Next week kicks off Pride Month; to mark the occasion, Apple has, for the past seven years, released a special Pride Edition band for the Apple Watch.
For this year, Apple’s Pride Month band is all about celebration. The Pride Edition Sport Band ($49 at Apple) is a while fluoroelastomer band featuring confetti- or sprinkle-like shapes in different colors throughout. And the shapes don’t just come in rainbow colors — the flag colors of transgender and gender-nonconforming communities are also included. There are black and brown shapes for Black and Latinx communities, too.
With the Pride Edition Sport Band available now — and as someone who supports the self-expression and inclusivity fostered by the LGBTQ+ community — I ordered one in and added it to my Apple Watch Ultra. It offers the same fit and feel as the Sport Band seen on our round up of the best Apple Watch bands, which is one of my personal favorite styles.
@tomsguide
♬ BUT I DONT FORGET TOO WELLLLL – jrecs
Now, this band doesn’t have quite scream “pride” as much last year’s Apple Watch Pride Edition band. As a reminder, that band came in two variations, both with woven threads and the word ‘Pride’ literally debossed in Apple’s iconic ‘hello’ cursive typeface.
But this year’s party-evoking design carries on the Pride Edition band tradition Apple started back in 2017. The company supports a number of LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, including the Equality Federation Institute, Encircle, Gender Spectrum, The National Center for Transgender Equality, PFLAG, The Trevor Project and more.
To complement the new Apple Watch band, there’s a new watch face called Pride Celebration. In the preset configuration, the confetti shapes are animated on a white background to match the band, swirling around the clock arms and temporarily dispersing when tapped.
The face can be altered to turn the confetti into more traditional-looking hour marks or bubble numbers. In these styles, up to five complications can be curated, offering more information at a glance. I’m all for personalizing your Apple Watch experience, so I’m glad that this year’s Pride watch face has several customization options.
Otherwise, if you know how to use a photo as an Apple Watch face, you can set a picture you take at your city’s pride celebration as your watch face. You can also use the Stripes watch face to design a flag you feel best represents you. There’s no shortage of options to make your Apple Watch your own during Pride Month.
