This black journal-style notebook has an elastic band and features the Apple Distinguished School logotype printed in white. The interior of the notebook has off-white lined pages.
The name of manufacturer is embossed on the back, SPECTOR & CO. This notebook measures 5.5 x 8.5 inches and is 5/16 inch thick. the two outside edges are rounded slightly.
Apple describes the Distinguished Schools program:
“Apple Distinguished Schools are centers of leadership and educational excellence that demonstrate Apple’s vision for learning with technology — and we believe they are some of the most innovative schools in the world.”
As of March 2023, Apple reported that there were 728 Apple Distinguished Schools in 36 countries.
I have two of these notebooks in my collection, and both are unused.
The @AppleEDU Twitter account was started in January 2012 and as of 2023 has one million followers. Its description reads:
“Spark new ideas, create more aha moments, and teach in ways you’ve always imagined. Follow @AppleEDU for tips, updates, and inspiration.”
This set of vinyl stickers is printed with @AppleEdu in Apple’s San Francisco font in a variety of colors—red, orange, green, blue, hot pink, and black. Oddly, the Twitter account name is @AppleEDU (with EDU in caps), but the stickers use the “CamelCase” convention from the 1990s—an odd inconsistency given the usual fussiness of the Education Marketing team.
These stickers were available at technology conferences for attendees who visited Apple’s dedicated area. At the EdTech conference I attended, Apple had a part of a hallway and a dedicated conference room where various sessions and activities were offered where attendees could learn about Apple’s programs and offerings for schools.
Each sticker sheet measures 4 x 1.25 inches. Removed from the backing, the custom-die-cut sticker measures approximately 3.5 x 0.625 inches.
The iPhone 7 had a 4.7-inch screen at 1334×750, also known by Apple as a Retina HD display. It had a front and back camera—the rear camera was 12-megapixel and the front camera was a 7-megapixel FaceTime HD camera with 1080p video.
The iPhone 7 was the first iPhone (along with the iPhone 7 Plus) to remove the 3.5mm headphone jack and only include a Lightning port for audio. Like the iPhone 6 and 6s before it, the iPhone 7 used a “clickless” Home button that clicks using an internal Taptic-engine-powered solid state component. Although the iPhone 7 was not water-proof, it was splash, water, and dust-resistant.
The iPhone 7 models came in several colors: silver (white glass front, silver back); gold (white glass front, gold back); rose gold (white glass front, pink-tinted gold back); black (black glass front, matte black back); jet black (black glass front, a high-gloss black anodized and polished black aluminum back); and later added a (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition (white glass front, red aluminum back).
The iPhone 7 used the Apple A10 Fusion processor, 2 GB of RAM, and was available with 32 GB, 128 GB, or 256 GB of flash storage.
This T-shirt features the skull-and-crossbones design that was hand-painted by Susan Kare and flown on a flag over the building housing the creators of the original Macintosh.
According to Susan Kare’s website:
“In 1983, Susan Kare painted the original pirate flag in response to one of Steve Job’s slogans at a Macintosh offsite: It’s better to be a pirate than join the Navy. The original that flew over Bandley 3, the Macintosh building at Apple, Inc. for more than a year…has since been lost…”
This shirt was purchased at the employee Apple Store at One Infinite Loop, Apple original headquarters before Apple Park. The shirt is a size XXL, unopened in its original box. The white box is printed with a white Apple logo and measures 195mm x 195mm x 35mm.
This Apple Park T-shirt is black with the Apple logotype in five of six original Apple logo colors. “Apple Garamond” refers to Apple’s corporate font used between 1984 and 2003.
A T-shirt with a similar design is featured on page 57 of the Spring 1993 Starting Line: Apple Marketing Communications Catalog. Its description reads:
Black Apple T-shirt Modeled after the sweatshirt John Scully wears on the cover of his book Odyssey: From Pepsi to Apple, this black Apple T-shirt is 100% preshrunk cotton with a five-color Apple name. Adult sizes S–XXL. APL166
This shirt was purchased at the Apple Visitor Center Apple Store at Apple Park. The shirt is a size 2XL, unopened in its original box. The white box is printed with a white Apple logo and measures 195mm x 195mm x 35mm.
This black t-shirt features a small white Apple logo on the front. It has no other printed designs.
The shirt has two tags, one indicating that the brand is BELLA+CANVAS, a Los Angeles-based company specializing in “premium crafted tees.” The second tag includes size, manufacturing, and care information.
This black t-shirt features a front design with the words Black@Apple in San Francisco Bold, Apple’s corporate font. The left sleeve features a small white Apple logo.
The shirt has two tags, one indicating that the brand is BELLA+CANVAS, a Los Angeles-based company specializing in “premium crafted tees.” The second tag includes size, manufacturing, and care information.
