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So lets see this web site just rushed trying to get some fame and now its pretty much going to be mostly useless. Well just turn it into a band store, I'm sure China can come up with 1,000's of different bands made of stinky chemicals we can all appreciate.

-Mike

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"band swapping sites could potentially allow customers to swap for half bands to have a watch strap that's multi-colored."

I posted this very thing in the original band swapping article. No clue anyone actually paid attention to what I say. Kinda cool. Thanks MR. I feel loved now. :D

Eventually these band swapping sites will even allow you to trade in your wrists. So if you have fatties you can get skinnier ones :) This is the future as we know it folks. Are people just getting more stupid by the day...

-Mike
 
Not sure why this surprises anyone. The point is to easily get people the right size band not give people a free band.
 
I'm really disappointed that they are shipping a separate half-band at all. How many of those are going to be tossed in a drawer and never ever used? What a waste!
 
When I preordered my watch in store today, the Apple Genius that checked me out actually told me about these sites.

He told me the watch comes with two bands but you can only get the same color. He then encouraged me to get online and swap them out. I'm curious to see if he (and several other employees) were wrong about it.
 
I contacted Apple earlier asking about this and this was the reply... Not sure what it means in relation to this

"Two straps in the box"... the watch takes a PAIR of straps that join together. As this story clarifies, you only get two choices for half that pair. Three straps in total in the box.
 
I feel like it would still make sense for bandswapper to exist. Charge a couple bucks more and make up the other half with some cheap, high quality China substitution. Still a bargain.
 
They are actually right....

Sorry folks, but spoke with Apple this afternoon in regards to my pre-order and I was "guaranteed" that there are in fact 4 band pieces, not 3 shipping with my order. It looks like Bandswapper is actually right and I hope that macrumors, as the reputable site that I know it is, restores their good name. Or, at least call Apple themselves and confirm this fact.
 
Sorry folks, but spoke with Apple this afternoon in regards to my pre-order and I was "guaranteed" that there are in fact 4 band pieces, not 3 shipping with my order. It looks like Bandswapper is actually right and I hope that macrumors, as the reputable site that I know it is, restores their good name. Or, at least call Apple themselves and confirm this fact.

Post pics when you get yours to confirm
 
Let's be honest: two complete bands didn't sound like a very Apple approach to the problem. I'm still interested to find out, but the three piece hypothesis does seem most likely to me.
 
Hey guys,

So this only effects Apple Watch Sport right? This doesn't effect people who got an Apple Watch (Stainless Steel) w/ sport bands, right?

The articles all around the net are so confusing. People are making this sound like people won't be able to completely take off the bands on their Sport Watches, or people who got sport bands with their stainless steel models.
 
Sorry folks, but spoke with Apple this afternoon in regards to my pre-order and I was "guaranteed" that there are in fact 4 band pieces, not 3 shipping with my order. It looks like Bandswapper is actually right and I hope that macrumors, as the reputable site that I know it is, restores their good name. Or, at least call Apple themselves and confirm this fact.

Amen. The thing that has baffled me the most in this whole thing is that no one has apparently attempted to get an official clarification from Apple. Are these sites really that meek that they don't have a channel to contact Apple in an official capacity with a press inquiry? I'm about to email the media contacts at Apple myself. If I do, the exclusive story is mine. ;)
 
Apple in 'making things awkward for customers and third party product makers via convoluted complication production process' shocker.
 
Not sure why this surprises anyone. The point is to easily get people the right size band not give people a free band.

Yep. I ordered with the expectation of having two different sizing options bundled with the Sport Watch, and that's what I'm** getting.

Hey guys,

So this only effects Apple Watch Sport right? This doesn't effect people who got an Apple Watch (Stainless Steel) w/ sport bands, right?

The articles all around the net are so confusing. People are making this sound like people won't be able to completely take off the bands on their Sport Watches, or people who got sport bands with their stainless steel models.

All model Watches have interchangeable bands. The Sport bands - to account for a wide range of sizing - include one fixed size 1/2 strap, and two other 1/2 straps, one small/med, one med/large. When installed, you wind up with one extra 1/2 strap of either s/m or m/l dependent on the size you used.

