message's context, whereas recipients outside of the Gmail ecosystem will perceive them as reply emails. Although Google has not provided a specific release date for this feature, its functional presence within the Android app implies that emoji reactions in Gmail are approaching and are likely to be available sooner rather than later.