Apple’s next fitness challenge will invite Apple Watch owners to celebrate Black History Month.
Titled "Unity Challenge", the virtual event will be held from February 1 through February 28. To win this challenge and earn exclusive awards, Apple Watch wearers will need to close their Move ring seven days in a row during February.
Apple typically sends a notification to Apple Watch owners at least a day or two ahead of new Activity challenges, and we expect this to be true with the upcoming one.
How to Complete Apple’s Unity Challenge
According to 9to5Mac, the notification will read as follows:
Let’s celebrate Black history this month and keep the momentum going all year long. To start, earn this Unity award by closing your Move ring seven days in a row during February.
Completing the challenge shall win you a virtual medal in the Activity app along with animated stickers to boost your messaging game in the Messages app and spice up your FaceTime video conversations. Rather than being limited to the Apple Watch, you can use these animated stickers in the Messages app on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac as well.
Additional Fitness Challenges From Apple
Don’t want to wait until February? Don’t worry because the company's current "Ring in the New Year" challenge is still live in the Activity app. It challenges you to close your stand, exercise, and move rings for seven consecutive days during January.
And should that not be enough to make you sweat, Apple has recently launched a new workout subscription service. Dubbed Fitness+, it brings polished fitness videos and integration with Apple Watch workout metrics. For those interested, you can learn more about how to get started with Apple Fitness+ in our full guide.
Apple Celebrates Black History Month
Apple has never organized a fitness challenge around Black History Month, but that’s not saying that the Unity Challenge was entirely unexpected. Quite the contrary, Apple is preparing several initiatives to celebrate Black History Month.
As an example, the company’s retail stores will host over 40 inspirational Today at Apple sessions, AppleInsider has reported. Apple says customers attending these sessions can "learn from dynamic creators who are changing cultural narratives through visual arts, photography, poetry, dance, film, and more" throughout February.
Will You Take the Challenge?
Apple regularly hosts challenges in the Activity app that reward users with virtual awards. People are typically required to complete a specific workout session like performing a one-hour outdoor walk or closing one of the Activity rings for several days in a row.
This is all part of Apple’s heavy focus on the fitness and health aspects of the watch. In that regard, regular Activity challenges have served Apple well as a promotional vehicle for its wearable device.
But could Apple motivate you to get off the couch and get moving? And will these challenges in the Activity app be enough to ultimately make you take advantage of the Apple Watch’s workout tracking features more often than you normally would?
Well, if you want to become a better version of yourself, then 2021 should indeed be the year in which you could get into the kind of shape that you aspire to be in.