Apple’s Diversity web page references the “Black@Apple” group under one of many features on this page. Information can be found by clicking the feature block “Community is the core of our culture.” Part of the feature reads:
“In the last year, we’ve grown our global communities more than 50 percent, including expansions in Apple Store locations and across all regions. More than 55,000 Apple employees belong to groups like Accessibility@Apple, AsianPacific@Apple, Beacon@Apple, Black@Apple, Familia@Apple, Indigenous@Apple, Pride@Apple, SouthAsian@Apple, Veterans@Apple, Women@Apple, and more.”
Employees are featured on another related page by following the link “Learn more about Apple DNAs >.” This link leads to the “Careers at Apple” website with the headline “I belong@Apple” where scrolling down the page introduces Apple employees who are identified as being part of various communities within Apple. These communities are referred to as “Diversity Network Associations.”
One feature identified Georgiana, an Apple employee part of Black@Apple—wearing this same T-shirt—and telling her story about some of the differences made by the Black@Apple Diversity Network Association:
“For years, different Black@Apple chapters had been doing their own smaller Juneteenth celebrations. Then, after our 2018 DNA Summit, we met with Apple leadership to share ideas for a more unified approach. Just a few weeks later, we saw one of those ideas come to life in time to celebrate… Juneteenth officially appeared in Calendar as a U.S. holiday—not just for Apple people, but for everyone…”
This Mindful Minute fleece was only available to Apple employees who participated in and completed the “Mindful Minute” challenge.
According to MacRumors writer mikedop, who has extensively researched and written about the challenges:
“Those who completed the 2019 Mindful Minute challenge received a soft fleece blanket. The blanket measures four feet by six feet in size (4×6) and contains no designs except for an embroidered mindfulness icon and Apple logo in a light teal.”
The blanket is made from black fleece. For the logo design, the mindfulness icon was simplified to use six interlocking circles in a circle. The design is similar to the Breathe app (which uses eight transparent interlocking circles).
The Braided Solo Loop Apple Watch band was released in 2020 along with the Apple Watch Series 6. The packaging describes this product as a “Textile Fitted Band.” According to Apple’s website:
“Each Braided Solo Loop features a unique, stretchable design that’s ultracomfortable and easy to slip on and off your wrist. Made from 100 percent recycled materials, the 16,000 polyester yarn filaments in each band are interwoven with thin silicone threads using advanced braiding machinery then laser cut to an exact length. The 300D construction offers a soft, textured feel and is both sweat-resistant and water-resistant.”
The color of this band is Charcoal, a shade of dark gray. It was available in 40mm and 44mm widths and was among the first Apple Watch bands to be sold in specific wrist sizes. The 40mm Braided Solo Loop was sold in wrist sizes 1–9, and the 44mm Braided Solo Loop was sold in wrist sizes 4–12.
According to Apple’s website, “This band comes in custom sizes because it’s designed for an ultracomfortable fit. An accurate measurement will help you get the size that’s right for you.” The website allowed buyers to download a PDF and cut out a “tool” that wrapped around the wrist to designate the band size needed.
The Black Unity Apple Watch Sport Band was part of an effort during the first time Apple referred to a product as part of a “collection”—in this case, to celebrate Black History Month in 2021. According to a press release:
“To celebrate Black History Month, Apple is bringing customers a variety of new and updated collections and exclusive content that highlight and amplify Black creators, artists, developers, and businesses. From curated features across the App Store, Apple Music, the Apple TV app, Apple Books, and Apple Podcasts, to new Apple Maps Guides, the Apple Watch Black Unity Collection, Today at Apple sessions, and more, here is a look at what is in store across Apple’s products and services this February.”
The Apple Watch Black Unity Collection included three elements: “a limited-edition Apple Watch Series 6, the Black Unity Sport Band, and a Unity watch face.” In this example, the Black Unity Apple Watch Sport Band is paired with an Apple Watch Series 7 in silver stainless steel.
Apple described the Black Unity Sport Band:
“Designed by Black creatives and allies throughout Apple to celebrate and acknowledge Black history and culture, the Black Unity Sport Band is inspired by the colors of the Pan-African flag and pays homage to the rich tradition and craft of quilt-making. Three individual pieces of colored fluoroelastomer are assembled by hand and compression-molded as one. Complemented by the dynamic Unity watch face, which displays an ever-changing pattern of irregular shapes as Apple Watch moves, these colors are brought together in a unique tapestry. The innovative pin-and-tuck closure is laser-etched with ‘Truth. Power. Solidarity.'”
During this effort, Apple reported that they would support six global organizations to “help advance their missions in promoting and achieving equality and civil rights in the US and around the world: Black Lives Matter Support Fund via the Tides Foundation; European Network Against Racism; International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights; Leadership Conference Education Fund; NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.; and Souls Grown Deep.”
