No specific key assigned for Emoji on iPhone keyboard

Good day folks,

I am a new iPhone user. My main phone is an Android (Huawei), and now I am given a 6 Plus as a secondary. Having been using Android for a while, there are a few things that bugs me when I start using iOS. Let’s talk about the keyboard.

As mentioned on the title, I find it a bit inconvenient that there is no specific key/button dedicated for emoji. On an Android, users can assign the key on the left of the spacebar to access the emoji, while swiping the spacebar itself to change between the first language and English. This brings ease to us, as we can quickly and exactly get what we want in just 1 motion.

On an iPhone keyboard, however, the users have to either tap or HOLD the globe button to which between languages. As emoji being considered as one of the language, it gets in my way when I only need to change swiftly between my language and English. Holding the button might help me choose the right thing, but it takes a lot more time.

Is this still an iOS thing? Or has there been any update that could help us breathe a bit more easily?

Thank you!