![]() Image: Vendor designs / Emojipedia composites. ![]() Above: Cross-platform comparison of □ Face with Medical Mask prior to Apple's iOS 14.2 beta release. WhatsApp uses neutral eyes on this emoji, which might be the safest option of all. □ Face with Medical Mask was added to Samsung phones in 2013, and looked like (L) at the time and now looks like (R) /pRuZktZM6Z- Emojipedia March 16, 2020Ī number of these designs changed over time, and today most platforms use a fairly consistent design where the only facial feature is closed or downward-facing eyes.Īn exception has been WhatsApp which uses its own emoji designs on Android and the web. □ Face with Medical Mask was added to Android in 2012 /728CPFxV0U- Emojipedia March 16, 2020 Other companies like Google and Samsung included a bead of sweat on their masked emojis, driving home the point that this emoji is sick. □ Face with Medical Mask was added to iPhone OS in 2008 /AgloaYUB38- Emojipedia March 16, 2020 □ Face with Medical Mask dates back to the original Japanese emoji sets, and was added to Unicode in 2010 /fXe9vn1mCD- Emojipedia March 16, 2020Īpple was the first widespread implementer of color emoji outside Japan, and based most designs on ensuring compatibility with Japanese carrier Softbank.Īpple's original mask-wearing emoji of 2008 kept the same general appearance for the past 12 years, with only minor changes to increase resolution of the image. They weren't necessarily ill, sick or sad, but certainly none appeared happy. The designs in Japan, like those used today, varied from company to company. Only later additions came from other sources. The same way every one of the very original emojis began. The mask-wearing emoji dates back to Japanese phone carriers. The question of if or how this affects people's use of this emoji is an unknown quantity at this stage. If anything, this is a sign of support from Apple on mask-wearing. Image: Apple designs / Emojipedia composite. Above: Apple's updated emoji uses the same facial features as ☺️ Smiling Face. But it's hard to say the emoji is detailed enough that other context wouldn't clear up potential misunderstandings. Whether this change is considered problematic may depend on the context, but in no way can it compare to Apple's unilateral change of the pistol emoji in 2016.Īny change to the emotion of an emoji isn't ideal, as we always want to be clear in how we portray ourselves even in text-based emoji form. Above: iOS 14.2 beta 2 (left) sending a smiling mask-wearing emoji to iOS 14.0 (background, right) where it doesn't smile. What this does mean is that a smiling mask-wearing emoji sent from iOS 14.2 will still appear sad or sick when recieved on an earlier version of iOS, or on other platforms. The emoji name □ Face with Medical Mask doesn't suggest any particular emotion to go with this past, meaning that the design is mostly up to interpretation by vendors. ![]() This is only a beta release right now, but if the change remains in place by the final version of iOS 14.2, this does pose one question of compatibility. Image: Apple designs / Emojipedia composite.Īmong other minor emoji changes buried in the beta release of iOS 14.2, this subtle change to □ Face with Medical Mask appears to carry the most weight, in the sense that mask wearing has become a somewhat political act in the United States. Above: ☺️ Smiling Face and □ Face with Medical Mask have identical eyebrows, eyes and blushing cheeks in iOS 14.2 beta 2. In fact, a direct comparison with Apple's existing ☺️ Smiling Face emoji reveals that's exactly what's behind the mask. Above: □ Face with Medical Mask before and after iOS 14.2 beta 2. Replacing downturned eyes with eyebrows and blushing cheeks, it's fair to assume the new mask-wearing emoji is intended to be smiling. In the next release of Apple's iPhone operating system, this emoji no longer looks forlorn, and now appears to be smiling. Above: □ Face with Medical Mask on iOS, Android and Samsung devices October 2020. Long used as an emoji to imply sickness, the mask-wearing emoji saw a revival in 2020 as one of the most popular emojis used in tweets about Coronavirus.īut why does it have to look so.sick? If mask-wearing is to become normalized and encouraged for people regardless of symptoms, then symbolism around mask-wearing shouldn't imply that by wearing a mask you must be sick. ![]()
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