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Third-Party Apple Watch Bands May Be Coming Soon Following Launch of New Guidelines
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johnnyturbouk
macrumors 68000
There hopefully will be the middle path, from reputable third part vendors, that can make robust yet chic/funky designs, without them falling apart in a day or so, or giving one lead poising /nickel rash.
I really want the black stainless steel link bracelet, however, this is not yet available, and most likely be in the same $450 price bracket, rather save this amount for an ipad or an iphone 6plus-s
No, but the problem is - Click looks pretty terrible (so far)... Way too big compared to the standard strap mounts
A good read about how Apple is dealing with 3rd party bands
http://www.slashgear.com/apple-tells-accessory-makers-how-to-make-apple-watch-bands-05382042/
http://www.slashgear.com/apple-tells-accessory-makers-how-to-make-apple-watch-bands-05382042/
Remember when the first aftermarket lighting cables (mfi) came out?
They cost just as much as oem... Good luck to those expecting cheap apple certified bands...
Chinese garbage yes...
Maybe in 2 years.
They cost just as much as oem... Good luck to those expecting cheap apple certified bands...
Chinese garbage yes...
Maybe in 2 years.
case I've ever owned.
How about if I spot you $180.20, and you can show Apple how it's done. You buy them for $89.10, and sell them for $150/ea, and we can split the profit of $59.90 20/80. You get $47.92, and I get $11.98 for each watch sold.
Heck, with people waiting until July to get these, I'm sure that you can sell at least a million of them.
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Here's my strategy (FWIW)...
Get the :Apple:Watch Sport (comes in June), then get a nice collection of bands, and at generation 3, get the Stainless model.
The third-party are also good for getting higher quality. For instance, Apple leather is really not nice. Especially the leather loop where the leathers feels like plastic.
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Do you own one of these bands? I've heard that the leather softens up over time and actually feels quite nice.
I agree 100% with you.
I have never understood the mental mindset here; pay hundreds ($350+ MIN to a $1,000+) of dollars for a piece of tech that is "extremely limited in supply" due to production yields and production constraints and then add an accessory as cheap as you can find to pair with it to save a few dollars. And u are right, as soon as someone looses one of the side of a boat due to the band "aftermarket attachment piece" not holding they will blame Apple.
Aftermarket iPhone chargers destroying batteries and literally blowing up in people's faces, laptop charges producing the wrong voltage and frying irreplacae internal laptop batteries, accessories created from composites that are not tested for compatibility that cause chemical and physical reactions, etc., all to save a dollar here and there.
I will gladly pay more for APPLE ONLY accessories thank you. And if I don't have the $$$ for the Apple part then I save another 2-3 days and THEN buy it - end of story.
But I'm not criticizing, to each their own; different strokes for different folks and all that
JS
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You can't be serious.
This does not even merit a follow so troll along.
$89 because an article from a company KNOWN to NOT account for anything but parts (which as has been beaten to death already but is NOT the "cost" of an item) says so.....
Sure lol.
JS
First, Apple has no way of keeping them out.
Second, this very article is about Apple providing information to make it easier for strap makers to get in.
Ditto. Even their band selection looks wonderful. I filled out my survey this morning. Red leather, space gray link, and silver. Two sets of adapters.
I would hope people care about quality over price here. After all, these are holding an expensive piece of hardware to you wrist.
People hardly care about their expensive $700 iPhones...when they put them in their back pockets and sit on them. At least with a watch, they won't be dropping them so easily like the phone.
I wholeheartedly agree.
After purchasing the iPhone 6+ on day 1, I went out that night to look for a case with a wallet to no avail.
On Amazon, I ordered this one for $15 (or so...):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M0YWKPM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and it has held up for the last 7 months well. Plus, I like the way it holds the phone, where Mrs. thequick just replaced her $50 Sena case for her 5S that interfered with the touch ID and camera with a $15 one that hold it around the edges.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009CEHFP8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
From what we have experienced, more $$$ != Better. (although experience says there is a correlation, but in these cases (pun intended), it didn't.)
Better = Better.
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Understood. However, as I showed above, quality and price seem to be generally correlated, rather than tightly. The $15 cases for our $700 phones have held up well, mostly due to where I keep mine (in my front shirt pocket), and Mrs. thequick in her purse.
As for the bands, I'll let others do the experimenting for me. That is a critical part of the watch, and there is no fail-safe should it break.
The band breaks, the only thing holding it is your shirt sleeve, if you're wearing long sleeve shirts. Otherwise, it's the floor, ground, or your foot that will break the fall.
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This one was clearly supposed to lay flat but wasn't made right. The fact that the left side stuck up more than the right was the clue there.
I'm looking forward to some good, high quality hand crafted straps. I'm a big Panerai and Bell and Ross fan and I've owned a few of each. One of the best aspects of both brands and something that fans of both seem to enjoy equally is strap hunting and/or mixing and matching. At any one time I would have 4 or 5 straps to choose from.
Oh, and they're not cheap. Nor should they be. For all of you out there moaning about $149 leather straps - that's actually kind of cheap. Shoot, even a rubber strap for a Panerai or an Omega Seamaster is going to be $200 or more.
Oh, and they're not cheap. Nor should they be. For all of you out there moaning about $149 leather straps - that's actually kind of cheap. Shoot, even a rubber strap for a Panerai or an Omega Seamaster is going to be $200 or more.
I think this is a good move by Apple. The more band options available means the potential to sell more Apple watches. Plus, Apple knows their bands are overpriced and some companies will make bands that are just as good but cost less. Sure there will be some extremely cheap and low quality bands out there but consumers buy these at their own risk.
I don't agree at all about your assertion that, Apple knows their brands are overpriced, especially since this is kind of "standard putdown" of all Apple products. You'd have to do a bit more than just saying it, to prove that this is true. I found that 80% of the supposedly similar quality (and lower priced) Apple accessories, are complete utter garbage at any price, and rest just competitive with Apple's offering, though the fact they often offer something different is welcomed.
Once in a blue moon you get something that's both better than what Apple offers and lower priced.
On very low end stuff like the cheapest material Iphone covers, that percentage goes up (because obviously, the expertise required is much less and Apple can't differentiate much there); but in general your getting cheap crap for the price of cheap crap.