Why is one emoji black and white, and the other colored?

This often appears with hearts, sun symbols, or other symbols that have been in use for a longer time. A symbol copied from one place appears in a simple line-art form, while the version inserted from the phone keyboard is colored. It is worth examining the difference with the entire pasted sequence; the visual appearance alone is insufficient for an explanation.

What do the two presentation selectors request?

The U+FE0E, also known as VS15, requests text presentation. The U+FE0F, or VS16, requests emoji presentation. They can only be used as standard presentation selectors for sequences defined for this purpose; they do not convert arbitrary letters into emojis. Source: Unicode Emoji – Presentation Style

These pairs are listed in the Unicode official variation sequence list. The two forms in the table may look very similar on your device; the sequences still differ. Source: Unicode 18.0 – Emoji Variation Sequences

The selector is not a color setting

VS16 does not imply arbitrarily selectable color, and VS15 does not mean separate "black ink" either. It is a request regarding the character's display mode. The specific drawing and its colors are provided by the rendering environment.

If you want to set a heart to blue in a document, try the text ♥︎ version first. The colored emoji figure does not necessarily follow the font color setting. Make a copy of the document, change the color, then open the exported PDF as well. This way you see what the recipient receives.

For a corporate indicator, describe the meaning: "Marked as favorite" or "Save to favorites". This way the function is understandable even if the heart's color differs from the planned one. The presentation variant alone should not determine whether the visitor understands the button.

What should you check after copying?

First copy the entire symbol without surrounding spaces. Paste it into a simple note and the final target field as well. If the appearance changes in only one place, note down the two environments and the font used, if adjustable.

Also check whether you started from the same base character. The code point of ♥ is U+2665, and the code point of ❤ is U+2764. Although both are hearts, the base already differs in their comparison. The table above therefore shows the two presentation sequences for the same heart and sun.

Finally, look at the saved result. A form preview, the published page, and a downloaded document are three separate verification points. Include the original sequence that can be pasted in the error report; the screenshot only preserves the rendered version.

When should you leave the symbol's default setting?

In everyday messages, selecting the full emoji offered by the keyboard is usually sufficient. Instead of manually inserting invisible characters, copy the desired shape as a whole. If an exact brand drawing is needed, consider the limitations of emojis dependent on renderers already during design.

The article on device differences explains the graphical differences. If the role of the symbol is important, check based on the accessibility usage examples whether it remains understandable in text and when read aloud.