I always appreciate when folks bring up "manufacturing/materials" cost as an argument against MSRP. It helps let me know that I shouldn't take them or anything they say seriously. 
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Nike Announces New Apple Watch Bands With Matching Running Shoes
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"But they're both 'rubber'!"Because they aren't made out of the same thing. Just a guess.
/s
I'd like to buy the NikeLab cream and black band that came out.
If you think there's R&D in making a rubber watch band, then Apple's Marketing team is doing their job right.
I'll be interested in this when you can order Nike ID bands that match you custom Nike ID shoes.
Who in their right mind would be seen in public without a matching Watch strap with their outdoor shoes let alone running ones? At last Apple has seen a massive gap in the "shoes/strap/synch" market before anybody else did, proving once more that they will deal with the issues other tech companies throw away.
Personally, I'll take quality over "a bunch." The knockoff silicone straps don't feel anything like the fluroelastomer originals to me, and these look great. I'm not telling anyone else what to buy, but I'll happily pick up at least one of these.
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Look it up. It's an interesting and expensive material with a number of "special" qualities: longevity, non-strechiness (important for a Watch band), softness, and almost uncanny lint resistance. It's very different from run-of-the-mill rubber.
The first rule in fashion is that your belt should always match your shoes, so I guess Apple is changing the rules.
I thought it was the carpet should match the dra...oh wait.
20% of the people in this forum are smart, thoughtful and insightful, 60% are regular folks who sometimes make or give thumbs up on decent points and sometimes make or click thumbs up on dumb points, and 20% are ground-licking trolls and mindless haters who unfortunately often have an over-sized effect on the tone and tenor of any given topic. It sucks that there are people who believe they can derive self-worth from hating on things or being reflexively snarky, but unfortunately they tend to exist wherever humans gather. That 20/60/20 split is kinda universal, unless there are extenuating circumstances.
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Another obnoxious, needlessly snarky comment crippled by facts. Thanks for the info. I use a black Nike band most of the time and my experience has been that it is head and shoulders above any rubber/plastic watch band I've ever owned, and now I know exactly why.
That's it. I was on the fence about the watch before, but knowing I won't have to put up with excess lint on my watch band has tipped the scales.
Or the Monster cables edition for $200 (the triple gold plating gives it vastly improved conductivity).
I am not trying to compare chemical composition, I am talking simply about quality. The bands on Amazon do not feel anything like the Apple ones, and last months instead of years.
There ARE differences in the chemical composition, which create significant differences in the look, feel, flexibility and durability of the Apple/Nike bands. No justification is needed. You either like it and see the value, or you don't. Why are so many people on this forum threatened by this watchband? It's really strange.
It's also strange that anyone would spend $400 or $800 on a watch, and then buy the cheapest band for it they can find. That's akin to buying a brand new Audi and then scouring EBay for the cheapest knock-off tires available. You either appreciate quality or you don't. But no reason to judge those who do.
Are you being sarcastic? If so, I'm not claiming this should push anyone to buy the Watch -- to each his own. I was just responding to the notion that this material is ordinary rubber. Whether lint resistance or any of its other attributes are worth the cost for anyone is entirely up to them. My point is simply that differences exist, and they come at a cost, in part because the material itself is pricey.
Beautifully stated. All that matters in what they are worth to you. I'm astonished there are so many people hating on Nike, or any manufacturer, for leveraging the economies of scale and basically being good at their job.
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Awesome info, thanks. All the great qualities of flueroastamer combined with the ventilation holes make my Nike band the most comfortable, best looking and most durable synthetic watch band I've ever owned.
This other person just gave a thoughtful, scientific explanation of what makes the material in an Apple band significantly more beneficial than rubber, and then you basically just repeated (and dumbed down) what they wrote and reiterated the same complaint about price, as if none of what the first person wrote actually registered with you at all? I'm continually surprised by people's ability to ignore facts/reality in the service of maintaining their pre-determined opinion/world view.
No way, man - I'm always brushing lint off my iPhone silicone case, and it irks me. Good to know the watch bands aren't like that.