Steve Hayman 🇨🇦🇬🇱🪊

ALERT ALERT ALERT iOS 26.4 beta 4 brings us what we have ALL been waiting for: A Trombone Emoji!

Approved in Unicode 17.0, the glyph U+1FA8A finally appears with this beta.

Here's one as an actual Unicode glyph: 🪊

Now, that may or may not look like an actual trombone to you, depending on what version of what you are running.. It looks like this - this is an image, not an actual emoji though; it's how iOS renders it. Different vendors have the option of drawing it how they like.

Mar 9 at 6:03pmWeb
Show threadSteve Hayman 🇨🇦🇬🇱🪊Mar 9
We can now start enthusiastically nitpicking its actual appearance. I think Apple's artist did a pretty good job - at least it isn't assembled backwards like we often see. Although it is missing a spit valve, and another brace between mouthpiece and horn so the slide will actually slide, and a trombone wouldn't really have a 2nd connector circled here.
Show threadSteve Hayman 🇨🇦🇬🇱🪊Mar 9

The Trombone emoji is a pretty good story. You have to make a detailed pitch to the Emoji subcommittee of the Unicode consortium about why a particular emoji should be added, and then they vote on it. Many are rejected. But a group of high schoolers from Aberdeen High School in Maryland submitted a successful pitch in 2019 and it's finally here.

Their pitch: https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2024/24256-trombone-emoji.pdf

Thank you, kids.

Show threadSteve Hayman 🇨🇦🇬🇱🪊Mar 9

And finally, here are 76 trombones.
🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊 🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊 🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊 🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊 🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊 🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊 🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊 🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊🪊

With 110 cornets right behind. Technically, trumpets. We've had the trumpet emoji since Unicode 6 in 2010. At last, justice for the lower brass section has arrived.

🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺 🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺 🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺 🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺 🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺 🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺 🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺 🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺 🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺 🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺 🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺

There really should be one for every standard orchestral instrument. No tuba, alas.

Show threadWilliam HamiltonMar 9
@shayman
“Now *that* toot was worth putting my face on for!”
— Centauri
Show threadOwen MathewsMar 9
@shayman 😈🧑‍🤝‍🧑📍🏞️🏙️🧻🎱
Show threadAaron MahlerMar 9

@shayman Or, since I'm not on the current beta... 76 question marks in little squares, followed by 110 cornets.

Bookmarking for when 26.4 lands on this machine. :)

Show threadPepijn BruienneMar 9
@shayman And as is tradition, there's a 99 Percent Invisible about it, of course: https://overcast.fm/+AAyIOxtMII0
Person in Lotus Position — 99% Invisible

Tech analysts estimate that over six billion emojis are sent each day. Emojis, which started off as a collection of low-resolution pixelated images from Japan, have become a well-established and graphically sophisticated part of everyday global communi…

Show threadKen McLeodMar 9

@shayman I imagine the primary reason for inclusion is that it will be used to symbolize the WOMP WOMP! sound that's associated with failure. It's even explicitly stated in the proposal that the emoji could "represent a mistake symbolizing the “wop wop wop woooop” sounds when a person fails at a task."

The new emoji doesn't seem to be supported in my current OS: 🪊

<makes the womp-womp sound>

Show threadWilliam SmithMar 9
@shayman A tromboji, if you will.
Show threadSteve Hayman 🇨🇦🇬🇱🪊Mar 9
@talkingmoose if I will? you KNOW I will.