Apple has today unveiled its new 2023 Apple Watch Pride Edition Sport Band, alongside an all-new watch face and an iOS wallpaper for your iPhone.
In a press release, the company stated that the new band celebrates "the ongoing movement to protect and advance equality for LGBTQ+ communities around the world."
Apple says it is supporting and bringing awareness to various LGBTQ+ advocacy groups "working to bring about positive change," including Encircle, Equality North Carolina, Equality Texas, Gender Spectrum, Human Rights Campaign, ILGA World, the National Center for Transgender Equality, PFLAG, SMYAL, and The Trevor Project."
This year's band, as always, features the rainbow colors of the original pride flag, along with five others. Black and brown have been added to represent Black and Latin communities and "to those who have passed away from or are living with HIV/AIDS." Light blue, pink, and white have been added to represent transgender and nonbinary individuals.
Sprinkles all around
The construction of the sprinkles design is more than just a simple print job – they're individual elements added in during the final molding process. Apple tells us that "In the forming process, the base material flows around each individual shape, creating small variations in their layout. No two bands are exactly alike, reflecting the individuality of all members of the LGBTQ+ community."
It looks super cool and comes with a Pride-themed wallpaper for your Apple iOS devices, such as the Apple Watch Series 8 or the iPhone 14 Pro. The new colors are from the Progress Pride flag, which celebrates more elements of the community at large, making sure that more marginalized groups feel included and looked after.
The new Pride Edition Sport Band will be available to order at Apple.com from May 23, or you can pop into an Apple Store location from May 24. The bands will cost $49. The wallpapers can be downloaded from Apple.com or through App Clips on the Sport Band packaging. They will be available from next week.
