Anyone else wish Apple would make a "band" also? [MERGED]

[turbineseaplane]

Am I alone here?

I really wish Apple would make a tracking band, maybe even with no screen at all, sort of like the old Nike Fuel Band perhaps, that's entire purpose would just be collecting the data that can be viewed and interacted with on the iPhone.

I've tried the Apple Watch 2x now and it's just too big, too much, requires too much charging and is just "too much" for anything I want on my wrist.

But - I do want to keep track of some key metrics so I can make some progress.

This has led me to sampling the Amazfit Band 7 and the MiFit Band 7 and both are really incredible, especially at their sub $50 price points.
Like - it's wild how much cool stuff they do and how well they are executed at this price point.

I can only imagine what a killer product Apple could make in this range, even if the Apple version (like Apple TV) would be more like $129-150.

I really wish they'd make an attempt here.

There are folks out here (like myself) who want something between "nothing" and a full blown Apple Watch, which is just "too much" on many fronts.

 

[chabig]

Apple doesn't make commodity products.

 

[jz0309]

Am I alone here?

I really wish Apple would make a tracking band, maybe even with no screen at all, sort of like the old Nike Fuel Band perhaps, that's entire purpose would just be collecting the data that can be viewed and interacted with on the iPhone.

I've tried the Apple Watch 2x now and it's just too big, too much, requires too much charging and is just "too much" for anything I want on my wrist.

But - I do want to keep track of some key metrics so I can make some progress.

This has led me to sampling the Amazfit Band 7 and the MiFit Band 7 and both are really incredible, especially at their sub $50 price points.
Like - it's wild how much cool stuff they do and how well they are executed at this price point.

I can only imagine what a killer product Apple could make in this range, even if the Apple version (like Apple TV) would be more like $129-150.

I really wish they'd make an attempt here.

There are folks out here (like myself) who want something between "nothing" and a full blown Apple Watch, which is just "too much" on many fronts.

I’ve had AW since S0 and I’m loving it but I understand your need/wish. Not sure you’ll see that from Apple though…

 

[jz0309]

Apple doesn't make commodity products.

What do you call airtag or AirPods? And when does a product become “commodity”? Selling 100M+?

 

[alphanumeric72]

I want this as well but so that I can wear a normal watch

 

[DaveOZ]

I know Apple won't make it but I would like a simple band to compliment a normal watch. All I need it to do is track heart rate and steps, tap to pay and vibrate for notifications because I always have my phone on silent now. Just a tiny screen so I can see who is calling or who is messaging.

I should add that I bought a 40mm Apple Watch black to try this but it still looked like I was wearing two watches which didn't work for me.

 

[turbineseaplane]

@DaveOZ

Not sure if you'd ever consider it, but I'm blown away with how useful and just "great" the Mi Band 7 is.
It's 95% of what I'd like from an Apple version.

Battery life is incredible, even with all the tracking and through ZeppLife App, it dumps it all right into Apple Health natively so you can get all the data right in Apple Health and Apple Fitness apps.

It's so small and light, I can honestly hardly tell I have it on

Got it from Walmart for $37.
Could give it a run with the 90 day return policy on it maybe?

(Jungle Site has it also for $47 I think)

 

[ndouglas]

@DaveOZ

Not sure if you'd ever consider it, but I'm blown away with how useful and just "great" the Mi Band 7 is.
It's 95% of what I'd like from an Apple version.

Battery life is incredible, even with all the tracking and through ZeppLife App, it dumps it all right into Apple Health natively so you can get all the data right in Apple Health and Apple Fitness apps.

It's so small and light, I can honestly hard tell I have it on

Got it from Walmart for $37.
Could give it a run with the 90 day return policy on it maybe?

(Jungle Site has it also for $47 I think)

That’s good to hear, I’d consider one if I needed to someday. How long have you used it for though? Just curious.

To your OP question, yes I think it’d be great to have a “band” as you describe from Apple, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some form of that was released someday. I’d enjoy it as a semi-minimalist who likes to travel light.

In the meantime, as much as I resisted / delayed getting an Apple watch for years because of the size, assuming it would annoy me, I’m pretty content with it and I’m surprised the size, weight, and shape don’t bother me during sleep and other times as I had often assumed it would. Still, having a “band” or “mini” version would be pretty sweet too. And certainly the charging frequency is pretty bad.

