On May 9, 2023, Apple introduced this Apple Watch Pride Edition Sport Band. This Sport Band was introduced along with a matching watch face and iOS wallpaper. The design is a first for Apple and includes the most colors ever incorporated into a Sport Band. Apple described the Sport Band:
“…the new Sport Band design showcases the original pride flag rainbow colors and five others — black and brown symbolize Black and Latin communities, in addition to those who have passed away from or are living with HIV/AIDS, while light blue, pink, and white represent transgender and nonbinary individuals.”
Even the band’s manufacturing process is unique to this design:
“This year’s design integrates a joyful rainbow of geometric shapes on a white base, which are compression-molded into the final band. 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.”
The following organizations are supported by Apple’s sales of this Sport Band:
- Equality Federation Institute
- Encircle
- Equality North Carolina
- Equality Texas
- Gender Spectrum
- GLSEN
- Human Rights Campaign
- PFLAG
- The National Center for Transgender Equality
- SMYAL
- The Trevor Project
- ILGA World
This particular object in my collection includes a four-pack box, likely intended only for an Apple Watch Band distributor. When it arrived, I was not certain what it was since it was shipped as a plain-white, unmarked box with a cardboard zip-style opener. I was surprised to find that the box contained four identical Pride Edition Sport Bands in size M/L.