Apple’s Recent Pride Band And Wallpapers Shine In Neon Colors

The Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop, an eye-catching colourful one-piece braided yarn band that wraps around the wearer’s wrist, is Apple’s newest band in honour of the LGBTQ+ community. Starting on May 22nd in the US and Canada and on May 23rd internationally, the band will be sold for $99 at Apple retail locations and online.

The new Pride band, which has a much more modern appearance than the Sport band from the previous year, comes in 41mm and 45mm widths and is compatible with all Apple Watch Series 4 and later models as well as the Apple Watch SE. Rumours have that users who haven’t experienced a Braided Solo Loop band, are in for a treat when they eventually do.

“PRIDE 2024” will be laser etched into the bands. While Apple does not state clearly that any of the money it receives from the sale of these bands will benefit LGBTQ+ charities, it does state that it is a supporter of several groups, including the National Center for Transgender Equality, ILGA World, the Human Rights Campaign, and The Trevor Product.

When Apple announces a limited-edition watch band or wallpaper, it frequently contains hints about when the next version of iOS will be released. For example, the company revealed the final Black History Month bands one week before they were released, along with the news that the wallpapers would follow the same week. (Generally, watch faces and wallpapers are exclusive to iOS and watchOS releases.)

This time, the company was a little less specific, stating just that the Pride watchface and wallpapers will be available “soon” along with the software updates. Thus far, EU customers can sideload iOS 17.5 betas, and they also include other features like the option to keep Find My enabled when sending an iPhone in for repair.