On Apple/iOS, this emoji appears as a black, rectangular VHS cassette with two clear reel windows, a crisp white label across the middle, and those subtle ridges and notches you can practically feel. The head-on rendering makes the twin spools unmistakable—instant VHS recognition. Across the web, that tiny tape also doubles as shorthand for found footage, analog horror, vaporwave edits, or a “release the tapes” flare-up when someone claims to have receipts.
As an icon, it’s basically a pocket VHS teleported from the 80s/90s—you can almost catch the scent of popcorn butter and the anxiety of late fees. It radiates nostalgia and cozy chaos, and it invokes the old rite: be kind, rewind. In texts, it can wink at throwback vibes, low‑res glitchcore textures, or the cursed-cassette aura straight out of The Ring. People also drop it to flex their love for analog aesthetics or to admit they still have home videos labeled “DO NOT TAPE OVER.”
You’ll spot it announcing retro movie nights, often used with a playful or sarcastic edge—Blockbuster‑and‑chill invites, boomer‑energy jokes, or teasing a friend about their grainy camcorder era. Bonus associations roll in too: the VHS vs. Betamax rivalry, those jittery tracking lines, and the whir of a dedicated rewinder that sounded like a tiny jet engine.
Definition
This is a Betamax or VHS tape used to store home and retail movies. iEmoji old name: Video Cassette.
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Emoji History The emoji code/ image log of changes.
This emoji was part of the proprietary / non-standardized emoji set first introduced by Japanese carriers like Softbank. These emojis became part of the Apple iPhone starting in iOS 2.2 as an unlockable feature on handsets sold in English speaking countries.
In iOS 5 / OSX 10.7, the underlying code that the Apple OS generates for this emoji was changed.
