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Arran

macrumors 601
Mar 7, 2008
4,925
3,934
Atlanta, USA
Yes!! This is exactly what I am talking about! It wiggles if you swing the band left to right. Unacceptable!! It seems to be all watches not just mine!!
Why is it unacceptable? The additional gap ("wiggle room") may be by design.

When materials heat up and cool down they expand and contract. Different materials expand and contract by different amounts. Suppose you had a tightly fitting metal bracelet in a ceramic watch and then left the whole thing in a hot car in the sun. You just might return later to find that the steel of the bracelet had expanded sufficiently to crack the ceramic watch?

Because remember, steel is a malleable material (it bends and flows when stressed) whereas ceramic is an extremely brittle material (it cracks). So, yeah, larger air gaps between dissimilar materials makes sense.
 

Nick.haley

macrumors member
Sep 17, 2014
60
35
London
Why is it unacceptable? The additional gap ("wiggle room") may be by design.

When materials heat up and cool down they expand and contract. Different materials expand and contract by different amounts. Suppose you had a tightly fitting metal bracelet in a ceramic watch and then left the whole thing in a hot car in the sun. You just might return later to find that the steel of the bracelet had expanded sufficiently to crack the ceramic watch?

Because remember, steel is a malleable material (it bends and flows when stressed) whereas ceramic is an extremely brittle material (it cracks). So, yeah, larger air gaps between dissimilar materials makes sense.
If these gaps were by design then they should be present in the 3D renders on apple.com. Appreciate that we may be unsettled, please.
 

Arran

macrumors 601
Mar 7, 2008
4,925
3,934
Atlanta, USA
If these gaps were by design then they should be present in the 3D renders on apple.com. Appreciate that we may be unsettled, please.
Fair comment.

It's why I never pre-order. I like see exactly what I'm buying first. Apple may make refunds easy, but even that's too much bother for me :)
 

Defender2010

Cancelled
Jun 6, 2010
3,131
1,097
Sometimes sport or SS etc do wiggle too, it's probably more the sport band than anything else. From my experience anyway. Classic buckle or leather loops can fit perfectly but sport bands can seem loose.
 

x-evil-x

macrumors 603
Jul 13, 2008
5,585
3,236
for the price of this watch id want it to be exact. for a sport or 0 i wouldnt expect it as close of detail. The cheaper watches seem to fit better than the pics you posted for sure. Im curious how a black link would look in one.
Your sport band fits like knockoff bands I've seen
 

Brookzy

macrumors 601
May 30, 2010
4,985
5,577
UK
My two cents for this thread...

There are gaps on my Edition.

They are the same as on my old Stainless Steel watch.

There always seems to have been a variance in tightness between various different straps and watches in my experience.

:)
 

outie2k

macrumors regular
Jun 20, 2010
210
57
Get an exchange if it bothers you. Your gaps are larger than mine.

29724312461_a31284f38d_c.jpg

29724312451_593de2bb59_c.jpg

29514381750_9e5e7fc0ef_c.jpg
 

pesos

macrumors 6502a
Mar 30, 2006
700
194
Larger than mine too. In fact Now that I look closely my 42 is pretty tight - and my wife's 38 ss looks a little loose...
 

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drew0020

macrumors 68020
Nov 10, 2006
2,362
1,267
My Ceramic is similar with a slightly larger gap next to the dock button (bottom right). Not a big deal in my opinion.
 

strategicthinke

Suspended
Feb 6, 2014
356
564
Rio de Janeiro
Interesting how this posts shows how the price of the Apple Watch Edition hit the spot this time. It's a hit. Expensive, but not exhorbitant (not saying I can afford it, but you get what I mean...).
 

lotzosushi

macrumors 6502
Jan 10, 2007
443
434
Yes some bands have very slight wiggle room but if they're not pulling out if you're yanking on it with some force then it really shouldn't be a huge problem. If you're so dissatisfied with it possibly being a slight defect then exchange or return it. I think many of us who have the ceramic don't have the same issue.

If you think original apple bands are bad I'd hate to see you try on third party ones, I personally don't use them cause the quality and detail overall is terrible. I've seen too many cheap sport band knockoffs that are either too big or too small in the connector and poke out on one side, or they show hideous lines.

I just tried on several different bands again and none of them have the wiggling problem even if there's the slightest gap.
 
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larzy

macrumors 6502
Nov 16, 2008
287
301
Denmark
Yes!! This is exactly what I am talking about! It wiggles if you swing the band left to right. Unacceptable!! It seems to be all watches not just mine!!

Yalag - did you end up getting a replacement or did you send it back for a refund? If you got another, was it better? Just received a 42mm ceramic and it's very loose :-(
 

Nick.haley

macrumors member
Sep 17, 2014
60
35
London
Yalag - did you end up getting a replacement or did you send it back for a refund? If you got another, was it better? Just received a 42mm ceramic and it's very loose :-(
Dunno bout him but I went through two... and while the second was better, neither seemed perfect which at 4-figures (hey even at three figures), it has to be. Waiting on S3 myself.
 

jettie1767

macrumors 6502a
Oct 29, 2003
587
225
New Jersey, USA
Pretty happy with mine. The upper band has some 'give' but why does it matter? It's not so bad that the watch falls off or it wiggles on my wrist. It's not the end of the world. If it was a $50k+ watch, I would complain but a slight wiggle for something that cost just a little over $1k? I'm not sweating it.
 

larzy

macrumors 6502
Nov 16, 2008
287
301
Denmark
I don't think it matters if you buy a cheaper sports/aluminum model or a higher end model - I would except it to be perfect, not saying I would go through 10 models to get a perfect one, but why settle on something that is not okay? My stainless steel has no wiggle at all - the sport bands locks perfectly into place, and previously models I have seen and owned did the same.
 

AndrewR23

Contributor
Jun 24, 2010
4,634
1,791
I don't think it matters if you buy a cheaper sports/aluminum model or a higher end model - I would except it to be perfect, not saying I would go through 10 models to get a perfect one, but why settle on something that is not okay? My stainless steel has no wiggle at all - the sport bands locks perfectly into place, and previously models I have seen and owned did the same.
The 3 series 2 I owned had lots of wiggle. If 3 straight did it, most are going too. The Apple lottery is a very very difficult and time consuming thing to do.
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,494
I don't think it matters if you buy a cheaper sports/aluminum model or a higher end model - I would except it to be perfect, not saying I would go through 10 models to get a perfect one, but why settle on something that is not okay? My stainless steel has no wiggle at all - the sport bands locks perfectly into place, and previously models I have seen and owned did the same.

I agree if you pay high dollar for a premium product, you should have expectations. Although, nothing is perfect, even if you want to believe it Is.

But when you mass produce millions of the same device, none of them are going to have the same consistency. They all will vary in In condition or how they are assembled. The Same concept applies to an iPhone, iPad and MacBook.

That said, if you weren't happy with the product you receive, then I certainly would exchange it within 14 days without questions asked for a new one.
 
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BarracksSi

Suspended
Jul 14, 2015
3,902
2,664
Some people are super-forgiving when it comes to third-party stuff. You'll never seem them complain like this about a tenth of a millimeter.
 
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