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What week was your watch produced? Seen a lot of the black band issues as well as other issues with week 14 watches.
 
Initial wear. Initial wear. Initial wear.

Brand new set of tires, after experiencing friction they show scuff marks, on day one no less!

It's rubber on rubber contact, it's going to show initial wear after rubbing against itself. If that initial wear then continues to deteriorate rapidly then there certainly is an issue. If it stays the same, then we know that this is just the nature of this particular rubber variant.

Fine, I take your point :p

Personally I think the marks make it look cheap and a bit tatty, but if that's what happens, I guess there isn't much you can do about it. It's a shame though, as it's definitely a choice Apple made. Not all rubber straps do this, so Apple can't be absolved of the blame.

Just glad I got the white one. No marks on it after a week of use. Only way you can tell it's worn is that it doesn't quite sit flat, but that's to be expected and can't be seen when worn.
 
Same thing is happening to my 38mm Space Grey Sport. It only shows up on the black band though. My roommate has a blue band and four of my colleagues have white/blue/green bands and they show no signs of wear or "shiny" spots.

Ugh. Space Grey still looks sick though! So classy.
 
I'm rather enjoying all the threads from folks that obviously haven't owned a lot of watches and are having to re-learn tons of lessons from us long-time watch folks. Things like scratches in SS (and how/when to polish), sapphire crystals, and the cause de jour, rubber straps.

You bought a smooth, black, rubber strap. Guess what? They wear and show marks. Learned this decades ago. If you want a rubber strap, go with a patterned surface or light color if the small marks bother you. Personally, having already learned many of these lessons, I went with the SS Apple watch with both the classic leather band and the SS links. YMMV.

Sorry, I have owned and worn a watch everyday for the past 40 years and I have never experienced the amount of wear on a watch band after only 1 day. I know things wear out when used, but would you be happy if you bought a shirt and it started to fray at the seams on the first day you wore it or the color faded on the first wash? This level of wear is abnormal and should not exist after just a few days (or hours in my case).
 
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So I got my Apple Watch Sport on Monday night and put it on Tuesday morning. I've been wearing it for about 2-3 days now and I'm already seeing wear on the Black Sport Band. Black Sport Discoloration

Now, I've owned other watches before with the same type of material and I've never seen a watch wear down this fast. Here's a comparison between a watch I've owned/worn for two years (going through sweat,dust,dirt,showers,etc) compared next to the Black Sport band that I got Monday night.

Timex vs Apple Watch Band Wear

I really don't think it should be wearing down this fast (I can understand if it wears down after a couple months, but not after 2 days). I've contacted Apple Support and the representatives were surprised and nervous as well since they ordered the same watch as what I have. They said it wasn't normal and they would look into it as well as replace the band for me since this was a special case.

For those wondering, it seems like the matte finish is coming off the watch and is not repairable (as in running through alcohol). Also, the wear is on both sides of the watch (front and back)

Does anyone else have the same issue as me?

I guess this will happen when you have to take it off every single night in order to charge it.
 
Seems it is harder for you to understand that it has been worn only for 3 days. It is normal after some months of regular use, but not after 3 days.


Lol, I totally understand the 3 day thing. You're not familiar with wear obviously. It doesn't care if it's one minute, one day, or one year... Use it, and it shows. The end.
 
Lol, I totally understand the 3 day thing. You're not familiar with wear obviously. It doesn't care if it's one minute, one day, or one year... Use it, and it shows. The end.

No, you clearly don't understand the "3 day thing". It matters a lot in real life whether it is "3 days" or 3 months. With time you will learn it.
Yes, I am quite familiar with black rubber watch band wear phenomenon, being a watch collector for decades.
 
Alright. You continue to have a fit over something small and ridiculous. I'll enjoy mine when I get it.

Good day. :)
 
After 2 days, my black sport band is also showing the symptoms OP reported. I understand that I bought the lower end model, but I expect the band to hold up for a least a couple of months.

I will be contacting Apple support for a replacement - according to the website, a replacement costs some money...
 
I'm not particularly worried, but my black band is worn the same if not worse. You can only see it when you take it off. Definitely not what I was expecting.
 
This thread is complete bananas.

