Emojis. Love 'em or hate 'em, they've become a staple of modern communication, and by extension, modern society. They can be obnoxious, but used sparingly they really do help to communicate complex emotions that otherwise wouldn't transfer well to text. Admittedly, I wasn't always a fan of these little cartoon faces, but without them, there really is no easy way to convey the intended tone in a message that could be interpreted in several ways.
But there's a big problem (that somehow no one ever talks about) complicating this wonderfully simple way of packaging human emotion: emojis are not standard across all smartphone platforms, and thus can appear wildly different on the phone of the person receiving your message than they did when you hit send. On your iPhone, you probably saw that grimacing yellow face saying "Huh, oh, well... This is awkward. Heh." But on your friend's Android it shows up as more of a "I'm very frustrated and maybe kind of want to kill you."
This handy translation guide should help to ease your cross-platform texting woes. Here are the eight most drastically differing emojis across the three most popular platforms (Apple, Google, Samsung).
1. "Hushed"
Apple: "Oh wow, that's actually kind of shocking."Google: "My lips are sealed, I swear."
Samsung: "That's both surprising and hurtful... I feel so vulnerable."
2. "Grimacing"
Apple: "Oh, well this is kind of awkward actually... Heh heh. My bad?"Google: "I am slightly furious and strongly considering ways I could kill you and get away with it."
Samsung: "YOU HAVE SURPRISED AND SHOCKED ME SO VIOLENTLY THAT I'M NOW MAKING A FACE THAT ISN'T EVEN A GRIMACE."
3. "Scream"
Apple: *High-pitched wail*Google: *Higher-pitched wail*
Samsung: *A wail so high-pitched that my eyes have melted and my soul has left my body*
4. "Persevere"
Apple: "Oh God, I know, it was bad. Sorry."Google: "I'm trying so hard not to cry right now."
Samsung: "Nothing is wrong, and I'll prove it by looking you dead in the eye and baring my teeth to assert my dominance."
5. "Tired Face"
Apple: "Waahhhh make it stop!"Google: "Still trying so hard not to cry."
Samsung: "My body is trying to die."
6. "Disappointed/Relieved"
Apple: "Really? Aww no... That's no good at all."Google: "Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry... Happy thoughts, happy thoughts..."
Samsung:
7. "Angry"
Apple: "Okay, really? You have some explaining to do."Google: "I am pretty decently mad at this point."
Samsung: "I'm so mad, but so conflicted. I might yell, I might cry. Maybe both?"
8. "Rage"
Apple: "I'm so angry that I've burst all the blood vessels in my face."
Google: "I'm so mad that I've inflated my checks to appear larger and more intimidating."
Samsung: "I was about to lose my temper, but I've suddenly realized controlling my anger has been a consistent problem for me. It keeps pushing people away. God, why haven't I noticed this before? Is this really who I am? How many friends have I lost because of this? What does everyone think of me? I can't believe I almost lost control again... Maybe I do need professional help like Stacy told me. I should have listened."
You can find a complete list of emoji differences at Emojipedia!






























