Apple is celebrating Black History Month with a special Apple Watch band and an accompanying Unity Lights watch face inspired by Afrofuturism.
- Apple has launched the new Black Unity Braided Solo Loop band for Apple Watch.
- It’s available to order today for $99, with retail availability starting Tuesday, February 1.
- To go with it, Apple also released a limited-edition downloadable watch face, dubbed Unity Lights, which was inspired by Afrofuturism.
- The iPhone maker has made a bunch of Afrofuturism-inspired wallpapers for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac available on its website.
- The new watchband and watch face join other initiatives across Apple platforms as part of the company’s celebrations for Black History Month this year.
Black Unity Braided Solo Loop for Apple Watch launches
The limited-edition Black Unity Braided Loop is available to order starting today from apple.com for $99. Limited retail availability will start Tuesday, February 1.
Apple has also released the matching Unity Lights watch face along with iPhone, iPad and Mac wallpapers on its website. The design of the new watch face and these wallpapers was inspired by Afrofuturism, which Apple’s press release describes as follows:
Afrofuturism is a philosophy that explores the Black experience through a narrative of science, technology and self-empowerment. As part of this launch, Apple is supporting organizations focused on advancing inclusion in science and technology for communities of color through its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative.
The Unity Lights watch face was designed using 2D ray tracing, which Apple says has never before been used for a watch face.
Each pixel on the screen simulates the light and shadow falling across it and the movement of the clock hands simultaneously reveal and hide the light, changing dynamically throughout the day.
The watch face can be customized to be a full screen or circular dial and includes a black and white option, tick marks, up to four complications and a monogram. Unity Lights is available to all customers with Apple Watch Series 4 or newer through the companion Watch app on their iPhone. Read: How to fix FaceTime not working on Apple Watch
Other Black History Month initiatives from Apple
Aside from the new band, watch face and wallpapers, other initiatives across Apple platforms celebrate Black History Month. For instance, you can enjoy related events on services like Apple Music, Apple Music‌ TV, Apple Podcasts, Apple TV and Apple News.
Special workouts are available on the Apple Fitness+ service alongside a themed Time to Walk experience. Apple is also highlighting relevant apps on its App Stores and sharing shot-on-iPhone images in the latest iPhone campaign, dubbed Our Stories.
This isn’t the first time Apple has celebrated Black History Month, an annual observance also known as African-American History Month. In 2021, for example, Apple released the limited-edition Black Unity and Sport Band collections for Apple Watch Series 6.