The surface rubbing shows up on black because of the material color. The two textured surfaces rubbing against each color create a bit of sheen which shows up more gray and noticeable on black that on other colors and is not noticible on white because if you scratch your nail on white it's not going to leave a non white mark. Do that to black and it will leave a gray scratch. This is the nature of the material and not a freakin defect.

If this is your first time wearing a watch you need to put you big boy pants on and realize that there's no way to wear this thing on your wrist, naked, and have it remain in showroom condition. If you want to do that (why would you?) then better to look at it from a distance.

The wear is showing on the underside of the band, which makes the drama that much more bananas.

The number of days it takes is irrelevant. Maybe you're wearing it too lose or swinging your arms too much or have dry skin, or sweaty skin, or whatever. People who wear the watch under suit coats will probably complain of some wear the sleeve causes eventually. People with cats or dogs will complain that the screen picks up pet hair/fur and they have to constantly clean the screen.

I think a lot of people who got this watch are not mentally prepared for something that is inherently a tool and is exposed to a lot more than a phone in an otter box is.

Again, the days it takes for this to occur is dependent on the user and the use case. The band is not deteriorating all by itself. The nature of this ban design is that there is a lot of surface to surface contacts, depending on wrist size. People that can't handle wear marks that only you can see need to lighten up a bit.

Ever own a pair of jeans? Leather goods?
 
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The surface rubbing shows up on black because of the material color. The two textured surfaces rubbing against each color create a bit of sheen which shows up more gray and noticeable on black that on other colors and is not noticible on white because if you scratch your nail on white it's not going to leave a non white mark. Do that to black and it will leave a gray scratch. This is the nature of the material and not a freakin defect.

The number of days it takes is irrelevant. Maybe you're wearing it too lose or swinging your at,s too much or have dry skin, or sweaty skin, or whatever. People who wear the watch under suit coats will probably complain of so,e wear the sleeve causes eventually. People with cats or dogs will complain that the screen picks up pet hair/fur and they have to constantly clean the screen.

I think a lot of people who got this watch are not mentally prepared for something that is inherently a tool and is exposed to a lot more than a phone in an otter box is.

Again, the days it takes for this to occur is dependent on the user and the use case. The band is not deteriorating all by itself. The nature of this ban design is that there is a lot of surface to surface contacts, depending on wrist size. Expel that can't handle wear marks that only you can see need to lighten up a bit.

Ever own a pair of jeans? Leather goods?

I get wear issues but I still don't buy it that this should occur so dramatically after a few hours or a couple of days of use. And why aren't we seeing this on the other band colors? I might believe that any wear marks might be more visible on black but you would still expect to see some wear reports on the blue/green/whites also.
 
I get wear issues but I still don't buy it that this should occur so dramatically after a few hours or a couple of days of use. And why aren't we seeing this on the other band colors? I might believe that any wear marks might be more visible on black but you would still expect to see some wear reports on the blue/green/whites also.

Color can impact the nature of the material itself... Some colors just hold up better. The other mac news site has an article up about band discoloration so, deformations, etc as being normal material behavior and ineligible for replacement for this reason.

Also my own observation, some have compared to other rubber-like bands from timex, etc. keep in mind it's quite likely these materials are all different. There are many different fluoroelastomer compounds - some of the other watches use Viton (I believe Panerai does, or used to) but apple likely defined their own formula for their own spec and to me comfort fit is way more important than wear that occurs in places not seen. The wear may be more prominent here because the material is softer for more comfort. Some of my other rubber bands are much denser, stiffer and are not as form fitting or comfortable so there are trade offs.
 
Well aren't the different band colors also different weights? I forget where the page is but I remember seeing that each of the colors differed by weight with black being the lightest in weight--I think--don't hold me to that.

So there are more differences among the different colored bands besides their coloring. Maybe there's something in the black pigment that makes it prone to losing its matte luster and showing friction shine. As long as it doesn't progress to a more pronounced state of wear prematurely, I'm going to agree with those who post that this likely is initial break-in wear and will stay pretty much as-is now that the contact points have been established. Only time will tell. Pardon the expression.
 
