I’ve been running an android device since around the time of the iPhone four. I’m a fan of being able to have more control over a device and because of that I was just never happy with the offerings from Apple, or having to jailbreak a device to really get the most out of a phone.
And while the Android OS has continued to evolve and grow alongside my needs, there are a few things that Apple still simply does better. One of those thing is their built-in messenger app, and with that came what are now considered the standard emoji.
Over on the Google front they also have the same emoji, but they look, well, a little off. Instead of being circular and fitting into a message in a pleasing visual way, they went with a sort of blob thing that makes them look more wack-a-mole than anything else.
That’s all about to change as it was reported in Fast Company that Google has been working for 18 months to make their stock emoji a little less ugly. Now I’m no design expert, but it seems like 18 months is a long time to simply make them circles. Then again, I wouldn’t say no to nearly two years of paychecks from Google to give it a go. You know how to reach me for any consulting work Google.
While the ugly design is a factor, the main reason for the change is said to be that the current shape of the emoji have made it harder to bring in new emoji from the Unicode Consortium. Emoji were once just some fun little thing to add to messages, but they are so ingrained into smartphone culture that there is now a defacto authority that gets to make the decision on what gets the emoji treatment.
Google explained recently that:
“Our design system wasn’t equipped to provide standards that unified the look and feel of all the illustrations across the many emoji categories.”
So these new emoji will be more compatible across operating systems, something that is always a problem when texting friends on iPhone devices. I’ve become accustomed to seeing the little box with an “X” through with when seeing newer emoji.
The new Google emoji should be making their way into the upcoming Android O operating system. The OS is currently in the beta testing phase and should be rolling out in the next few months to consumers.
// Promoted Stories
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