Apple marks Black History Month with a 'Black Unity' watch strap

Apple is honoring Black History Month once again, and that includes a special treat for Watch owners. The company has released a special edition $99 Black Unity Braided Solo Loop that weaves the Pan-African flag's colors into the stretchable black band. There's also a free, matching Unity Lights face you can download (using your iPhone) to show support — it's reportedly the first watch face to use '2D ray tracing' to simulate light, creating a distinctive aura around the minute and hour hands.

There's no special edition Apple Watch model this year. However, last year's was really a standard gray aluminum model with a bundled strap. This is an acknowledgment that you're more likely to buy the strap for your existing wearable.

The tech firm is also curating Black content across its services through February, and that includes material it's creating for fitness mavens. There will be new Black History Month workouts in Fitness+ with complementary soundtracks, a Time to Walk episode with Black Lives Matter co-founder Ayo Tometi and a Time to Run episode that includes civil rights landmarks in Atlanta. Whether or not you subscribe, there's a Unity Challenge Apple Watch owners can earn by closing their Move ring seven days in a row.