The Black Unity Braided Solo Loop was released at the beginning of Black History Month (February) 2022 as a limited edition band. The band material is shown as “polyester yarn braided around silicone thread.”
Apple described the band:
“Designed by Black creatives and allies at Apple to celebrate Black history and culture, the Black Unity Braided Solo Loop is inspired by Afrofuturism, a philosophy that explores the experience of the African Diaspora through a narrative of science, technology, and self-empowerment. It honors generations of Black people who have been seen and unseen, and symbolizes the necessity for a more equitable world.”
Apple added:
“Featuring the colors of the Pan-African flag, the band is created by weaving 16,000 recycled polyester yarn filaments around ultrathin silicone threads using advanced precision-braiding machinery, then laser-cutting the band to an exact length for a custom fit. It offers a soft, textured feel and is both sweat and water resistant. The band is complemented by the Unity Lights watch face, with clock hands emitting light that changes dynamically throughout the day. The lugs are laser-etched with ‘Black Unity’.”
This example is a size 12 for the 45mm Apple Watch.
This dark gray mug features a matte finish and a white Apple logo. The mug is relatively tall and tapered from bottom to top. It is approximately 4.5 inches tall, and has a bottom diameter of 3.5 inches and a top diameter of just under 3 inches.
The Apple Watch Leather Link was an Apple Watch band released in 2021. The design is similar to the previous Leather Loop design, but while the Leather Loop included a metal “eye,” the Leather Link is secured solely by magnets.
Apple describes the Leather Link:
“The Leather Link features handcrafted Roux Granada leather made in France. The strap elegantly wraps around the wrist and magically attaches with flexible moulded magnets that gently flex to help maintain a secure, comfortable fit throughout the day.”
The Leather Link came in sizes including 40mm in S/M (130–160mm wrists) and M/L (140–180mm wrists), and 44mm in S/M (140–180mm wrists) and M/L (165–205mm wrists).
This example is Sequoia Green to fit the 45mm Apple Watch and fits wrists in the M/L size range.
The AirTag Leather Loop was an accessory for Apple’s AirTag, a small, disc-shaped accessory that used Apple’s Find My network to easily locate items. Apple described AirTag as “a supereasy way to keep track of your stuff. Attach one to your keys, slip another in your backpack. And just like that, they’re on your radar in the Find My app.”
The AirTag Leather Loop was made from “specially tanned European leather” and added “an extra touch of elegance…” Apple further added, “It stays firmly attached while securing your AirTag tightly in place, so you always know where your items are. AirTag is sold separately.”
This leather loop is in red and part of Apple’s (PRODUCT)RED offerings:
“When you buy the (PRODUCT)RED AirTag Leather Loop, we will now send a contribution to the Global Fund to fight COVID-19. Your support can make all the difference.”
The AirTag is a small, disc-shaped accessory that used Apple’s Find My network to easily locate items. Apple described AirTag as “a supereasy way to keep track of your stuff. Attach one to your keys, slip another in your backpack. And just like that, they’re on your radar in the Find My app.”
The AirTag measures 1.26 inches (31.9 mm) diameter and is 0.31 inch (8.0 mm) high. It weighs 0.39 ounce (11 grams). It contains a CR2032 coin cell battery that can be replaced by the user. The AirTag uses wireless connectivity including Bluetooth, an Apple U1 chip (Ultra Wideband and Precision Finding), and NFC (Lost Mode). It is splash, water, and dust resistant (IP67 with a maximum depth of 1 meter up to 30 minutes).
The Air Tag “requires iPhone SE, iPhone 6s or later, or iPod touch (7th generation) with iOS 14.5 or later, or iPad Pro, iPad (5th generation or later), iPad Air 2 or later, or iPad mini 4 or later with iPadOS 14.5 or later.”
Apple described the AirTag’s functionality:
“If AirTag is separated from its owner and out of Bluetooth range, the Find My network can help track it down. The Find My network is approaching a billion Apple devices and can detect Bluetooth signals from a lost AirTag and relay the location back to its owner…Users can also place AirTag into Lost Mode and be notified when it is in range or has been located by the vast Find My network. If a lost AirTag is found by someone, they can tap it using their iPhone or any NFC-capable device and be taken to a website that will display a contact phone number for the owner, if they have provided one.”
This set AirTag devices was sold in a single box as a 4 pack. As of 2022 a single AirTag was $29 and a 4-pack was sold for $99.
