Each year at this time, Apple launches its Pride celebrations, usually including new wallpaper options for the iPhone and iPad, a new face for Apple Watch and even a new Apple Watch band. All those things have come to pass this year.
Inside The Pride Luminance Watch Face
With watchOS 26.5, users can download and install the new Pride Luminance watch face which comes in two versions, radial and vertical, with significant customization.
The hallmark of the face is the way the colors refract as you move the Watch, as though made of ridged materials that catches the light dynamically.
Of course, it’s not ridged, the refraction comes from clever software coding working with the accelerometer, but it’s a persuasive effect. If you’ve used the Reflections watch face, you’ll know the refraction effect and how it looks.
The vertical stripes work well with the refraction, but the radial face does it better, again similar to the Reflections face.
Customization And Color Options
Customization lies first in the choice of color finishes, which come in 11 patterns or the option to choose your own. This 12th version allows the user to pick up to 12 colors to refract at a time.
In my experience, the pre-selected versions look better, though that may just be my fairly useless color choices, but each to their own.
Always-On Display And Complications
As with other watch faces on Apple Watch models with an always-on display (which is the entire current range), when your wrist is down, both radial and vertical faces retreat into elegant black-dominated faces with narrow, pinstripe colors delineating the 12 hours.
Additionally, you can put either radial or vertical in full-screen or circular faces, with the option for complications around the edge for the circular ones.
How To Get The New Apple Watch Face
Once your iPhone is on iOS 26.5 and Apple Watch is on watchOS 26.5, it’s a simple matter to switch to the new Pride Luminance face. On your iPhone, open the Apple Watch app and choose Face Gallery. You’ll see New Watch Faces at the top and when you tap on Pride Luminance it’ll take you to a screen where you can configure the colors and style. When you’re done, choose Add to Watch.
Alternatively, on the Apple Watch, press and hold the face until it shrinks. Swipe left to bring up the plus sign, tap that and choose Pride Luminance. From there, you can edit the style and colors.
