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Any good knockoff Sports Bands out there?

appleguy123

appleguy123

macrumors 604
Original poster
Apr 1, 2009
6,873
2,589
15 minutes in the future
I hope this topic is allowed, sorry if not.

Has anyone purchased any knockoff Apple Watch Sports Bands yet? I'm looking to purchase the black one, but I can't really justify spending $50 on something like that. Are there any good quality knockoffs that look like the real thing and are of decent quality? It seems like it would be easy to recreate the band and sell it for $20-30 and still make a huge profit.
 
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I was wondering the same thing. I can currently see 2 types of knockoffs: the ones in silicone which look cheap and the TPU ones that are more rigid. I don't know if third party will make bands in the same fluorelastomer material as Apple. That might be what explains the price difference..
 
I have a NZD$20 one coming from eBay in a few days. I will post impressions when I get it. I really wanted a pink sports band but it's too much money and too much effort to get one to NZ.
 
ZoeLou said:
I have a NZD$20 one coming from eBay in a few days. I will post impressions when I get it. I really wanted a pink sports band but it's too much money and too much effort to get one to NZ.
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What's the material?
 
I have some silicone ones from eBay that were around $6 each and require adapters. They're nowhere near the quality of the Apple ones, but it was the only option I had to get them in orange, red, and yellow. I much prefer the Apple bands, but the silicone ones are great for the price (if you already have an adapter). Only issue is they're long. I have to put it on the last hole, and it's still not as tight as I'd like. I may have to punch an additional hole.
 
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I purchased my watch with the white band but wanted the blue as well,. After spending the week looking at Amazon and eBay and other links I found and reading lots of reports that they just are not as nice I gave up and went tot he Apple Store this evening and bought the blue one for $49. I think once the watch is out for a while the third party vendors will have some better quality and who knows maybe Apple will reduce the price lol But unless I can actually look at one before I purchase it I think I will hold off for a while with the third party bands.
 
Yeah I definitely think my pink one that is one the way will not be as good quality as my white Apple one. But for me the bands are AUD$80, which is about NZD$85, and you can't even get them in New Zealand yet so it's more of an effort than it's worth haha.
 
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appleguy123 said:
... Has anyone purchased any knockoff Apple Watch Sports Bands yet? I'm looking to purchase the black one, but I can't really justify spending $50 on something like that. Are there any good quality knockoffs that look like the real thing and are of decent quality? ...
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It depends whether you want to trust a "knock off" to not come unfastened from your watch unexpectedly, poison you with unsafe chemicals, break in normal use, etc.

Personally, I'd pay up for the official bands.

They come with a proper warranty, too :)
 
I actually ordered a different coloured 3rd party sport band. Currently using the genuine black one from :apple: but third party ones just seem way off in terms of quality and build. The material is often not as good, it picks up a lot more dust and dirt and is a pain to clean! Would 100% recommend getting genuine sports bands
 
clint-bell said:
I actually ordered a different coloured 3rd party sport band. Currently using the genuine black one from :apple: but third party ones just seem way off in terms of quality and build. The material is often not as good, it picks up a lot more dust and dirt and is a pain to clean! Would 100% recommend getting genuine sports bands
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If I may add my 2 cents, coming from the watch industry, your 3rd party band is probably uncoated silicone if it's attracting a lot of dust. That's very typical. They can spray it with a coating that lowers dust adhesion, but this doesn't last that long (less than a year). In fact, Apple's is sprayed as well in order to get that great texture (I own the black Sport Band). I've attached a photo of an official Band in the Apple Store demo section, and you can see the spray is already rubbing off after about a month of demo usage. It's a bit disappointing...but these are the limitations we face when balancing hand-feel, dust adhesion and durability. I think we'll be seeing more people start to complain about their Sport Bands as they start peeling in the coming months.
 

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juukdesign said:
If I may add my 2 cents, coming from the watch industry, your 3rd party band is probably uncoated silicone if it's attracting a lot of dust. That's very typical. They can spray it with a coating that lowers dust adhesion, but this doesn't last that long (less than a year). In fact, Apple's is sprayed as well in order to get that great texture (I own the black Sport Band). I've attached a photo of an official Band in the Apple Store demo section, and you can see the spray is already rubbing off after about a month of demo usage. It's a bit disappointing...but these are the limitations we face when balancing hand-feel, dust adhesion and durability. I think we'll be seeing more people start to complain about their Sport Bands as they start peeling in the coming months.
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Thanks for the info. I didn't think Apples ones would do that. How did you manage to take of the silicon layer?
 
clint-bell said:
Thanks for the info. I didn't think Apples ones would do that. How did you manage to take of the silicon layer?
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That's the scary thing...I didn't do anything except take a photo of their demo sample! It must've been through wear and tear...I guess if a part got dinged and people kept rubbing it, it'll spread. I think the Watch is still too new for most people to discover this issue but we might see a "scratched spray-gate" for lack of a better term, in the coming months when this starts to happen en masse.
 
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Same here on the ones from ebay seller e_coming, I got a refund after the shipping date came and went with no movement on tracking information. I would love to see a picture, if it's good I would reorder.
 
This is my third day wearing it and it feels as comfortable and secure as my original Apple Sport bands. Here are a few pictures.

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Crazy Baker said:
This is my third day wearing it and it feels as comfortable and secure as my original Apple Sport bands. Here are a few pictures.

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you've had it a few days? it looks like it's worn quite quickly on the inside. the material also looks like it might not be so great - it seems to be a dust magnet to me. or is it just your pics?
 
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