GALLERY NOTE
Design philosophy
Microsoft has published Fluent Emoji as a modern, open design system for emoji artwork, emphasizing expressive 3D and flat variants. Earlier Windows emoji used different Segoe UI Emoji artwork.
UNICODE
Coverage note
Windows emoji availability depends on OS build and font updates. Full historical version mapping is incomplete here.
HALL TIMELINE
Verified history
Only dates backed by verified notes are shown.
- 01
2021
Fluent Emoji announced
Microsoft introduced Fluent Emoji, an open emoji design set intended to modernize Windows emoji artwork and make assets available for broader use under Microsoft's published terms.
Timeline incomplete — only verified events are shown.
VITRINE
Featured examples
Open-licensed Microsoft glyphs — not your device font.
REDESIGN ARCHIVE
Notable redesigns
EVOLUTION
😂 Face With Tears Of Joy
Fluent Emoji refreshed many classic smileys with a more dimensional look compared with earlier Windows glyphs. (Noted: 2021)
- Artwork unavailable
Early designs
Historical vendor artwork unavailable in Emojidex.
- Artwork unavailable
Redesign era
Multiple vendors refreshed smileys over successive OS releases. Exact per-vendor redesign dates are incomplete in this dataset.
Current designs
Today each major platform still draws its own 😂. Browser-native rendering reflects your device font — not a licensed multi-platform archive.
READING ROOM
Related museum stories
EXHIBIT NOTE
Why Do Emojis Look Different?
Emoji characters are standardized by Unicode, but the visual artwork is created independently by platform and operating-system vendors.
That is why 😂, ❤️, or 🙏 can look familiar on your phone and slightly different on a friend's — same character identity, different drawings.
Google preview uses Google Noto Color Emoji (SIL Open Font License 1.1). Microsoft preview uses Microsoft Fluent Emoji (MIT). Twitter / X preview uses Twemoji (CC-BY 4.0; attribution required). Apple, Samsung, and Facebook artwork is proprietary and is not hosted.
OTHER HALLS
Continue through the museum
Apple
Apple's Color Emoji designs appear across iPhone, iPad, and macOS. Characters are standardized by Unicode; Apple draws its own artwork.
🤖Google's emoji designs ship with Android and related products (commonly associated with Noto Color Emoji). Unicode defines the characters; Google supplies its own glyphs.
📱Samsung
Samsung ships its own emoji artwork on Galaxy devices and related software. Unicode characters are shared; Samsung's drawings are vendor-specific.
🐦Twitter / X
Twitter (now X) popularized Twemoji — a widely used emoji artwork set that many sites embed so emoji look consistent in the browser.
📘Facebook uses its own emoji artwork in Facebook and Messenger experiences. As with other vendors, Unicode defines the character; Facebook draws the picture.