Apple’s Black History Month plans may tip an earlier than expected iOS 16.3 launch
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To celebrate Black History Month in February, Apple is introducing this year’s Black Unity Collection with a special edition Sport Loop for select Apple Watch models plus new curated collections and content for multiple iOS platforms.
2023 Black Unity sport loop (opens in new tab) is made of intricately woven yarn that spells out the word “Unity” using the same red, green, and black colors to represent the Pan-African flag; similar to last year’s offer. The band is available in two sizes, 41mm and 45mm, which are suitable for the “Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 4 or newer, and [the] Apple Watch Ultra (45mm tape only).” Apple Watch and iPhone owners will also be able to download a matching Pan-African watch face and phone background sometime next week. However, both designs require their respective devices to run watchOS 9.3 and iOS 16.3; both of which have not yet been officially released at the time of writing. They are both currently in beta.
Given the software requirement, Apple may suggest that both iOS 16.3 and watchOS 9.3 launch earlier than expected. According to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg (opens in new tab), the update should appear between February and March. We asked Apple if both watchOS 9.3 and iOS 16.3 will launch next week to coincide with the Black Unity Collection. This story will be updated if we hear anything.
The Sport Loop, on the other hand, is currently available at Apple’s online store (opens in new tab) for $49. Or if you prefer an in-person purchase, you can purchase the band from January 2 at “select Apple Store locations.”
New content
As for the new content, Apple teamed up with the Smithsonian to create a series of Apple Maps guides highlighting key moments in the civil rights movement over the past century or so. Each guide covers a specific time period and the events that took place. For example the 1960-1978 portion (opens in new tab) talk about Martin Luther King Jr., while the Guide 1980-2020 (opens in new tab) touches on more contemporary history like Black Lives Matter.
Apple Fitness Plus subscribers will get new episodes of Time to Walk and Time to Run on January 30. In the first episode, the famous R&B singer Patti LaBelle will give a glimpse into her life and family. Time to Run’s content is a survey of the South Los Angeles music and artists who “helped put West Coast hip-hop on the map”.
Most curated collections are just that; a collection of content aimed at black artists. Apple Books, for example, will continue to push its Read More Black Authors collection with the goal of connecting readers (and audiobook listeners) with books “across genres.” Apple Music has its For us, by us playlist (opens in new tab) to accommodate more numbers based on ‘resilience and resistance’.
Apple Podcasts will highlight shows that talk about how black media in general has greatly impacted the world; however, you’ll have to wait a while before you can listen. This collection will be launched on February 1.
Coming back to iOS 16.3, which we mentioned earlier, there’s a major fix coming in that update. It fixes random green and yellow lines flashing across an iPhone’s screen during startup. Apparently it is caused by the Home app. Make sure you check out TechRadar’s coverage of that rather annoying problem.