It’s June, which means it’s officially Pride Month. Even if you aren’t a member of the LGBQT+ community, you can show your support as an ally in various ways — and it can be as simple as wearing Pride-themed merchandise.
Apple is no stranger to Pride Month, as it has released several Pride Edition Apple Watch bands in the past few years. The bands have come in most of the style varieties that Apple offers, including the Sport Band, Sport Loop, Braided Solo Loop, Nike Sport Band, and even the discontinued woven nylon band styles.
This year, Apple released a new Pride Edition design for the classic Sport Band style, and it’s been quite a polarizing one. But I’m personally a big fan! Let’s take a look.
It’s like funfetti cake
The design of this year’s Pride Edition Sport Band is pretty simple, but still a lot of fun. We have a solid bright white base with a bunch of elongated pill-shaped capsules that represent the various colors of the core Pride flag, as well as smaller communities like black and brown for the marginalized LGBTQ+ communities of color, those impacted by HIV/AIDS, and even trans and nonbinary people with the light blue, pink, and white colors.
The bottom half of the band features most of the cooler colors (blues, greens, purples), while the top half has more of the warmer hues (oranges, yellows, reds). Around the middle, where the lugs connect to your Apple Watch, the warm and cool colors are a bit mixed and intertwined, kind of like an ombré effect with capsules.
The overall design makes me think of sprinkles and birthday cake, which is part of the appeal for me. But I have seen other people on the internet say this is one of the “worst Pride designs yet.” I suppose it’s my love for sweet treats talking, but I think it’s a fun and cute design for Pride.
This year’s design matches the accompanying Pride wallpaper that’s included in the latest versions of iOS 16.5 and watchOS 9.5.
The Sport Band is a classic
For most people, when they buy an Apple Watch, they’re probably going to get it with a Sport Band. It’s a classic design and also quite comfortable. The Pride Edition Sport Band also features the traditional pin-and-tuck closure, and the fluoroelastomer material is soft yet durable. I also really love the touch of adding a laser-etched “Designed with pride in California” on the pin closure itself.
It’s been a while since I’ve used the Sport Band straps, as I’d been using the Sport Loop for the past few months. But it’s also comfortable to wear all day.
It’s for a good cause
While some brands out there just make Pride merchandise for profit, Apple actually does support LGBQT+ advocacy groups and organizations.
When you purchase the Pride Edition Sport Band, or even the Pride Edition Sport Loop or Braided Solo Loops that are still on sale, you support groups like the Equality Federation Institute, Equality Texas, Gender Spectrum, Human Rights Campaign, The Trevor Project, and more. You can see a full list of the supported organizations from the product page.
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