For iOS 10, Apple has redesigned the gun emoji from a revolver to a squirt-gun. But this symbolic gesture against gun violence has its fair share of critics.
In this week’s episode of The iPhone Show, Oscar addresses why changing an emoji in such way can lead to some confusion and miscommunication. Especially considering that Android users will still see a revolver when their friends with iPhones send them a squirt gun.
But the squirt-gun critics are forgetting one thing: We rely on context to interpret emojis all the time. So we should be able to figure out this redesign without causing total chaos. At the end of the day, Apple’s symbolic gesture to take a stand against gun violence should be applauded. After all, the Second Amendment never mentioned anything about emoji arms.
Besides, Apple is not the only company to change the way the gun emoji looks. Just last week, Microsoft changed its gun emoji from a raygun to a realistic-looking gun. Now, that’s problematic.
What do you think? Will Apple’s gun emoji redesign lead to a new world order of misinterpreted messages? Do you think it’s bordering on censorship? And what about the bomb emoji? Will it be redesigned next? Let us know in the comments.
Author: Oscar Raymundo, Staff Writer
Oscar writes about iOS, mobile culture and digital music. He also hosts 'The iPhone Show' from Macworld's San Francisco HQ.