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Apple Watch Band Adapters Begin Hitting Crowdfunding Sites Ahead of Next Month's Launch

StarManta said:
Seeing the hideous watch bands they've used in these examples makes me really appreciate the watch bands Apple designed.
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I personally am not all that impressed with the bands Apple has put out. Especially considering how much they cost.

I welcome an adapter like this. Sure there are plenty of cheap crappy bands that you could throw on there but there are also some really nice ones too. Nicer than Apple's solution in my opinion.
 
Jason83 said:
Not even a little bit. Your Thunderbolt USB adapters don't put you at risk of dropping or losing a device.
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And you know this will, because you come from the future and you experienced it ?
Because if you're going to make stupid claims, I could say a Thunderbolt / USB adapter could fry your usb device or break the thunderbolt port, or start a fire.
 
They can make them all they want. They'll still have a ugly and fat watch attached to them.
 
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This is awesome. I only really care about the actual watch component. Maybe I can couple the sport watch with a 3rd party metal band.
 
It'll be interesting to see if Apple hemorrhages $millions trying to fight IP infringement lawsuits over this kinda thing... I sincerely hope not...
 
I agree with everyone saying that crowd funding these adapters is a waste of time. I believe that within a month of the watch release there will be plenty of Chinese bands and adapters available for shipping.
 
emvath said:
I personally am not all that impressed with the bands Apple has put out. Especially considering how much they cost.

I welcome an adapter like this. Sure there are plenty of cheap crappy bands that you could throw on there but there are also some really nice ones too. Nicer than Apple's solution in my opinion.
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Perhaps but somehow I'll bet the 3rd party wrist bands won't look completely perfect with the AppleWatch.
 
Having a 240mm wrist, Apple has given me little* choice but to look for this type of alternative if I want to wear an Apple Watch - which I do, for Apple Pay. *Buying a Link band and then trying to get people to sell me their spare links is not an appealing option.

Yes - this type of adaptor using a traditional pin mechanism IS more risky for the Apple Watch. (Thunderbolt/USB is irrelevant to the argument that the watch could come off someone's wrist).

To those who suspect you have to wear the Apple Watch tight on the wrist, I think/hope you will find that the watch is finding your pulse with light waves and is not trying to feel pulses through your skin.

Maybe Kickstarter won't deliver but I consider $10 a small risk that I'm willing to take. I'll be alert for other alternatives shipping before June.
 
iSee said:
Are a lot of people dying to use random bands with their (future) Apple Watch?

I'm thinking higher-end third-party bands will be made to fit the Apple Watch directly and that there won't be a ton of people looking to use random low-end bands.
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These adapters may be popular for Sport watch buyers. Your thought about higher-end bands fitting the watch directly sounds right. People will pay $20-50 to upgrade their watch bands without paying Apple's prices. Others will pay several hundred for something like the link bracelet. The $449 price tag on that one just seems crazy, hope we learn Apple's actualy cost on that. An iPad Air or a link bracelet? hmmm
 
Douglas B said:
Having a 240mm wrist, Apple has given me little* choice but to look for this type of alternative if I want to wear an Apple Watch - which I do, for Apple Pay. *Buying a Link band and then trying to get people to sell me their spare links is not an appealing option.

Yes - this type of adaptor using a traditional pin mechanism IS more risky for the Apple Watch. (Thunderbolt/USB is irrelevant to the argument that the watch could come off someone's wrist).

To those who suspect you have to wear the Apple Watch tight on the wrist, I think/hope you will find that the watch is finding your pulse with light waves and is not trying to feel pulses through your skin.

Maybe Kickstarter won't deliver but I consider $10 a small risk that I'm willing to take. I'll be alert for other alternatives shipping before June.
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$10 is a small risk for an adapter. There are several pin types so the risk may minimal. The quality of the pin will be key.
Bolded: I think the reason it has to be against the skin is because it's using light waves. I think the thinking is outside light could corrupt the reading. The tightness would have nothing to do with pressure against the skin since it wouldn't be reading like a sphygmomanometer (BP cuff)
 
OldSchoolMacGuy said:
Why would you go with a crowd funding site? Real brands will be releasing these too and they'll be available MONTHS before the crowd funding options.

Keep this in mind, more than 80% of Kickstarter projects that are funded are delivered late. A large percentage of those are never delivered at all.

Why must you jump in it now? You know why real brands haven't announced anything? Because just like the crowd funding sites they have to wait until it's actually released to see how they can build something that works. But once they can the real brands will be able to release a final product MUCH faster. It'll likely be weeks or a month or two max. Chances are the quality will be far better too than crowd funding options.
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I would even bet that some of the "real" brands have signed NDA's with Apple and have already gotten their hands on actual Apple Watches. They may be developing accessories as we speak.
 
I'm curious given the recent report that there would be an Apple Watch 2.0 that they are referring to a significant update (which coincides with iOS 9??) that allows the Apple Watch to have 3rd party apps that are more independent. Along with this, Apple could revamp the bands/straps lineup to phase out not as popular offerings for new colored leather and rubber straps. Would also be good timing to replace the limited edition  Watch Edition with one made with platinum, sterling silver, or titanium once the Watch line gets more popular it won't need that gold "edge" to make it seem more fashionable
 
What if the little hidden port on the Apple Watch has a corresponding part on the strap, so only Apple branded straps work. Have we seen a strap close up not on a Watch body yet? Although unlikely, this would be a way for Apple to wipe out 3rd party straps...which I personally don't agree with.
 
They are forgetting something . . .

Does anyone remember the data connections in the band holder. They may operate much like the Lightning connector rejection chip that made all knockoff Lightning connectors fail in the beginning. The Apple Watch may reject all these knockoffs because they don't respond to the data poll from these data connectors.
 
reevans said:
Does anyone remember the data connections in the band holder. They may operate much like the Lightning connector rejection chip that made all knockoff Lightning connectors fail in the beginning. The Apple Watch may reject all these knockoffs because they don't respond to the data poll from these data connectors.
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You posted 3 minutes after me! Our idea is virtually similar.
 
iSee said:
Are a lot of people dying to use random bands with their (future) Apple Watch?

I'm thinking higher-end third-party bands will be made to fit the Apple Watch directly and that there won't be a ton of people looking to use random low-end bands.
Click to expand...

Believe it or not, there is a HUGE aftermarket, expensive strap market out there for watches. Current high-end, luxury watches of course (namely Panerai), where you can pay $200-$500 for a leather strap to customize your watch. So, for the people not familiar with the "watch world", there is a huge demand for customizable straps. I have a friend who makes a living (a very nice living...able to afford those $5000+ watches that he makes straps for) doing nothing but making aftermarket straps for Panerai, Rolex, any watch you send him specs for, really.
 
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