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Every Apple Watch band Apple released. Ever.

How many Apple Watch bands do you own? OEM only.

  • One band only.

    Votes: 436 16.5%

  • 2/4

    Votes: 965 36.5%

  • 5/8

    Votes: 525 19.8%

  • 9/12

    Votes: 178 6.7%

  • 12/15

    Votes: 105 4.0%

  • 16/20

    Votes: 77 2.9%

  • more than 20

    Votes: 221 8.4%

  • more than 50

    Votes: 67 2.5%

  • more than 100

    Votes: 31 1.2%

  • more than 200

    Votes: 24 0.9%

  • more than 250

    Votes: 4 0.2%

  • more than 300

    Votes: 4 0.2%

  • more than 400

    Votes: 1 0.0%

  • more than 500

    Votes: 1 0.0%

  • more than 600

    Votes: 8 0.3%
  • Total voters
    2,646
I don't know about all the „almost identical“ comments … I'll wait until we see real-life pictures ... the beauty is often in the detail/nuance ... and the Apple Store pictures are often weird. But of course it gets harder to find something really „unique“ when over 80 colours have been released already.
 
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PurBle said:
Is it normal for Apple to release such a limited number of bands? No new loops or leathers. Hopefully I’m being paranoid but now I’m wondering whether they are phasing out this band system. Someone say it ain’t so!
Click to expand...

Very interesting theory. Unless they’re going to release more new bands in the next days, I bet that this could be the reason why.
 
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PurBle said:
Is it normal for Apple to release such a limited number of bands? No new loops or leathers. Hopefully I’m being paranoid but now I’m wondering whether they are phasing out this band system. Someone say it ain’t so!
Click to expand...
I don't think this is the case - they must be a pretty good money spinner!

Nike bands never seem to come out in Summer anyway, and I can't recall many (/any?) leather bands being refreshed either. The only bands I'd say we were 'missing' is probably a Linen/Coastal/Seafoam Sport Loop, though we got so many Loops in Spring it's perhaps understandable. Not sure if Covid has impacted plans either, I assume new watch bands are pretty low priority compared to everything else.

From memory, Summer 2019 was Canary/Dragon Fruit/Cornflower in Sport Bands and Loops, and Summer 2018 was Peach/Marine/Sky Sport Bands and Pride 2018 Woven Nylon. Neither had any new leather bands. Don't panic just yet!
 
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Some comparisons ...

9C4B1B75-06ED-4E78-9773-CAFECA15B199.jpegE7675F54-F2F0-412D-93E9-EC9E3B2FE62A.jpegDBA1718B-8669-4AF5-884E-ADDD1DD8AD64.jpegB71F1767-0348-4DB2-8CAF-5B5EB6DBC305.jpeg
 
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cambookpro said:
I don't think this is the case - they must be a pretty good money spinner!

Nike bands never seem to come out in Summer anyway, and I can't recall many (/any?) leather bands being refreshed either. The only bands I'd say we were 'missing' is probably a Linen/Coastal/Seafoam Sport Loop, though we got so many Loops in Spring it's perhaps understandable. Not sure if Covid has impacted plans either, I assume new watch bands are pretty low priority compared to everything else.

From memory, Summer 2019 was Canary/Dragon Fruit/Cornflower in Sport Bands and Loops, and Summer 2018 was Peach/Marine/Sky Sport Bands and Pride 2018 Woven Nylon. Neither had any new leather bands. Don't panic just yet!
Click to expand...
Lol thanks! That makes me feel a bit better.
[automerge]1591698574[/automerge]
zimen74 said:
Very interesting theory. Unless they’re going to release more new bands in the next days, I bet that this could be the reason why.
Click to expand...
That would be nice. I don’t think they’ve ever done that have they?
 
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the future said:
Some comparisons ...
View attachment 922726
Click to expand...

Great comparisons - thanks! This makes me think that "Coastal Gray" vs "Gray (2017)" will wind up having a similar feel to "Concrete" vs "Fog" -- in terms of both pairings having a somewhat similar gray-brightness, with the key difference being that the former (in both comparisons) has a "warm" (aka brown) hint to it.
 
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PurBle said:
Hopefully I’m being paranoid but now I’m wondering whether they are phasing out this band system. Someone say it ain’t so!
Click to expand...

I think it's just a matter of time before they remove backwards band compatibility. The Apple Watch's current band mechanism is already 5 years old and I'm wondering whether keeping it is restricting Apple's ability to innovate in terms of the watch's hardware design.

cambookpro said:
I don't think this is the case - they must be a pretty good money spinner!
Click to expand...

No, I think Apple will definitely phase out the current band mechanism. The new band mechanism will still be removable of course (since it's a good money spinner as you have pointed out), but it's very likely that the new bands will only be compatible with the Series 6/7 and above.
 
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nattK said:
I think it's just a matter of time before they remove backwards band compatibility. The Apple Watch's current band mechanism is already 5 years old and I'm wondering whether keeping it is restricting Apple's ability to innovate in terms of the watch's hardware design.