Other bands have the adjustment "built in" (i.e., removing links, several holes for traditional leather/latch, etc.), so no other band outside of the Sport option has the extra sizing piece.



** We actually, got his and hers :D
 
When I preordered my watch in store today, the Apple Genius that checked me out actually told me about these sites.

He told me the watch comes with two bands but you can only get the same color. He then encouraged me to get online and swap them out. I'm curious to see if he (and several other employees) were wrong about it.

If he did happen to be wrong, it wouldn't be the first time a Genius was wrong! Good lord, those guys need to be trained better at times.
 
Went to the Apple store last night and the employee told me you'll get two full bands "because that's what it says on Apple's website"...so we'll see.
 
Yep. I ordered with the expectation of having two different sizing options bundled with the Sport Watch, and that's what I'm** getting.



All model Watches have interchangeable bands. The Sport bands - to account for a wide range of sizing - include one fixed size 1/2 strap, and two other 1/2 straps, one small/med, one med/large. When installed, you wind up with one extra 1/2 strap of either s/m or m/l dependent on the size you used.

Other bands have the adjustment "built in" (i.e., removing links, several holes for traditional leather/latch, etc.), so no other band outside of the Sport option has the extra sizing piece.



** We actually, got his and hers :D

Great! Ok, I don't know why people just don't say that & I wish people would get their stories straight. Thank you for confirming that.
 
That is a bit disappointing. So my question now is how does it work for the SS model sold with a sport band? On the Apple site it only lists "Band" as in the box, whereas the sport models list two sizes...

Does the SS Sport band have more holes in it to allow for more adjustment? Or did they just choose the middle ground?
 
I'm really disappointed that they are shipping a separate half-band at all. How many of those are going to be tossed in a drawer and never ever used? What a waste!

The same could be said of most any decent watch...the band is often too large for most wrists, but are designed to allow links to be removed.

I mentioned elsewhere on this site that I unboxed a pre-owned Rolex earlier this evening that was given to me as a gift. There were three spare links down in the box with the watch. I'm very happy they were there. Even though I only needed one of them to make the watch fit, but they are ridiculously expensive to buy.

What's the big deal about Apple throwing in an extra piece of silicon rubber to make sure the watch can fit everyone? I guarantee you that there would be a lot of unhappy people if they didn't do this.
 
Bandswapper - a good idea for about 12 hours. They jumped to get there brand out there first… but I bet they wish they'd waited now.

Not really. They tried something, it didn't work out, but it was a decent idea and at least they found out early.

That's just how it goes. Not everything in life is a runaway success, even for successful people. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have had bad ideas. Warren Buffet has lost money on investments before. There is not a single person in history who was always successful in everything they did.

Nobody cares about the failures looking back, because we all have them. Isn't there a saying like "if you don't fail at least once, you're not trying hard enough"?
 
I'm really disappointed that they are shipping a separate half-band at all. How many of those are going to be tossed in a drawer and never ever used? What a waste!

Maybe, but if you think of the bigger picture it's not such a bad idea.

When the iPhone 6/6+ came out, I'm sure Apple handled a huge number of returns because customers were unsure about which size they wanted. Product aside, that's a huge amount of redundant shipping.

Now imagine the question of whether to ship this extra band with the cheapest model of the Apple watch. Consider that it is a wearable - so people are going to want their personal correct fit. If you make the packaged product fit a smaller proportion of the market, you have a larger chance of returns and them you need to constantly re-ship all of these products around the country. They may even need to destroy or recycle the sport bands for hygiene and quality reasons. So basically, there could be a relatively large environmental impact when you return the product.

Why only this band? Because it's most economical with this one, because they think this'll be the most popular among new entrants to the market who don't know their size, who knows?

By doing a 3-piece strap, Apple ensures that the vast majority of customers who receive an Apple Watch with a sports band will find their fit with the first package that arrives through their door. That just seems like a much better solution for everyone: the customer, Apple, and the environment.

Maybe it sounds stupid or wasteful at first look, but there could be reasons for it.
 
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