Apple is launching a limited edition of the Apple Watch for Black History Month, with an exclusive watch strap, new watch face and part of the proceeds going to civil rights organizations.
The watch, part of a new collection of Black Unity products, comes with a black, green and red striped band and face, which reflect the Pan-African flag. Other than that, it appears to be the standard aluminum version of the Apple Watch Series 6, starting at $ 399. The band will also be available separately for $ 49.
The products will go on sale starting February 1 at Apple and Target. The band will go on sale all year, but the watch as a whole will only be sold in February. It looks like the watch face will be available to anyone with an Apple Watch starting today.
Apple says it will be “supporting six global organizations” as part of the launch of this product, including the Black Lives Matter Support Fund, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and the European Network Against Racism.
In addition to the new edition of the watch, Apple announced a number of other initiatives for this year’s Black History Month. There will be a hub on the App Store highlighting black-owned companies and developers; Apple Music will receive “playlists, essays, original videos” and other content featuring black artists; and Apple Maps is receiving recommendations from EatOkra, which highlights black-owned restaurants. Apple plans to curate stories focused on black families and experiences on the Apple TV and Apple News apps and feature black authors on Apple Books and Apple Podcasts.
Apple is among a series of tech giants that collectively pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in racial equity initiatives. Apple announced a $ 100 million fund in June 2020; earlier this month, Apple announced that it would create a developer education center in Detroit and support a technology center for historically black colleges and universities in Atlanta.