Color can impact the nature of the material itself... Some colors just hold up better. The other mac news site has an article up about band discoloration so, deformations, etc as being normal material behavior and ineligible for replacement for this reason.


Well aren't the different band colors also different weights? I forget where the page is but I remember seeing that each of the colors differed by weight with black being the lightest in weight--I think--don't hold me to that.

So there are more differences among the different colored bands besides their coloring. Maybe there's something in the black pigment that makes it prone to losing its matte luster and showing friction shine. As long as it doesn't progress to a more pronounced state of wear prematurely, I'm going to agree with those who post that this likely is initial break-in wear and will stay pretty much as-is now that the contact points have been established. Only time will tell. Pardon the expression.

Perhaps there is something to the black. Why hasn't this been consistently described by more black band users? Some people are reporting that their BSBs look fine after comparable use.

All seems curious to me. I'm interested because I have had my SS for 48hrs but have a SG BSB on order. Trying to decide which one to keep and BSB wear would be another pro for me to keep the SS.
 
This thread is complete bananas.

The surface rubbing shows up on black because of the material color. The two textured surfaces rubbing against each color create a bit of sheen which shows up more gray and noticeable on black that on other colors and is not noticible on white because if you scratch your nail on white it's not going to leave a non white mark. Do that to black and it will leave a gray scratch. This is the nature of the material and not a freakin defect.

If this is your first time wearing a watch you need to put you big boy pants on and realize that there's no way to wear this thing on your wrist, naked, and have it remain in showroom condition. If you want to do that (why would you?) then better to look at it from a distance.

The wear is showing on the underside of the band, which makes the drama that much more bananas.

The number of days it takes is irrelevant. Maybe you're wearing it too lose or swinging your arms too much or have dry skin, or sweaty skin, or whatever. People who wear the watch under suit coats will probably complain of some wear the sleeve causes eventually. People with cats or dogs will complain that the screen picks up pet hair/fur and they have to constantly clean the screen.

I think a lot of people who got this watch are not mentally prepared for something that is inherently a tool and is exposed to a lot more than a phone in an otter box is.

Again, the days it takes for this to occur is dependent on the user and the use case. The band is not deteriorating all by itself. The nature of this ban design is that there is a lot of surface to surface contacts, depending on wrist size. People that can't handle wear marks that only you can see need to lighten up a bit.

Ever own a pair of jeans? Leather goods?

Thank you. The most sense made in this thread. Period.

Mine is showing similar wear after a day (got mine last night). Do I care? No.

It. Is. A. Watch.

It is going to get beat up, scratched up, etc. And hell, as was said, it's on the INSIDE of the band. How can some thing that NO ONE else will see be that big of a problem? Boggles my mind.
 
This thread is complete bananas.

The surface rubbing shows up on black because of the material color. The two textured surfaces rubbing against each color create a bit of sheen which shows up more gray and noticeable on black that on other colors and is not noticible on white because if you scratch your nail on white it's not going to leave a non white mark. Do that to black and it will leave a gray scratch. This is the nature of the material and not a freakin defect.

If this is your first time wearing a watch you need to put you big boy pants on and realize that there's no way to wear this thing on your wrist, naked, and have it remain in showroom condition. If you want to do that (why would you?) then better to look at it from a distance.

The wear is showing on the underside of the band, which makes the drama that much more bananas.

The number of days it takes is irrelevant. Maybe you're wearing it too lose or swinging your arms too much or have dry skin, or sweaty skin, or whatever. People who wear the watch under suit coats will probably complain of some wear the sleeve causes eventually. People with cats or dogs will complain that the screen picks up pet hair/fur and they have to constantly clean the screen.

I think a lot of people who got this watch are not mentally prepared for something that is inherently a tool and is exposed to a lot more than a phone in an otter box is.

Again, the days it takes for this to occur is dependent on the user and the use case. The band is not deteriorating all by itself. The nature of this ban design is that there is a lot of surface to surface contacts, depending on wrist size. People that can't handle wear marks that only you can see need to lighten up a bit.

Ever own a pair of jeans? Leather goods?

Yes maybe...but...explain why Apple is replacing his watch, if this are normal wear marks, or they make charity?
You are wrong, if apple admits the problem Replacing his watch.
 
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