Apple is launching a limited-edition Apple Watch for Black History Month, with a unique watch band, new watchface, and some of the proceeds going toward civil rights organizations.
The watch, part of a new Black Unity Collection of products, comes with a black, green, and red striped band and face, meant to reflect the Pan-African flag. It otherwise appears to be the standard aluminum version of the Apple Watch Series 6, with pricing starting at $399. The band will also be available separately for $49.
The Apple Watch Series 6 looks the same as the Space Gray aluminum model with one change: on the back, there is a laser-etched bold “Black Unity” around the heart-rate sensor where the model description is. Apple has decreased the kerning on the rest of the words to fit the phrase, which appears in the top right of the circle.
The special-edition watch includes a new Black Unity Sport Band “made from individual pieces of colored fluoroelastomer, which are assembled by hand and compression-molded into one.” The band has “Truth. Power. Solidarity.” laser-engraved onto the interior of the black fastening pin and is comprised of black, red, and green swatches to pay tribute to the Pan-African flag. A matching Unity watch face, which “creates an ever-changing pattern that dynamically shifts as Apple Watch moves,” will also be available.
Finally, there’s a new Unity Activity Challenge with a limited-edition badge for closing the Move ring seven days in a row during the month of February.
In addition to the Apple Watch Black Unity collection, Apple is also recognizing Black History Month across its family of services:
- In the App Store, there will be a “Black History Month Hub, which will spotlight Black-owned businesses, developers, entertainment and gaming apps, and social justice apps.”
- Apple Music will launch a “monthlong experience” featuring curated playlists, essays, original videos, and more from Black influencers, musicians, authors, and directors.
- The Apple TV app will spotlight a new “Essential Stories” theme to honor Black families with films and TV shows. There are also new “Oprah Conversation” episodes featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Isabel Wilkerson and her book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.”
- Apple News+ will have a Spotlight collection with audio articles that “celebrate the Black experience” and Apple Books, Fitness+, and Podcasts will highlight Black artists, writers, and creators.
Apple is among a number of tech giants that collectively pledged hundreds of millions of dollars toward racial equity initiatives. Apple announced a $100 million fund in June 2020; earlier this month, Apple said it would create a developer education center in Detroit and support a tech hub for historically Black colleges and universities in Atlanta.
