Apple superfans can now purchase the iOS running shoe emoji in real life

On November 28, 2024By Pranco

Apple’s running shoe emoji is based on a famous New Balance design
An artist has turned this emoji into a real pair of sneakers
You can purchase them on the artist’s website for $219

All best phones come up with a mind-boggling array of different emoji – with new are constantly being added – but they are mostly limited to the digital world. Now, however, one designer has turned around Apple‘s running shoe emoji into a real pair of kicks that you can buy yourself.

Artist Jose Wong took inspiration from Apple’s specific take on the running shoe emoji and used it to do just that make a pair of sneakers available in sizes five through size 12. The upper consists of full-grain nubuck leather and mesh, with EVA foam and a polyurethane welt on the midsole and heel.

There’s five percent recycled rubber in the outsole, while the insoles are printed with a chipboard design inspired by iPhone circuitry and Apple silicon chips. The packaging the shoes come in is also inspired by Apple’s, with a plain white paper insert reading “Designed by Josewong in China.”

You can pick up a pair of sneakers from Wong’s ABCD brand store, where they’ll set you back $219.90 (about £175 / AU$340). Even the product’s URL contains the sneaker emoji.

Why New Balance?

The sneakers created by Jose Wong and inspired by Apple's running shoe emoji.

(Image credit: Jose Wong/Future)

When new emojiI am created and endorsed by the Unicode Consortium, operating system makers can interpret them in their own way. That’s why emoji can look slightly different on iOS and Android, and even on different apps like Slack. Microsoft Teams and more.

Apple’s version of the running shoe emoji – the one that inspired Jose Wong – is itself a reference to the New Balance sneakers worn by late Apple founder Steve Jobs.

The former CEO of Apple was known for his ‘uniform’ consisting of a black turtleneck, blue jeans and New Balance 991 or 992 shoes. Interestingly, Apple’s sneaker emoji is actually based on the New Balance 574, albeit with some subtle changes (including to the logo), but the similarities to Jobs’ chosen footwear are striking.

If you like the iOS running shoe emoji and want to have one yourself in the real world, Jose Wong’s creation may be appealing. It’s far from the only emoji to debut IRL — giant emoji hugs are common around the world — but it may be one of the most practical.