Why is EmojiCompat only available on Android 19+?

Question

While many of the new support library 26 features are Android 14+, the EmojiCompat is only available on Android 19+. Does anyone know why (technically)?

It seems that EmojiCompat uses a downloadable fonts (which are available on 14+).

https://developer.android.com/preview/features/emoji-compat.html

Answer 1

Support for multicolor fonts (necessary for colored Emoji) was only added in Android 4.4 (API 19). EmojiCompat doesn't change the way Emoji are rendered. It merely provides the OS with a font containing Emoji images not shipped with the platform.