While millions are being vaccinated, Apple is making a design change to its emoji syringe, swapping an image with drops of blood at the end of the emoji needle for one that looks more like a vaccine.
The redesigned emoji is only available to members of the company’s beta app, but will be available with iOS 14.5. Although new emojis can be more difficult to approve, changing the design of an emoji can determine a similar result on a faster timeline, according to Keith Broni, the deputy emoji officer at Emojipedia, a service that designs and archive usage trends of emojis.
The emoji of the syringe dates from 1999 and was mainly used to illustrate blood donations in Japan. The emoji is often used in discussions about blood donations and even tattoos, said Mr. Broni said.
“If you provide someone with a communication tool, they will use it as they see fit,” he said. Broni said. “We’ve seen how many different emojis take on very different connotations.”
Mr. Broni said he noticed an increase in the use of the emoji late last year, and he saw that the conversations people were having on Twitter while using it threatened to talk about coronavirus vaccines.
Mr. Broni said he expects the change from Apple to be permanent, and that other technology ventures are likely to follow. He said that the emoji that looks like a vaccine injection can be used more easily and that removing the blood will make the emoji smoother and less intimidating.