Here’s hoping that the bigger-bigger-bigger- trend will swing back sooner than later! (For watches and phones too)

 

[chabig]

What do you call airtag or AirPods? And when does a product become “commodity”? Selling 100M+?

When I said commodity, I wasn’t referring to sales volume. I meant that Apple doesn’t produce and sell products that identical in every way to competing products from other vendors. Apple likes to use its deep hardware/software integration to deliver features that others simply cannot.

Airtags, for example, take advantage of the Find My network, comprised of the millions of iPhones in the world.
Airpods, integrate deeply with Apple Watch, iPhone,iPad, and Mac.

 

[mittencuh]

When I said commodity, I wasn’t referring to sales volume. I meant that Apple doesn’t produce and sell products that identical in every way to competing products from other vendors. Apple likes to use its deep hardware/software integration to deliver features that others simply cannot.

Airtags, for example, take advantage of the Find My network, comprised of the millions of iPhones in the world.
Airpods, integrate deeply with Apple Watch, iPhone,iPad, and Mac.

I’m sure Apple, in all its brilliance, could figure special something about the OP’s idea. I quite like the idea.

 

[East India Company]

It’s a great idea! The Apple Watch is an ugly gadget and would much prefer to wear a real watch but still the health tracking functions are great.
Does the Mi 7 band track the heart rate?

 

[JustAnExpat]

I know Apple won't make it but I would like a simple band to compliment a normal watch. All I need it to do is track heart rate and steps, tap to pay and vibrate for notifications because I always have my phone on silent now. Just a tiny screen so I can see who is calling or who is messaging.

I should add that I bought a 40mm Apple Watch black to try this but it still looked like I was wearing two watches which didn't work for me.

That's an interesting idea actually. I doubt Apple would ever make a band like that. But other companies do, like the Bellabeat Ivy. It's a fitness band without a display. https://bellabeat.com/ivy/

I don't know if they have something similar for men though.

 

[nicho]

When I said commodity, I wasn’t referring to sales volume. I meant that Apple doesn’t produce and sell products that identical in every way to competing products from other vendors. Apple likes to use its deep hardware/software integration to deliver features that others simply cannot.

Airtags, for example, take advantage of the Find My network, comprised of the millions of iPhones in the world.
Airpods, integrate deeply with Apple Watch, iPhone,iPad, and Mac.

They could roll back the years and bring out an "Apple Watch Shuffle" which plays nicely with siri/airpods... but epaper screen or something which only shows time.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Does the Mi 7 band track the heart rate?

It does, yeah

Some have said they find the accuracy to not be perfect (usually in athletic activities I think), but I've found it accurate enough for me as I just want light tracking of walks and general activity overall and while sleeping, etc.

Naturally if one is going for serious stuff on that front, I'm sure a Garmin device of some kind (and 10x the cost) is the way to go.

 

[turbineseaplane]

They could roll back the years and bring out an "Apple Watch Shuffle" which plays nicely with siri/airpods... but epaper screen or something which only shows time.

Exactly
It would be so nice and minimal

There are absolute buyers being left with no option with a full blown Apple Watch being "it" from Apple.

 

[turbineseaplane]

How long have you used it for though? Just curious.

Only a couple weeks in.
I'll report back if things degrade for sure.

I've thought about getting a preowned S7 or something to compare against, but I've already demo'd AWs before and never loved it and found it as "not noticeable" as this Mi Band 7 has been so far.

The battery life is such a huge quality of life thing -- I hate taking wearables on and off ... let alone basically every day (or 2 at most)

 

[turbineseaplane]

Apple likes to use its deep hardware/software integration to deliver features that others simply cannot.

That's exactly what they could do here.
Their "Apple Fitness+ Band" could be deeply integrated and with battery life that no one else could touch.

