In summary:
- Apple released a new $99 braided solo loop Unity watch band for Black History Month 2026, designed by Black creatives and priced higher than previous $49 Unity bands.
- Macworld reports that this year’s celebration appears less comprehensive, notably lacking the new Unity wallpapers or watch faces that accompanied previous years’ offerings.
- Apple is supporting organizations like Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Urban Arts, continuing its tradition of charitable contributions during Black History Month.
Apple is celebrating Black History Month in the usual way: with a new Unity watch band “designed by black creatives and allies at Apple.” This year, the band is a braided solo loop, which costs $99. In previous years, Apple used $49 styles like the Sport Loop or Sport Band.
In addition to selling you a $99 watch band, Apple is highlighting its support of organizations “that inspire connection and promote creativity.” These include Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Urban Arts in New York City, Youth Music in London, Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, and Enactus México in Mexico City.
Typically, Apple has a little more to offer in celebration of Black History Month. At a minimum, the company introduces Unity wallpapers and watch faces. While last year’s wallpapers and watch faces are still available, the company didn’t announce anything new for 2026 and we were unable to find anything. The same goes for other previous efforts for Black History Month: Apple Music playlists and App Store highlighted apps, content in the TV app and Apple News, Books, Podcasts, even Apple Maps guides have all features in previous Black History Month contributions.
By comparison, this year feels a little basic. We get the usual “product you can buy” from Apple (at twice the price of past years) and unspecified charitable contributions, but not a lot else. We’ll update this post if anything else arrives before February 1.
Author: Jason Cross, Senior Editor, Macworld
Jason has written about technology for more than 25 years - first in the gaming press, then focusing on enthusiast PCs and general technology. He enjoys learning how complicated technology works and explaining it in a way anyone can understand.