I just had to exchange my 42mm sport watch yesterday for a new one because the watch was bootlooping, and after opening the new watch, one thing I immediately noticed was that the band felt noticeably cheaper feeling, it's not as smooth-feeling as the band on my previous watch, and it almost feels like a knockoff. Also, the hole that I would usually put the band at doesn't allow the rest of the strap to slide into the slot, as in, it literally just won't go in all the way, no matter how hard I try. And, it's noticeably harder to put the band into the holes, it requires much more force than the previous watch. I feel kind of silly going into an Apple store and trying to explain all this, but is this something I should take in and ask them about? Has anyone noticed this?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Poor quality sport band?
- Thread starter upsguy27
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Yes. I bought an additional band and it felt like that. In a couple of days it feels the same as the SB my SS came with.
I bought the SS-BSB and then later picked up a Blue a Sport Band. The two bands do feel different... The blue one is more flexible / squishy while the black one is less stretchy / harder and also smoother.
Honestly, I like them both for different reasons.
But! If you're unhappy with your new one take it back!
Honestly, I like them both for different reasons.
But! If you're unhappy with your new one take it back!
Funny, mine is the opposite. The blue one is hard plastic and my black one is soft and squishy. Neither are flimsy or fake just different feel.
Different color sport bands have different feels/weights. However, if you got the same color band you may simply be comparing to a broken-in one and hence it feels different as it's brand new and not broken in yet.
See, that would make more sense if I hadn't had the previous watch for less than a week before exchanging it for the one I have now. It's now been almost a week since I got the one I have now, and the band feels the exact same as it did previously. I suppose it won't hurt to go to the apple store and just ask them about it and see if there's anything I can do.
No doubt about the different color sport bands having a different feel. I was in the Apple Store today and had a chance to feel the white and black bands and they felt different in surface texture and compression when you squeezed it. The white was softer while the black seemed hard and less supple.
I am a leather loop user because of it ability to change sizes quickly and on the go.
I am a leather loop user because of it ability to change sizes quickly and on the go.
Good point. When I first put my sport band on my space grey aluminum 42mm watch, I put it on the "wrong" way. I quickly flipped it around the "right" way. I don't remember how I noticed. Was it difficult to put on? Was it bending the wrong way? I think it just looked funny to me and I noticed it was in backwards.Don't suppose you put the band on upside down.
As for band quality issues, I'm quite happy with mine. I did order a couple of third party link bracelets off of Amazon. I'm not ready to spend more on a band than I already spent on the watch so I ordered a couple of black link bracelets from a third party. I expect to only wear them occasionally as my sport band is easily the most comfortable watch band I've ever worn.
Same here, my black one is stiffer and doesn't feel as good as my white one. Black came with the Sport Edition, White with the Stainless.