Slightly off-topic point about that article/the Verge.

Is it just me, or is it in the Verge’s style guide for writers to assert their opinion as if it were one everyone holds. I guess it’s supposed to be light-hearted and funny, but it just seems snarky and pseudo-authoratative.

Here the writer’s tone is “well thank God for that, finally Google has listened to the overwhelming majority of people, for whom this was a big problem.”, and as evidence they link an article which provides none for that point.

The Verge isn't doing its research (as usual): The blob emojis are not going anywhere (it's just the "people" emoji that are being changed). See screenshots at http://www.droid-life.com/2016/04/13/whats-new-in-android-n-... for example.