- Apple is changing its syringe emoji to remove the dripping blood, as it becomes widely used to talk about the COVID-19 vaccine.
- The change was discovered in the beta version for Apple’s latest mobile operating system, iOS 14.5
Apple on Tuesday unveiled a small change to its syringe emoji that removes the drops of blood, reports CNN Business.
Part of the new update
The redesigned syringe is part of Apple’s iOS 14.5 beta, which also has a number of new emoji options, including a heart on fire, a face with swirly eyes and the ability for both women and men to have beards.
Appropriate for vaccination
Eliminating the blood from the syringe emoji makes it more appropriate to represent COVID-19 vaccination, said Jeremy Burge, the chief emoji officer of Emojipedia, an online emoji dictionary.
Making the emoji ‘less graphic’
The move to make the emoji less graphic comes amid the largest vaccine rollout in US history.
“Removing the blood makes this emoji more versatile, and also might remove any misconception that vaccination involves blood,” Burge told CNN Business.
He added, “Whether this directly impacts how the emoji is used or if it assists vaccination rates we don’t yet know, but it shouldn’t hurt.”
Apple (AAPL) declined to provide more information on the change.
- During the pandemic, popular emojis have included the microbe (?), one with a face mask (?) and prayer hands (?).
- Emojipedia said it saw an “upward trend” for the syringe emoji in its analysis of 2020 emoji trends.
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Source: CNN Business
