Not all coffee emojis are created equal. The Hot Beverage emoji has been around since Unicode 4.0 way back in 2003, and it seems all platforms universally agree the hot beverage is coffee. But is it cappuccino? Filter coffee? Espresso? Is it second wave (see Microsoft and Facebook) or is it new wave (Samsung)? We explored ten different takes on the Hot Beverage emoji, and thrillingly ranked them from most delicious to the absolute worstest.
Best In Show
The Samsung Galaxy S4/5 hot beverage emoji is clearly the top emoji in its class. Samsung is the only platform that employs the popular latte art pattern, which looks adorable, by the way. The handle is facing to the right and a little toward us, which we prefer. An excellent emoji by all counts. Five stars.
The Apple emoji hasn’t changed at all in the years emojis have graced the iPhone screen. It’s clean, there’s a nice reflection in the coffee, and the steam rises neatly. ‘Tis a fine emoji, but sure ’tis no Samsung, English.
Just okay.
Twitter’s hot beverage is a hot mess. What is the handle doing? Is it riding the lip of the cup? Also, there are two noodles coming out of the coffee, which we’re not huge fans of. Unless it’s cream colored steam, which is equally distressing. We do appreciate the fun-loving vibe it gives us, but those noodles are too much.
This one comes from the Emoji One project, used by apps like the popular Slack chat house. The shadowing is a little funky on that handle and the steam lines are real silly. Even still, it’s right there in the middle. It’s fine. Trust us, it gets way worse.
Mozilla Firefox gives us a big mug with a generous brisket. The steam is so half-assed, like it barely wants to evaporate from the cup. Who wants to smell those aromatics? Why is the cup so big, Mozilla?
Take it back.
The Google Android went heavy on the stroke lines in this bubbly monstrosity. It looks like an angry brown eye with a severe brow and we are just. not. into. it.
The HTC Sense 7 gives us what we believe to be an espresso with some intense steam lines. The grays give us dark feelings and the espresso (if it’s espresso) looks a little waxy. What is the HTC Sense 7 even?
Coffee from the LG-G4 is cold.
Just the worst.
Microsoft Windows 10 looks less like 1995 Microsoft Works clip art (see below) but not by much. Microsoft is the only emoji where the hot beverage’s handle does not connect with the body, which is probably some metaphor for how Microsoft is doing as a company overall.
Yikes, Facebook. What historical clip art library did your interns dig this up in? Is this a TheFacebook.com era throwback? It’s absolutely terrible. It stinks. THUMBS DOWN.
Images via Emojipedia.
Zachary Carlsen is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge.com. Read more Zachary Carlsen on Sprudge.
