Most phones draw the pistol emoji as a water gun now.
The Unicode character name is still PISTOL. The short label in the emoji-test file was “pistol” through Emoji 13.0 and “water pistol” from Emoji 13.1 on. That is a label, not a rename.
Apple showed a revolver through iOS 9.3 (March 21, 2016) and a green water pistol from iOS 10.0 (September 13, 2016) through iOS 26.4 (March 24, 2026). Google showed a revolver through Android 8.1 (December 5, 2017) and an orange water pistol from Android 9.0 (August 6, 2018), already rolling out in April 2018. Google still shows a water pistol on emoji 17 and 18 and on the Pixel 11 in 2026.
Microsoft used a yellow toy early, a realistic revolver from August 2, 2016 through April 30, 2018, and a water pistol from October 2, 2018 through Windows 11 26H2 (August 27, 2026). Samsung showed a revolver through Experience 8.5 (September 15, 2017) and a green water pistol from Experience 9.0 (February 12, 2018) through One UI 8.5 (February 25, 2026).
Facebook showed a revolver through version 2.2 (August 24, 2017) and a water pistol from 2.2.1 (April 27, 2018). Its newest image, from August 18, 2025, is the same water pistol. X showed a revolver through Twemoji 2.5 (February 22, 2018) and a water pistol from Twemoji 2.6 (April 11, 2018) through Twemoji 15.0.1 (July 22, 2023). Twemoji 15.0.2 (July 18, 2024) is a realistic pistol, redrawn in 15.0.3 (August 14, 2024). The January 9, 2026 file is byte-identical to that August drawing.
From 2019 through 2023, all six stayed on a water pistol in the years that have a version. As of October 3, 2026, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung still show water pistols. X still shows the August 14, 2024 realistic pistol.