Cupertino offers new Apple Watch Pride Edition bands and faces

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Apple's ew Pride Edition Sport Loop
Experimental street dancer Jin Lee Baobei wears the new Pride Edition Sport Loop band for Apple Watch, shot on iPhone 13 Pro by Collier Schorr.
Photo: Apple

Cupertino rolled out its new Apple Watch Pride Edition bands and faces Tuesday in support of the global LGBTQ+ community. Long a supporter of LGBTQ+ advocacy through numerous programs, Apple launched two new bands and two new watch faces.

The launches come ahead of Pride Month in June, when the company said it will also run a Shot on iPhone Pride Campaign.

New Apple Watch Pride Edition launches: 2 new bands and 2 new faces

Apple noted its long-running support for LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations working to bring about positive change. They include Encircle, which offers programs and services for the LGBTQ+ community and their families, the The Trevor Project, which is the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ young people, and many others.

Apple Watch Pride Edition bands and watch faces are now in their seventh year.

There are two 2022 Pride Edition bands, Apple said. The main Pride Edition Sport Loop, similar to the typical Sport Loop design, features a wide rainbow and white edging. Then there’s the Pride Edition Nike Sport Loop.

The Pride Edition Sport Loop’s design incorporates the word “Pride” in cursive on the band. That’s inspired by the original “hello” greeting, displayed on the first Macintosh in 1984, Apple said. It gives the word a 3D look and feel. Apple used new technique to remove several of the double-layer nylon-woven textile loops in the band to accomplish that.

The word "Pride" appears on the Pride Edition Sport Loop.
The word “Pride” appears on the Pride Edition Sport Loop.
Photo: Apple

In addition, a new App Clip functionality within the band packaging makes it easier for users to apply the new matching watch face, called Pride Threads.

The second band is the Pride Edition Nike Sport Loop. It features a rainbow incorporating black stripes that match Nike’s Be True campaign.

You can still get last year’s Pride band, too.

Both the Pride Edition Sport Loop and Pride Edition Nike Sport Loop are available now.

Price: $49

Where to buy: Apple

The Pride Edition Nike Sport Loop shown with the new matching face.
The Pride Edition Nike Sport Loop shown with the new matching face.

New Pride Edition faces

In addition to the bands, you now have two new faces for Apple Watch that support Pride.

The first is the Pride Threads watch face. Mirroring the woven loops of the Sport Loop, each strand of thread contributes to the overall composition of the watch face. The colorful threads move as the Digital Crown on Apple Watch is rotated, the display is tapped or the user’s wrist is raised.

The second one is the rainbow-colored Nike Bounce face, incorporating the time in a bold font along with the Nike logo against a multi-colored gradient background.

Both new faces are available now in the Watch app.

Have a closer look at the new Pride Threads face matching the Pride Edition Sport Loop.
Have a closer look at the new Pride Threads face matching the Pride Edition Sport Loop.
Photo: Apple

Shot on iPhone Pride campaign

Along with the new additions will come a Shot on iPhone Pride campaign. It will use imagery from an “illustrious group of intersectional creatives, celebrating present-day queer pioneers in places of historic significance to the LGBTQ+ movement,” Apple said.

Apple will feature works by photographers including Ryan McGinley, Evan Ebally Atwood, Meinke Klein, Caia Ramalho, Lydia Metral, and Collier Schorr on its Instagram account.

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