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My Try-on Experience - All the bands suck

VirtualRain

VirtualRain

macrumors 603
Original poster
Aug 1, 2008
6,304
118
Vancouver, BC
I have a SS Milanese and a Space Grey Sport on pre-order.

I finally got a chance to go into my local Apple Store this evening to try on the watch. The guy who was helping me was a very awkward nerdy kid and nervous, probably his first day or two on the job. He would not be a great help to someone who actually needed some advice and assistance. Fortunately, I just needed him to pass me watches to try on and speak as little as possible.

First off, the Space Grey Sport doesn't look as dark as I was hoping. It's dark grey but would never pass for black unfortunately. While I had high hopes for it going in, being a fan of black traditional watches, but I wasn't impressed. It's aptly part of the Sport line up... I guess a good word is "cheap". If Apple made a true black aluminum watch like the iPhone 5 black, that might be worthy considering.

The Stainless Steel Watch is an obvious step up... actually offering the materials you'd expect from a decent watch. It's the only one to consider if you ask me unless you're strictly looking for a fitness watch.

Now unfortunately, I had issues with nearly all the bands.

Sport Band - while the texture isn't bad... it's rubber. Not classy in the slightest.

Milanese - I wanted to love this bracelet and will likely still keep the one I ordered, but the weave is so tight and the band so thin that it really resembles silver fabric more than metal. I really wish it had a bulkier or looser weave that would make it look clearly like metal and more masculine. The magnet is strong and the infinite adjustability is nice but it was disappointing.

Leather Loop - Horrible feel. It honestly feels worse than the sport band texture. It's like plastic... not leather. Not sure what Apple was thinking with this one.

Leather Classic Buckle - better feeling leather but too thin... not substantial. There are plenty of tightly spaced holes offering a good adjustment range, but when I put it on my 180mm wrists, the end wrapped way around protruding out meaning it was way too long. I'd have to trim some length off of it I think.

Link - Looks like it's right out of the 80's and doesn't match the finish of the watch. Again, strange choice.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I'm really disappointed. I really wonder if any real men were consulted in the design of the bracelets. They are all very girly... thin, dainty, and cheap feeling.

Where is a modern polished link bracelet? A substantial Milanese? A thick leather option?

I'd even take a Rob Halford / Nilay Patel rocker bracelet over most of Apple's offerings :p :D (joking!)

If I had the opportunity to change my pre-order, I'd probably change the Milanese to a Classic Leather band. It's the least offensive of the lot. As it is, I'll stick with the Milanese for now and either buy the Classic Leather later or upgrade to a more masculine option down the road (ideally 3rd party since none of Apples bands seem to suit me).

The Display:

The most remarkable thing about the whole experience for me, was seeing the display on the watch in person. The pixel density and quality of colours and pitch blacks of the display... Wow! That was incredible. By far the best display I've ever seen... on any device... ever! I'd love to see Apple adopt that display technology for the next iPhone.
 
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I hate to say it, but I definitely agree on the leather loop. While I do love it functionally and visually, it does not feel like a "premium" leather at all. The employee at the try on gave me the spiel that's on Apple's site about the leather coming from a small tannery that's been making leather forever blah blah. However, as she is saying this to me, I felt like I had cheap plastic on my wrist. Especially considering the high price, I expected it to actually feel like leather.

I do actually love most of the other bands. I especially enjoyed the Milanese loop, which is what I ordered with my SS watch. As far as the sport goes, I thought it felt great for being a "rubbery" material and couldn't have asked for more from the band intended for fitness.
 
Kind of agree, but not really. Didn't like the leather, But I did like the sport bands and the link, but wish the link weighed more.
 
I agree with the leather buckle and the link for sure, the others I actually like pretty well.

The sport felt great and smooth, the Milanese felt awesome(favorite band) and the leather loop I had a great experience with, a lot of people complained about it being like cardboard and such but the one I tried on was soft and relaxed
 
There have been reports from a number of sources that the leather loop needs breaking in before it looks and feels great. So, whatevs. I totally disagree with most of the opinions in this piece, but, that's the fun part about this watch. Tons of options.

And if you can't find one? I just think you're being far too picky, frankly. But, at least there will be an endless supply of third party choices with more than one standard pin adapter coming to market.
 
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

"Our most personal device."

One of the reasons I've been checking the forums is because I won't have the opportunity to try on the watch before I get it. I've been enjoying everybody's take on the Watch and its bands. But like the quote, I won't know if it's for me until I get my hands on it. Thanks for sharing!
 
Honest question; what are you trying to accomplish by making this thread? Sympathy? Hope that an Apple Exec lurks here and tries to better the bands to meet your standards?

I do agree with your thoughts on the Milanese Loop, but I'll never understand why people think the Leather Loop feels like plastic. It feels incredible to the touch and on the wrist. Perhaps you're used to the feel of cheap leather? It's also something I think will feel even better after it's been broken in.

Sorry your expectations weren't met, mate.
 
You nailed it with the review. I was completely underwhelmed by ALL of the bands.

Like you said, the leather loop feels like plastic. I'm guessing because it is leather wrapped around magnets. It was shockingly cheap.

And just like you, I was excited for the milanese loop, but shocked by how much cheaper it looked in person. Don't get me wrong: it didn't look cheap. It just didn't look as nice as it does in some pics. The main thing for me wasn't the spacing of the links, but that they made the links look so polished and chrome-like in pics, but in real life it looks like a duller unpolished metal mesh. It was almost like a polished steel wool-like color/texture.

