Stephen Silver
Developer discovers that the LGBTQ-friendly Watch face is prevented by code from being accessed in that country.
Apple introduced the rainbow-colored Pride Apple Watch face, as well as a corresponding watch band, at WWDC back in June. But in recent weeks, observers have speculated as to why the Pride Watch face is not available in Russia. One developer appears to have found the reason, right in Apple's own code.
Developer Guilherme Rambo discovered this week that "the Apple Watch pride face is hardcoded to not show up if the paired iPhone is using the Russian locale," according to code extracted from the latest watchOS beta release.
The Apple Watch pride face is hardcoded to not show up if the paired iPhone is using the Russian locale pic.twitter.com/vEP8XquYsP
— Guilherme Rambo (@_inside) August 31, 2018
Rambo is the same developer who also discovered the leaked "iPhone XS" photos this week.
Apple has long put itself forward as an LGBTQ-friendly company, as Tim Cook is one of the few openly gay CEOs of a Fortune 500 company. Cook and other executives participated in San Francisco's Pride parade in June, and in 2017 the company introduced a Pride Watch band, donating some proceeds to LGBTQ organizations.
Russia, however, has passed a "gay propaganda" law, among other anti-LGBTQ laws enacted by the government of President Vladimir Putin. Much like Apple's various efforts in China, this is another case of Apple's core values as a company coming into conflict with the customs of a foreign country in which it seeks to do business.
Charles Martin
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Wesley Hilliard
27 Comments
It’s a watch Face , not a cross on your forehead. Why is this news?
How many here would like to see Apple completely pull out of any country or region that has human rights issues? Wouldn't that mean a complete shutdown of the company, including in the United States? This is reality, people. You either work within the system or take your ball and go home. The true engines of change work within the system they have issues with. There is no hypocrisy here unless you have horse blinders on.
Perhaps the default watch faces should just be watch faces, instead of political statements. If someone wants to make a statement they can add their own background in themselves.
The amount of people that are upset over this shows just how well propaganda works. Just be happy you have freedom over here in the States. Russia is perfectly fine without pride watch faces and bands.
(My personal opinion that is protected by the first amendment)