Apple Celebrates 10 Years of Apple Watch with ‘Global Close Your Rings Day’
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Although the purported 10th Anniversary Edition “Apple Watch X” turned out to be nothing more than rumor and conjecture, Apple isn’t letting the tenth anniversary of its popular wearable go by entirely uncelebrated.
Last fall, Apple threw us a curveball when it announced that its annual iPhone and Apple Watch event, dubbed Glowtime, would be held on September 9, 2024 — precisely 10 after the original Apple Watch announcement, which was made on September 9, 2014.
Of course, Apple never said, or even hinted, that this would be an anniversary celebration, but many Apple enthusiasts immediately recognized the date as significant. The fact that September 9 also landed on a Monday in 2024 only added fuel to the fire, as it was the first time in Apple history that one of its fall events landed on a Monday.
When the event ended with nothing more special than the Apple Watch Series 10, it was clear that the timing meant nothing — at least not to anyone outside of Apple (we also can’t entirely discount the possibility that Apple was deliberately messing with us).
However, the Apple Watch has two potential anniversary dates. The wearable was first announced by Apple during its fall iPhone event on September 9, 2014, but like many Apple products in entirely new categories, it didn’t go on sale until several months later, on April 24, 2015.
That led to speculation that Apple might have something special planned for this month. While it would be very bizarre for the company to release new Apple Watch hardware this time of year, hints of a lower-key celebration appeared in November when the folks at MacRumors found references to a “Ten Year Celebration” activity achievement in the early iOS 18.2 betas.
Little more could be gleaned from the code snippets, but the context and description made it a safe bet that we’d be looking at a limited edition activity challenge, similar to the ones that Apple runs annually to mark occasions like Earth Day, New Year’s Day, Heart Month, and Veteran’s Day. Apple has also run one-shot challenges in the past, such as 2021’s Unity Challenge that came as part of its first Black History Month commemoration and the only Limited Edition Apple Watch the company has ever released, the “Black Unity” Series 6.
Global Close Your Rings Day
Those code snippets were indeed a sign of things to come. Today, Apple announced that April 24 will mark Global Close Your Rings Day.
As the name suggests, the challenge for April 24 is to close all three of your activity rings. Doing so will earn you the usual limited-edition award in your digital trophy case, but Apple is offering even more to commemorate the occasion.
In addition to the award, users who close all three rings will unlock 10 animated stickers and an animated badge that can be used in the Messages app.
For the first time, Apple is also offering a physical pin that can be picked up at your local Apple Store to celebrate the award and ten years of Apple Activity Rings.
There’s no picture of the pin, but Apple says it’s “inspired by the award,” so it will probably resemble the digital badge. The pins will be available “while supplies last” at Apple Store locations, and it appears you’ll be able to get one even if you haven’t closed your rings.
Apple Activity Rings Promote Better Health
In today’s announcement, Apple also highlights research insights that show that closing your Activity rings regularly contributes to better sleep, heart health, and mental wellbeing.
“Apple Watch has changed the way people think about, monitor, and engage with their fitness and health. A decade ago, we introduced Activity rings — and since then, Apple Watch has grown to offer an extensive set of features designed to empower every user,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “People write to us almost every day sharing how Apple Watch has made a difference in their life, from motivating them to move more throughout the day, to changing the trajectory of their health.”
Data contributed by more than 140,000 participants in the Apple Heart and Movement Study revealed that users who frequently close their Activity rings are 48 percent less likely to experience poor sleep quality, 73 percent less likely to experience elevated resting heart rate levels, and 57 percent less likely to report elevated stress.