The White sport is pretty much what you see in pics, although not as pure white. It has just a 1% tinge to it, whereas in pics it looks 100% white. In real life it is like 99.x. I didn't like the fit of this band. The milanese gave a perfect fit, and was incredibly secure. The sport band left gaps on the corners near the watch body (where the band is stiffer) and so I didn't get as secure a fit against the skin.
 
When you started calling someone a pencil-neck geek over the Internet and then mentioned real men in the same post you lost all credibility for me.
 
Vundu said:
When you started calling someone a pencil-neck geek over the Internet and then mentioned real men in the same post you lost all credibility for me.
Click to expand...


Yep, same. But I did get great humor out of seeing the OP criticize the Sport watch and bands for not being classy enough. Glass houses, mate.
 
There sure are a lot of manchildren in this forum insecure with their masculinity. It makes me feel like I'm back in high school.
 
I agree with the OP regarding the quality of the bands - very disappointing. Didn't even bother trying the Milanese Loop as it looked so feminine. Classic buckle looked and felt like a cheap £5 strap from a market. The black leather loop functioned well but it looked and felt terrible - like a cheap plastic
 
It's fascinating to hear that the Milanese loop looks "cheap" to some people in this thread. It's possibly the best looking band from Apple, and looks great to most. I don't understand the complaint about the sport band either. It's a rubber sport band, that's only $49, and main purpose is for exercise, should we expect it to be "classy"? And the space grey sport watch, while not black, is definitely darker in person than many renders show. In fact, I think it looks great, and is by far, the highest selling model. Like it has been previously said, this is truly the most "personal" product from Apple, so it's interesting to see how the opinions very so greatly
 
I know everyone has a opinion. To me the Milanese loop dose not feel cheap or girly, and that band felt good on my wirst, the same with the sports band felt good and the Link Bracelet also felt good. I also tried the classic buckle that the band is made of leather, it was not bad also
 
I actually kinda agreed with you after my first appointment but I walked in a second time and got an appointment this morning and I've actually come round to a few of them.

Milanese: agree with you, there's something off. I don't know if it's too feminine but it's not really for me.

Leather loop: does feel cheap but I actually warmed to this one a fair bit. Looked quite nice on this time.

Classic buckle: Probably my favourite, just looks smart.

Link Bracelet: Terrible.

Sport: Pretty nice for what it is.
 
VirtualRain said:
Now unfortunately, I had issues with nearly all the bands.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I'm really disappointed. I really wonder if any real men were consulted in the design of the bracelets. They are all very girly... thin, dainty, and cheap feeling.
Click to expand...

Reluctantly, I have to agree with you. All of the bands feel very metrosexual, which is not bad but just not my style (probably because I have no fashion sense).

Now, I am 100% going to get an Apple Watch and wear it instead of my current watch because function is far more important than form to me. I think calling this a watch is the cause of the band complaints because a watch brings along preconceived notions. This is no more only a watch than the iPhone is only a phone.

Call this the Apple Band and those preconceptions somewhat melt away because this is viewed as a new device category and things like the band are no longer compared directly to existing watch bands.
 
Vundu said:
When you started calling someone a pencil-neck geek over the Internet and then mentioned real men in the same post you lost all credibility for me.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more. As soon as someone tries to exert their importance and dominance by insults, hyperbole, and exaggeration, they only succeed in belittling themselves.


And if the Milanese had a looser weave, hairs would get pulled and then he'd really complain and get downright apoplectic.
 
Phillybizzle said:
...
Milanese: agree with you, there's something off. I don't know if it's too feminine but it's not really for me.
Click to expand...
ardchoille50 said:
The idea of "feminine" is an opinion of the beholder. Our value as human beings is not dictated by the opinions of others.
Click to expand...

When I look at the Milanese loop, I think of chain mail — you know, something like what the Knights of the Round Table would wear. Those guys were tough and rugged — "feminine" doesn't come to mind. Then again, if you're talking about Red Sonja... well, that's a different story.
 
VirtualRain said:
I finally got a chance to go into my local Apple Store this evening to try on the watch. The guy who was helping me was a total pencil-neck geek and nervous, probably his first day or two on the job. He would not be a great help to someone who actually needed some advice and assistance. Fortunately, I just needed him to pass me watches to try on and speak as little as possible.
Click to expand...

Charming. Delightful. Insightful. Eloquent.
Now...What about those bands? I didn't bother reading the remainder of your post.
 
I stopped reading at "The guy who was helping me was a total pencil-neck geek and nervous..."

So, basically you're a douche. You're that person.
 
NovemberWhiskey said:
The main thing for me wasn't the spacing of the links, but that they made the links look so polished and chrome-like in pics, but in real life it looks like a duller unpolished metal mesh. It was almost like a polished steel wool-like color/texture.
Click to expand...

To be fair, the renders have always shown the link bracelet itself as brushed stainless steel whereas the Watch case is polished chrome. The obvious advantage to having the link bracelet brushed is any scratches you induce on it will be significantly less noticeable compared to a polished chrome bracelet (which you must polish out once in a while). The disadvantage is of course a slight mismatch, but I find it refreshing that they deliberately didn't take the iPod approach by making it a mirror finish and couldn't care less if you scratched up the mirror chrome back within seconds of handling it.
 
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