As millions get vaccinated, Apple is making a change to the design of its syringe emoji, 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 program, but will be publicly available with iOS 14.5. While new emojis are more difficult to approve, changing the design of an emoji can produce a similar result on a faster schedule, according to Keith Broni, the deputy director of emojis at Emojipedia, a service that archives design and trends of using emojis.
The syringe emoji dates back to 1999 and was used primarily to illustrate blood donations in Japan. The emoji was often used in discussions about blood donations and even in tattoos, said Broni.
“When you provide someone with a communication tool, they use it as they please,” said Broni. “We have seen many different emojis take on many different connotations.”
Broni said he began to notice an increase in the use of the emoji at the end of last year and saw that the conversations people were having on Twitter while using it revolved around coronavirus vaccines.
Broni said he hoped Apple’s move would be permanent and that other technology companies would likely do the same. He said that the emoji that resembles a vaccine injection could be used more easily and that removing the blood would make the emoji more flexible and less intimidating.