It'd be a wonderful gateway device.
Could even sell the band in a combo with 3-6 months of Fitness+, etc

Also would be a super idea for getting kids into tracking/fitness with a parent friendly device that doesn't "do" other stuff (which is of growing concern for many parents now)

You've hit on exactly why I made this thread.
To express my desire for Apple to do this type of thing ... as only they could (for iOS users I mean)

 

[dasjati]

I like your "Apple Fitness+ Band" name Apple could combine this with the Dynamic Island and show live data on the iPhone during workouts. And with Apple Fitness+ you see it on the screen of your companion device anyway.

My personal use case would be sleep tracking. I started to wear my Watch around the clock a few months ago. It would be much better to have something smaller, simpler like your band for that instead. Right now I think about getting a second Watch, so that I have a "day watch" and a "night watch".

And maybe that's part of the reason why this band still doesn't exist: Apple's sales with the Watch are strong. They added a model at the top instead of the bottom.

But still, there might be hope … With the already mentioned iPod shuffle and the HomePod mini Apple has shown that they are willing to compete at the lower end (from Apple's perspective), too.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I like your "Apple Fitness+ Band" name

Apple can use my name idea for a small fee..
😂

I would suggest no screen at all (like Nike Fuel Band… though that had some indication dots) to fully segment this from anything folks do on their watches.

This would be simply a capture device for metrics.
Would be useless without an iPhone (by design) or maybe an AppleTV for fitness+

 

[turbineseaplane]

This is the kind of product and innovation I wish were seeing more of from Apple..
..not just all this pushing the high end only stuff

There’s a ton of cool and interesting product innovation they could map their expertise onto here

 

[turbineseaplane]

My own mention of the old Nike Fuel Band led me to seek out some "unofficial" custom watch faces for my Mi Band 7.
Ok -- This is really cool

Photo doesn't do it justice. Screen on this is crystal clear, tack sharp - just gorgeous!

Apple could make such an incredible product in this category (band)

 

[Night Spring]

My own mention of the old Nike Fuel Band led me to seek out some "unofficial" custom watch faces for my Mi Band 7.
Ok -- This is really cool

Photo doesn't do it justice. Screen on this is crystal clear, tack sharp - just gorgeous!

Apple could make such an incredible product in this category (band)

View attachment 2179884

That is neat! Almost enough to convince me that this idea could work.

Two things give me pause, however.

1. I have tiny wrists -- I wear the smallest size solo loop, and that's still a bit loose. This device looks longer than the Apple watch, am I right? I've seen these thin, long devices in stores before, and while I've never tried them on, I'm afraid they're too long to fit my wrist.

2. I really like having the activity circles on my watch face, to see at a glance where I am on completing my circles, and for that, I think a square-ish watch shape is better.

Also, I find it interesting that you say you don't like taking wearables on and off every day. I take my watch off every time I wash my hands -- I always manage to get it wet while washing hands, and I hate having wet watch on my wrist. So it doesn't bother me that I have to take it off every day to charge it, as I take it off several times a day any way. I've often wondered why charging the watch every day is a huge deal to some people, and you've given me a point of view I hadn't thought of before.

 

[xDKP]

I want this as well but so that I can wear a normal watch

I would love one, just for wearing it once in a while with my mechanical watches and keep tracking my rings. At the moment my Speedy and Explorer has been collecting dust - haven't been wearing them all year.

 

[turbineseaplane]

This device looks longer than the Apple watch, am I right?

A little, but not much

The Mi Band 7 is 46.5 mm "tall/long"
Apple Watch 8 is 45 mm or 41 mm
Apple Watch SE2 is 44 mm or 40 mm

I also have small wrists -- fits great

Mi Band 8 is about to come out apparently
Looks mostly the same but I guess the straps will now attach/detach at the top/bottom of the device itself, more like how the Apple Watch does it.

 

[wave84]

As an Apple user, I'm a huge fan of Xiaomi's line of Mi bands. Very cheap, discreet, light, battery lasts forever (2 weeks), I get all the notifications on my wrist without needing to check my phone, not to mention all the fitness related features (step count, etc.)
The only thing it doesn't do is NFC payments (internationally, supposedly in China they work fine).

I would have liked to get an Apple Watch, but the huge size (comparatively) and the one day battery life are instant turnoffs for me.
Hence, I always wondered why Apple doesn't also make a band version of the watch - something lighter, smaller, more elegant maybe, with fewer features and a long battery life.

Would anyone else be interested in such a device?