As the manual for this Mac Pro states, “This is no floor model. Go ahead and keep it right on your desk.” This Mac Pro was a radical design departure from all previous Mac Pro—and other Apple desktop models with its cylindrical design. According to an Apple press release:
“Designed around an innovative unified thermal core, the all-new Mac Pro packs unprecedented performance into an aluminum enclosure that is just 9.9-inches tall and one-eighth the volume of the previous generation. Mac Pro features 4-core, 6-core, 8-core or 12-core Intel Xeon processors running at Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.9 GHz and two workstation-class AMD FirePro GPUs that deliver up to eight times the graphics performance of the previous generation Mac Pro.* PCIe-based flash storage delivers sequential read speeds up to 10 times faster than conventional desktop hard drives, and ECC DDR3 gives the new Mac Pro up to 60GBps of memory bandwidth for seamlessly editing full-resolution 4K video while simultaneously rendering effects in the background. With an incredible six Thunderbolt 2 ports, each with up to 20Gbps of bandwidth per device, the new Mac Pro completely redefines desktop expandability with support for up to 36 high-performance peripherals, including the latest 4K displays.”
As is often the case with unique designs, this Mac Pro is sometimes unfortunately referred to as the “trash can” Mac. I have included a couple of tongue-in-cheek photos in reference to this moniker.
These multicolor Apple logos are made from embroidery thread and have an adhesive back. One set of embroidery stickers are on a transparent plastic film with the adhesive still tacky, and another set are separate with dried adhesive on the back. The adhesive on the separated stickers is yellowing.
This product is featured on page 59 of the Spring 1993 Starting Line: Apple Marketing Communications Catalog. Its description reads:
Embroidered Appliqués Wear our adhesive-backed, embroidered logo appliqués proudly on your lapel, or add them to the cover of event materials. They’re outstanding giveaways. 250 per roll. APL520
Because the stickers are made primarily of thread, each has a slightly different shape, especially the individual stickers with hardened adhesive backs. The individual sticker dimensions vary, but the least-distorted example measures 20mm x 25mm for stickers on the plastic backing, and 18mm x 23mm off the backing.
This thin plastic mousepad was made by the company Microthin and features the strawberry (red) Apple logo printed in a manner to simulate the translucent plastic Apple logo used in the iMac line of computers at the time. This mousepad is red to match the strawberry iMac. The iMac colors of the time included tangerine, lime, blueberry, grape, strawberry, and graphite.
The back of the mousepad is covered in a sticky material that provides traction to prevent slippage. The tackiness of the material is still viable after over 20 years and can be reactivated by rinsing accumulated dust with water. However, the entire mousepad is beginning to show signs of yellowing.
This lanyard is black with a red wooden bead accent. Its style appears to place it in the 1990s. This lanyard was acquired from the estate of a former Apple Education employee and was likely used in the 1990s at education events.
The cord of the lanyard features a white Apple logotype in Apple Garamond, Apple’s corporate font used between 1984 and 2003. The manufacturer is shown on a white tag printed with he name KOOCHY gear.
I have found similarly designed items by this manufacturer on eBay branded with other company logos. Although the company is no longer active, it now appears to be associated with the company PROMOVISION, specializing in custom lanyards.
This white ceramic tile was acquired from the estate of a former Apple Education employee. It is printed with a negative-space white Apple logo on a shimmering, metallic gold circle with the words “THE GOLDEN APPLE CLUB,” also printed in metallic gold. The tile’s border is surrounded with dark-green-printed shamrocks and the words “Ireland ’92” in an Old English typeface.
I was able to find a few references to the “The Golden Apple Club” in my research. One source in the Online Archive of California in the Department of Special Collections and University Archives at Stanford shows a listing in a collection archive titled, “Guide to the Apple Computer, Inc. Records M1007” (1998). The reference catalogs the item as “Vanity Press Items” with the entry: The Golden Apple Club: the best of the best., 1991. The complete record specifies that the university collection includes approximately 600 linear feet of items from 1977–1998 including: “organizational charts, annual reports, company directories, internal communications, engineering reports, design materials, press releases, manuals, public relations materials, human resource information, videotapes, audiotapes, software, hardware, and corporate memorabilia.”
A former Apple Regional Sales Manager on LinkedIn lists that he was a “Golden Apple Sales Award Winner” in 1998.
The long-running podcast RetroMacCast Episode 261 (October 21, 2012): “Frito Residue,” includes a reference to a 18K gold Golden Apple Club pin (selling for $1,049.99) and later included a conversation about the Golden Apple Club program. The podcast host discussed several Golden Apple Club items he had purchased in a kit, including a deck of cards, heavy-duty black plastic luggage tags, a neck pillow in a gray vinyl pouch, and a small portfolio—all with the Golden Apple Club logo. The “Club” was described as a program for sales representatives who had exceeded planned sales goals for a fiscal year. Reportedly, one of the “prizes” for Golden Apple Club members included a trip.
Based upon this information, this tile may have been received by a Golden Apple Club award winner on a trip to Ireland in 1992.
Perhaps worth noting, Apple has had facilities in Cork, Ireland, since 1980 and specifies that Cork “serves as Apple’s European headquarters, supporting customers across the continent and beyond.” There is no indication that this trip was to Cork, and this connection is pure speculation.
The tile measures 4.25 x 4.25 inches, 3/16-inch thick, and has a cork bottom.
