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Why aren't Emoticons enabled by default?

MonstaMash

MonstaMash

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 24, 2011
206
82
It's the first thing that any new iPhone user has to manually enable. Some users are unaware of how to enable the settings, so they download third-party apps to enable it.

My aunt had no idea this feature existed, and was literally amazed when I showed her how to set it up.

iPhone Emoji has been emotionally embedded in popular culture. I even know a few people that don't want to switch to non-iDevices because the lack of Emoji (lol).

Seems like a bit of a missed opportunity for Apple to not have emoticons enabled by default on all devices. They seem to enable features by default that the majority wants, and I think Emoji is one of them.
 
Does the majority want that actually? Almost no one I know of actually uses them, just to offer a similar but differing opinion to "almost everyone I know uses them".
 
And, I find it surprising that just because something might be popular, that everyone else should like it, too. That's not a supportable position.
I have no interest in Emoji, or emoticons.
Except this one :D but I find that most are just annoying, with no particular value.

Now that I look at it :D That's annoying to me, too. I think I won't use that one from now on. I'll have to figure out something intelligent to say - rather than rely on cave drawings. There's little hope for the future, eh?
 
C DM said:
Does the majority want that actually? Almost no one I know of actually uses them, just to offer a similar but differing opinion to "almost everyone I know uses them".
Click to expand...

I don't know if the majority does, but I'd argue that the people who do are also the kind of people who would not realize that it's tucked away in the settings. Casual text-hounds and Instagram types who likely use them a lot don't seem like the type to hunt around in the settings to enable it.

TBH I don't understand the "just because it's popular doesn't mean everyone should use it" argument. It's built into iOS, it's already there. The question is why it's not enabled automatically and something you can DISABLE as opposed to a feature that's relatively hidden.

EDIT: to me, it should be built into the messaging app rather than a separate keyboard like on Android. A little smiley button or something.
 
I wondered why my iPhone didn't have any Emoticons, can someone tell me how to enable them please.
 
Thanks for that, i would never have known in a million years they were there if i hadn't read this thread, also i wouldn't have known they were called Emoji either.

This is why non technical average users are complaining about IOS7, because apple have taken away the simplicity, it's not a system your granny could use like it used to be. Who would have thought you would have to add a new keyboard to enable emoticons, and then who would know they were called Emoji.

Is there a load hidden way in mavericks as well, i only have 24 to choose from.
 
C DM said:
Does the majority want that actually? Almost no one I know of actually uses them, just to offer a similar but differing opinion to "almost everyone I know uses them".
Click to expand...

I will have to differ with the differing opinion. Most everyone I know uses them.

Although I know very few people.
 
Z3man said:
Thanks for that, i would never have known in a million years they were there if i hadn't read this thread, also i wouldn't have known they were called Emoji either.

This is why non technical average users are complaining about IOS7, because apple have taken away the simplicity, it's not a system your granny could use like it used to be. Who would have thought you would have to add a new keyboard to enable emoticons, and then who would know they were called Emoji.

Is there a load hidden way in mavericks as well, i only have 24 to choose from.
Click to expand...
I don't think this was even there at all until iOS 7 (or perhaps 6), so it's not like Apple took away anything, and actually more like they added something.
 
twintin said:
Yes they were (I have an iPod Touch 4 gen running iOS 6 where I use them).
Click to expand...
Well, as I said, "perhaps [iOS] 6", but looks like even back to iOS 5. Still, nothing was taken away with respect to it (and something was actually added a few iOS versions ago).
 
C DM said:
I don't think this was even there at all until iOS 7 (or perhaps 6), so it's not like Apple took away anything, and actually more like they added something.
Click to expand...

They might as well have took them away as it was almost impossible to know they were there. But no one was saying they had took them away anyway so not sure what you are on about.
 
Z3man said:
They might as well have took them away as it was almost impossible to know they were there. But no one was saying they had took them away anyway so not sure what you are on about.
Click to expand...
You mentioned that they "took away the simplicity" when it comes to iOS 7 and Emoji (as this is what the thread is about), and I mentioned that at worst they didn't take anything away as far as Emoji go, and in comparisons to earlier versions--in case if Emoji pre iOS 5--they actually added something as Emoji weren't even there natively before.
 
Seems like a bit of a missed opportunity for Apple to not have emoticons enabled by default on all devices. They seem to enable features by default that the majority wants, and I think Emoji is one of them.[/QUOTE]
Unfortunately many features are hidden in the IPhone that people never get to know about
It's not only emoticons. I guess that's part of the mystique which keeps the device popular. As you can see in these forums people are constantly mentioning an unknown feature
 
bushman4 said:
Seems like a bit of a missed opportunity for Apple to not have emoticons enabled by default on all devices. They seem to enable features by default that the majority wants, and I think Emoji is one of them.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately many features are hidden in the IPhone that people never get to know about
It's not only emoticons. I guess that's part of the mystique which keeps the device popular. As you can see in these forums people are constantly mentioning an unknown feature[/QUOTE]

When you've been using ios since the iPod touch days, you come to know these things instinctively :p

I could see it being a problem for those who expect their phone to do everything know lol.
 
MonstaMash said:
It's the first thing that any new iPhone user has to manually enable.
Click to expand...

I doubt it. There's a ton of other configurable stuff on the phone.

It's only in relatively recent times that there has been significant emoji support in devices. Send an Emoji character to an older handset or many e-mail clients, and the recipient will likely see an undecipherable character on the screen. So, Apple are taking a cautious position here. The landscape might be quite different in a few years' time.

Not everybody wants Emoji (I do, personally), but having the supporting keyboard there by default does come at the expense of an additional key on the keyboard.

It's easy enough to add if you do want it, so I have no problem with the default situation.
 
here. Emoji is quite popular in Asia...that is why Emoji are enabled by default in Chinese and Japanese keyboard... (☆_☆)Here is a picture

image_zps2cc3db85.jpg


Quit few emoji included in Chinese keyboard... (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))
 
The Doctor11 said:
Probably cuz apple is to busy enableing Bluetooth by default.
Click to expand...

There is a totally different reason for BT enabled by default, since it is required to have AirDrop working.

BTW I'm using three keyboards since iOS 3: Italian, English and emoji.
 
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