No, I think Apple will definitely phase out the current band mechanism. The new band mechanism will still be removable of course (since it's a good money spinner as you have pointed out), but it's very likely that the new bands will only be compatible with the Series 6/7 and above.
Click to expand...
Ugh. I hope you’re wrong. I’ve spent way too much if that’s the case and probably won’t make that mistake moving forward with the new style of watch.
 
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nattK said:
I think it's just a matter of time before they remove backwards band compatibility. The Apple Watch's current band mechanism is already 5 years old and I'm wondering whether keeping it is restricting Apple's ability to innovate in terms of the watch's hardware design.



No, I think Apple will definitely phase out the current band mechanism. The new band mechanism will still be removable of course (since it's a good money spinner as you have pointed out), but it's very likely that the new bands will only be compatible with the Series 6/7 and above.
Click to expand...
I'd put a large bet on them still being compatible - I'm not sure what could be changed about the band connectors that enables a tangible benefit on new watch hardware. It's already far thinner than the watch body, and the size of watches are inherently limited by biology (unlike, e.g., phones which have just gotten larger).

I don't think this is comparable with something like the switch from 30 pin to Lightning. A reversible connector which took up less internal space and could transfer data at higher speeds had obvious benefits. I can't see what the band connector is limiting on the watch.

The most I could see is additional band types due to additional watch models, e.g. possibly a larger 46 or 48mm watch case, or a circular design (I don't think that is happening, but not completely unimaginable). But the current bands would still be compatible with the standard watch types.

I do think eventually some bands might integrate health sensors which may mean they are only compatible with newer watches, but I can't see these fully replacing all 'fashion only' bands, simply because they would cost too much.

Would be interested in your thoughts, maybe there's something I've completely missed!
 
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PurBle said:
Ugh. I hope you’re wrong. I’ve spent way too much if that’s the case and probably won’t make that mistake moving forward with the new style of watch.
Click to expand...

This would be a huge blow to a lot of people and would definitely destroy my confidence in buying into another band system for fear of them doing it again.

I'm not saying they never will, but for me personally, they would be doing themselves a great disservice. Maybe not enough people are like us that have spent so much in bands and so it won't matter to apple. I bet the average apple watch wearer only has a handful of bands, and this would not be a huge loss, they can buy a few bands again, so maybe....maybe I'm looking at it from my perspective of having a large collection and not wanting to invest that much time and money again...I guess there's fewer of us than there are people with just a few bands and then a change in band system would only have marginal large upset
 
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Hi, I’m new here.
Just wanted to share a picture of my modest collection.
I’m wearing 40mm SBSS series 4.
On the watch is Violet Dust/Plum Fog.

From left to right:
Space Black Milanese Loop
NIKE Desert Sand/Volt
Lavender Gray
Indigo
NIKE Midnight Fog

I can’t wait to get my hands on the new NIKE Pride Edition.
6D59B015-21B2-4B94-973E-A88FE4C387A9.jpeg
 
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cambookpro said:
I can't see what the band connector is limiting on the watch.
Click to expand...

To ensure backwards compatibility and that the bands work with all watch models, the band connector has to be a precise shape with limited tolerances. If they decide to modify the watch's hardware design any further (e.g. making it thinner, more rounded corners, a different size beyond 38/40/42/44), the existing bands might no longer fit in properly.

Also, the current band mechanism is first generation technology when Apple was still new to watch design. Who knows what they might have learned or improved in the 5 years since the watch was released. The current band mechanism isn't without fault either - a lot of people (me included) have had experiences with the bands not locking in, etc so they might come up with a better mechanism.
 
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yuda398 said:
Hi, I’m new here.
Just wanted to share a picture of my modest collection.
I’m wearing 40mm SBSS series 4.
On the watch is Violet Dust/Plum Fog.

From left to right:
Space Black Milanese Loop
NIKE Desert Sand/Volt
Lavender Gray
Indigo
NIKE Midnight Fog

I can’t wait to get my hands on the new NIKE Pride Edition.View attachment 922776
Click to expand...

Welcome & great collection!

From looking at it, you might enjoy Ultraviolet band (hard to find) or Hyper Grape & World Indigo Nike loops
 
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nattK said:
To ensure backwards compatibility and that the bands work with all watch models, the band connector has to be a precise shape with limited tolerances. If they decide to modify the watch's hardware design any further (e.g. making it thinner, more rounded corners, a different size beyond 38/40/42/44), the existing bands might no longer fit in properly.

Also, the current band mechanism is first generation technology when Apple was still new to watch design. Who knows what they might have learned or improved in the 5 years since the watch was released. The current band mechanism isn't without fault either - a lot of people (me included) have had experiences with the bands not locking in, etc so they might come up with a better mechanism.
Click to expand...
FWIW, there have not been any rumors pointing to a case redesign this year. So, I think current bands are good for one more year at least. I think all bets are off starting with the S7 though...
 
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MacDevil7334 said:
FWIW, there have not been any rumors pointing to a case redesign this year. So, I think current bands are good for one more year at least. I think all bets are off starting with the S7 though...
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, probably not the Series 6. I'm thinking of when they next redesign the watch enclosure so the Series 7 or Series 8
 
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