Classic and Modern Buckle Band Parts Let Third-Party Bands Connect to Apple Watch

[MacRumors]

There are few third-party band options available for the Apple Watch at the current point in time given that it just launched a week and a half ago, but those of you who purchased a stainless steel Apple Watch with a Classic Buckle or Modern Buckle band can use the components from those bands to connect standard watch bands to your Apple Watch devices.

In a newly published video, Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy walks through the process of using the parts in the Classic Buckle band to connect a 22mm third-party watch band to the Apple Watch.

As it turns out, there are two small pentalobe screws holding the pin component of the Classic Buckle together, so with a pentalobe screwdriver, the portion of the band that connects to the Apple Watch can be disassembled, slid into a standard pin-based watch band, and reassembled.

The Modern Buckle and the Classic Buckle are the only two bands that have a pin-based connector built-in, so those of you who want to use different watch bands with your Apple Watch devices will need to either purchase one of the models that comes with a Classic Buckle band or purchase a Classic Buckle band separately for $149 (estimated to ship out in May). The Modern Buckle has the same connector, but Modern Buckle Apple Watches have not yet shipped out and those bands are listed as "Currently Unavailable" in the online Apple Store.

Along with a compatible Apple Watch band, a tiny pentalobe screwdriver is also required to swap out the band, but those are available at little cost. With a Classic Buckle and the screwdriver, making a swap is as uncomplicated as simply removing two screws, pulling apart the connector, sticking the pieces into another watch band, and putting it back together again.

Article Link: Classic and Modern Buckle Band Parts Let Third-Party Bands Connect to Apple Watch

 

[Jeremy1026]

Worth the extra $50 to get a watch with the Classic Buckle over the sport strap for almost unlimited band options.

 

[MartinAppleGuy]

So now, as UnboxTherapy has very nicely shown, make your Apple Watch look worse

 

[lazyrighteye]

Mmmm yes... The Force is strong with this one.

 

[mariusignorello]

*Apple now melts all the parts together to prevent modifications*

 

[aamoren3]

This pretty much extinguishes any of those Apple Watch adapter kick starters (thank goodness).

 

[darcyf]

To each their own but to my eyes that classic buckle strap looks so plain that it cheapens the look of the whole watch.

 

[Locoboof]

Well I guess this is good if anyone ever gets their SS with modern buckle that hasn't shipped yet and unavailable to order.

 

[kmj2318]

I'd put an orange leather strap on it

 

[dannys1]

Pretty cool, however i'm yet to see anyone put a 3rd party band on that looks better than any Apple have designed.

 

[jwbrobst]

If only he would have gone a step further and bought a strap that didn't look awful...

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Now that I think about it, this is excellent for the leather straps specifically. Based on my experience with Apple's dyed leather iPhone cases, I'd say there is a high chance of color fading or basic wear and tear of the straps and even if you'd prefer to use Apple's straps, this will come in handy if you don't plan on spending a couple hundred dollars for a strap once you're not proud of wearing the original.

 

[cleareyes]

This pretty much extinguishes any of those Apple Watch adapter kick starters (thank goodness).

Not really. This means you would have buy an over priced apple band first, just to get the connectors. I'll just wait for the $20 3rd party adapter #

 

[roland.g]

I wonder how this would end up looking. It would sure be a lot cheaper than Apple's Link Bracelet.

Apple Watch with Classic $699.
Apple Watch with Link $999.
Savings $300.
Band $50-100.
Savings after Band $200-250.

 

[redscull]

Worth the extra $50 to get a watch with the Classic Buckle over the sport strap for almost unlimited band options.

Or more like $300 since you're also "forced" to get the steel model instead of the sport, assuming third parties will make a matching aluminum connector for the sport.

 

[2457282]

You buy a 400 (or more) dollar watch and then put on any ugly band you want on it either through this mod or through something coming out of a kickstarter campaigne. The only question is why??? For example the one in this video made the watch look a lot less classy than with the Apple band. Why would anyone want to put an ugly band on the watch to cheapen its looks?

I guess different strokes and all that, but I really like the bands that Apple is offering and since I am paying all that amount for the watch I am going to spend that little extra to get the band that goes with it, not some 5 dollar band from CVS.

 

[macduke]

This pretty much extinguishes any of those Apple Watch adapter kick starters (thank goodness).

I highly doubt it. For $10-20 (or whatever) you can get an adapter, which is a lot cheaper than buying an official band to just take apart. Other people might want different colors for the connector bits.

 

[knemonic]

I just ordered the classic since I checked it out at an appointment and preferred it over the Melanise loop.

This is great though since say over time the leather wears out on the classic, I can replace it instead of dropping $150. Very nice

 

[neonart]

This and all the kickstarter stuff will probably not mean a lot once other companies start releasing bands at [more] affordable prices than Apple's.

Companies like Speck, Belkin, Logitech, Elago, ESR, Spigen, and a thousand other Chinese and Korean manufacturers of iOS products will be selling fully compatible, good [and bad] looking straps in the next few months.

Everyone is all wound up about watch straps [double pun intended] and the prices Apple is charging, but soon there will be a huge Watch aftermarket and the hard part will be weeding out the total garbage eBay junk from more reputable good quality stuff.

 

[MH01]

Pretty cool, however i'm yet to see anyone put a 3rd party band on that looks better than any Apple have designed.

I have seen much better leather bands on watches. The Apple one just does not feel like a premium watch leather band. At first I thought it was synthetic . Each to thier own I guess

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You buy a 400 (or more) dollar watch and then put on any ugly band you want on it either through this mod or through something coming out of a kickstarter campaigne. The only question is why??? For example the one in this video made the watch look a lot less classy than with the Apple band. Why would anyone want to put an ugly band on the watch to cheapen its looks?

I guess different strokes and all that, but I really like the bands that Apple is offering and since I am paying all that amount for the watch I am going to spend that little extra to get the band that goes with it, not some 5 dollar band from CVS.

Maybe it was used as an example. If you mod it, you choose a band that suits your own personal preference. People like to change bands , it's a novelty of owning a watch.

 

[the_mole1314]

"Apple's own bands that go from $200 to $600."

*BZZZZZ*

Wrong, thank you for playing the ****** YouTube game, the correct answer is "$50 to $450". Still a lot, yes, but not that bad.

 

[JCoe13]

This pretty much extinguishes any of those Apple Watch adapter kick starters (thank goodness).

People with sport watches are better off buying one from kickstarter for cheaper than the band from

 

[furi0usbee]

Gonna save myself a lot of trouble and not buy the watch to begin with. All problem solved.

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hey, I wonder if someone walks into the Apple store and says my watch broke, and I only need those two pieces for each strap. I wonder if Apple will just sell those two pieces to the public.

 

[Nobita]

How much is this Lou guy paying Macrumours?

 

[DJTJ]

anyone know what size bands will fit on the 42mm watch? He was using a 22mm band in his video, and it looks like it could fit a slightly larger one...

 

[mr.steevo]

"Apple's own bands that go from $200 to $600."

*BZZZZZ*

Wrong, thank you for playing the ****** YouTube game, the correct answer is "$50 to $450". Still a lot, yes, but not that bad.

In Canada the straps/bands for the Stainless Steel watch are between $199 and $599.