Emoji on different platforms: Apple, Android, Samsung, Windows, WhatsApp, Facebook and more

One character, many drawings

Unicode defines what an emoji is — its name, code point and a short description — but not what it looks like. Each platform ships its own emoji font, so 😬 is “grimacing face” everywhere while the actual picture is Apple’s, Google’s or Samsung’s. The character you copy from this site is the same on every device; only the artwork changes. The preview images here are Twemoji, the open-source set X (Twitter) designed, with OpenMoji for the very newest emoji.

Who draws which set

Where the designs disagree

Most emoji are close enough across platforms, but a few famously drift. 😁 beaming face was a nervous grimace on early Google designs. 🙂 slightly smiling face reads friendly on Apple and slightly passive-aggressive elsewhere, which is how it became a sarcasm emoji. 🔫 pistol became a water gun on every major platform between 2016 and 2018. 🤠 cowboy, 🥴 woozy face and 😵‍💫 spiral eyes vary in how drunk or how dizzy they look. When a message hinges on the exact expression, the emoji meanings guides describe the character rather than one drawing.

Why a new emoji shows as a box

New emoji reach phones through operating system updates. Unicode publishes a release in September; Google and Samsung ship it over the following months and Apple in the spring update the next year. Until your device has the update it draws a box, a question mark or two separate characters for a new emoji. The new emoji guide lists what arrived in Emoji 17.0 and 18.0 and which iOS and Android versions carry them.

• Animoji and Memoji are Apple’s animated 3D characters, not Unicode emoji; they send as images or stickers.
• Genmoji (Apple Intelligence) and other AI emoji generators produce images that look like emoji but cannot be typed; they paste as pictures.
• “3D emoji” usually means Microsoft’s Fluent 3D set or Apple’s designs seen at large size; the characters underneath are the ordinary emoji on this site.

Android emoji history: from Nougat to the Pixel

Android’s emoji set is controlled by Google. Early versions used a set of rounded, jelly-like characters that users now affectionately call the “blob emoji”. Android Nougat still carried those blobs, while later Android versions moved toward flatter, more detailed faces. Google Pixel phones typically showcase the latest Google emoji because they run stock Android and receive prompt updates; many other manufacturers stick with Google’s artwork rather than designing their own.

The blob emoji have become a familiar piece of Android history.

Microsoft emoji: Segoe UI, Fluent and Teams

Windows has its own emoji font called Segoe UI Emoji, which has been part of Windows since Vista. For years it was relatively flat and simple, but Windows 11 brought a fresh look based on Microsoft’s Fluent Design language, with more depth and colour. Microsoft Teams often uses a 3D version of these Fluent emoji, which Microsoft has released as open source; however, Windows itself still displays the flat Segoe UI Emoji version.

Segoe UI Emoji lacks country flag artwork, so Windows shows flag emoji as two-letter codes (for example, 🇺🇸 appears as U S). This is a known gap compared with Apple and Google. Teams’ 3D emoji are a visual style applied to standard Unicode characters, though some users call them “3D emoji”. Open-source sets like EmojiOne (now JoyPixels) provide another alternative, and some apps use them for cross-platform consistency.

Other Android brands and their emoji sets

Most Android phones use Google’s emoji set, but some manufacturers ship their own. Motorola devices are close to stock Android, so their emoji look the same as on a Pixel. Huawei and Xiaomi each have their own emoji fonts, so their designs differ from Google’s.

Samsung also uses its own emoji set in One UI, so Galaxy phones display Samsung’s emoji. The designs have changed over time, and the current set has its own look, separate from Google’s. Samsung’s set includes the same emoji characters, but the artwork is unique to Samsung.

Apps and effects: Messenger, Instagram and big emoji

Facebook Messenger adds animated effects when you send certain emoji. A single ❤️ triggers floating hearts across the screen. These effects are app-specific and don’t change the underlying character.

Instagram doesn’t have its own emoji set; it uses whatever your device provides, so an emoji looks the same in the app as in your texts. Some messaging apps display a single emoji larger when sent alone, which makes a reaction clearer.

Apple and Android support the same standard emoji list, but a newer device may temporarily show an emoji that an older one hasn’t received yet. This happens because updates to the emoji font roll out at different times.

Android and Samsung emoji memes

Android's older blob emoji set is remembered fondly as a meme, while Samsung's emoji designs have inspired their own share of reaction images and side-by-side edits. Because the same emoji can look quite different across platforms, the contrast often becomes part of the humour—one platform's neutral face may read as sarcastic on another, a smile might seem over-eager, or a raised eyebrow could look more sceptical. The open nature of emoji interpretation means these platform-specific looks regularly turn into shared online jokes.

Questions people ask