Google appears to be preparing a visually striking upgrade for Chat, the messaging app within its Workspace ecosystem. A code inspection of the latest Gmail APK has revealed that the company is working on HDR-based emoji support for the platform.

What difference would HDR emojis make?

According to the code review, emojis could be displayed using high dynamic range (HDR) technology on supported devices. That would mean emojis rendered with increased brightness and contrast, appearing noticeably higher in quality on screen.

The feature is referred to directly as "HDR emoji" in the source code. The goal is to push visual quality and readability during conversations to a new level. Emojis are said to be far easier to distinguish, particularly on dark-themed backgrounds or cluttered screens.

The whole library, or just custom emojis?

The new functionality is believed to initially target custom emojis created by users themselves. However, there is also a strong possibility that support could extend to the entire emoji library on devices with HDR-capable hardware.

When Google plans to roll out the change in Chat remains unclear. The timeline from testing to a user-facing release should become clearer in future updates.