In celebration of Black History Month, Apple releases new Black Unity collection and content
Apple commemorates Black History Month with exclusive content and curated launches celebrating Black culture and community. Starting today, customers can show their support with this year’s Black Unity Collection, which includes a special-edition Apple Watch Black Unity Sport Loop, alongside a new matching watch face and iPhone wallpaper. Beginning in February, all-new activations — including a series of Apple Maps Guides created by the Smithsonian, TV and film collections curated by Dr. Jelani Cobb, and more will be available to explore. Additionally, through its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative (REJI), Apple is expanding its support of five organizations focused on uplifting Black and Brown communities by unlocking creative potential through technology.
Apple Watch and iPhone
Members of Apple’s Black creative community and allies came together to develop this year’s Black Unity Collection and designed the new expressions inspired by the creative process of mosaic, celebrating the vibrancy of Black communities and the power of unity.
The Black Unity Sport Loop features the word “Unity” woven abstractly into the band using red, green, and black yarns that pay homage to the Pan-African flag, while a unique layering of yarns lends a sense of three-dimensionality to the letters. Additionally, the Unity Mosaic watch face incorporates geometric shapes in green, black, red, and yellow, and as the minutes change, each number uses pieces of other numbers to morph into new forms. iPhone users can also show their support with the new Unity wallpaper for their Lock Screen.
Apple is supporting Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney), Ghetto Film School (New York, Los Angeles, London), Music Forward (Los Angeles), Shout Mouse Press (Washington, D.C.), and The National Museum of African American Music (Nashville, Tennessee). Apple’s support for these organizations is a continuation of REJI grants over the past two years that helped organizations committed to providing economic, educational, and creative opportunities in communities of color.
App Store
The App Store will spotlight apps and games forging creative solutions for Black communities in areas such as music, banking, and gaming. Among these apps and games are Dot’s Home, a 2022 App Store Award-winning game designed to educate users on housing disparities experienced in communities of color and financial wellness apps such as Goalsetter, Altro, and CapWay that are empowering the community with financial resources. The App Store will also celebrate 50 years of hip-hop culture by spotlighting numerous apps that allow users to listen, watch, and learn the significance of this creative movement in both the past and present.
Apple Music
Apple Music will underscore the innumerable ways that Black artists have contributed to music and culture through healing, improvisation, reinvention, and so much more across all genres. The For Us, By Us playlist will be updated to capture expressions of resilience and resistance, and users can also enjoy new episodes of The Message and additional radio programming on Apple Music 1, Country, and HITS.