The old one was horrible, having to configure each emoji was tiresome.
Discussion
I wouldn’t say horrible. It was fast but only after setup.
I see the benefits of the new one. But I’m getting miss clicks, and the recents are far from the button you have to move your finger far up to select them. And you need to scroll through them to find what you need. Which makes the process slower with every reaction not just after initial setup.
I don’t mind it. I just think the older one was faster.