On November 21, 2008, Apple released iPhone OS 2.2 to users in Japan, introducing an emoji keyboard and emoji characters for the first time ever on an iPhone. At the time, the latest iPhone to be released was the iPhone 3G, which launched in June 2008 with iPhone OS 2.
The emoji keyboard in 2008 (left) vs 2018 (right), via Jeremy Burge/Emojipedia
Emojipedia has provided an in-depth look today ...