9to5Mac gave a first look at the face and band of the Apple Watch Pride 2023 last month, and Apple officially announced them on Tuesday. While the new band won’t be available in stores until May 24, the company has confirmed that the new Pride watch face and wallpaper for iPhone will be available next week with watchOS 9.5 and iOS 16.5. Here’s a closer look at what they look like.
Apple says the new sports band is “inspired by the strength and beauty of the LGBTQ+ community.” It features the original rainbow colors of the Pride flag, plus black and brown to represent Black and Hispanic communities. In addition, the colors light blue, pink and white represent transgender and non-binary people.
New Pride face for the Apple Watch
The new Pride face for Apple Watch is inspired by the design of the new 2023 Pride strap. By default, an analog clock with colored pills around the display is shown. The pointers correspond to the colors they are currently pointing to. However, users can customize the new watch face.
Three different styles are available: movement, hour markers, and numerals. The first is the default and gets its name because the colored pills move when the display is active. You can also tap the screen to interact with them. With this style, there are no complications other than the calendar or digital time display in the center.
Hour markers and numerals transform the dial into a dial very much like the classic infographic, with four complications in the corners and one in the middle. As the name suggests, one has the watch’s digits on it, while the other only has the reference markings. In this case, the numbers and markers are displayed in the same colors as the colored pills.
Although Apple’s marketing images show the new watch face with a white background, users can change the background to black. There is no way to change the colors of the complications.
New Pride wallpaper for iPhone
Apple also introduced a new Pride wallpaper for the iPhone, also based on the 2023 Pride bracelet and watch face. However, the colored pills take up almost the entire iPhone screen. They also move when you lock and unlock the screen. With the iPhone 14 Pro, the pills are getting thinner in always-on mode.
The background changes from white to black depending on whether the system is set to light or dark mode. Users can change the font and add widgets to the lock screen, but the only color options are gradient and white.
Availability
According to Apple, iOS 16.5 and watchOS 9.5 will be released to the public next week. However, developers and public beta testers can already add the new Pride theme by installing the RC builds released today.
It’s worth noting that you can still buy the 2022 edition of the Apple Watch Pride band.
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