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Will my current Milanese and Link Bracelet work with Apple Watch Series 4?

dkupras

dkupras

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 21, 2017
114
15
I've heard rumors that the new Apple Watch Series 4 could have more of a bezel-less display and could wind up being 45mm versus the 42mm. With that being said would my current bands work with the new Watch that is coming out or would I have to re-purchase new bands?

Might be too early to speculate and or answer but was just curious.

Thanks all!

Dave K
 
dkupras said:
I've heard rumors that the new Apple Watch Series 4 could have more of a bezel-less display and could wind up being 45mm versus the 42mm. With that being said would my current bands work with the new Watch that is coming out or would I have to re-purchase new bands?

Might be too early to speculate and or answer but was just curious.

Thanks all!

Dave K
Click to expand...

Hopefully they will... but until Apple tells us about the Series 4 Watch, it's anybody's guess. Personally, I can't see Apple doing that to its customers... but then, again, it would not be the first time.
 
My understanding of the rumors is that the display is supposed to get large, but the form factor will remain the same. If that is true and the band connections are not altered, I would see no issue. But as @dwfaust mentioned, no one knows until September.
 
They'll fit. There's not a chance Apple would break watch band compatibility. If it did, everyone would be immediately afraid to pay Apple's prices for bands and that entire segment would fall into a "death spiral" of pricing pressure. That in turn would render the AW itself unsuitable for those seeking a premium watch experience. In addition, consumers who previously spent $$$ on Apple's watch bands would be furious and might avoid the AW altogether as a result. There is simply no chance -- none -- Apple would let that happen.
 
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If you look at 2018 so far in retrospect, Apple already released two versions of refreshed watch bands in March and in June during WWDC, which should be telling that they are not changing the band port for the Series 4 if they just refreshed watch bands over the last four months, and there has been very few rumors circulating that they would change the band port. But being that Apple is unpredictable, will the band port survive to be the same for future models after the Series 4? That is highly questionable.
 
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bluespark said:
They'll fit. There's not a chance Apple would break watch band compatibility. If it did, everyone would be immediately afraid to pay Apple's prices for bands and that entire segment would fall into a "death spiral" of pricing pressure. That in turn would render the AW itself unsuitable for those seeking a premium watch experience. In addition, consumers who previously spent $$$ on Apple's watch bands would be furious and might avoid the AW altogether as a result. There is simply no chance -- none -- Apple would let that happen.
Click to expand...
Epic Reply :)
 
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I think they will be be compatible as stated above, but even on the outside chance they are not, I'm sure some crafty 3rd party outfit will invent some sort of adapter if not Apple themselves. ;)
 
Awesome to be part of such a knowledgable team! Thanks again for every response to every post I put up.
 
DotCom2 said:
I think they will be be compatible as stated above, but even on the outside chance they are not, I'm sure some crafty 3rd party outfit will invent some sort of adapter if not Apple themselves. ;)
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God I hope there is no ‘adapter’ or ‘dongle’ to get the bands to work. That would be hell.
 
dkupras said:
I've heard rumors that the new Apple Watch Series 4 could have more of a bezel-less display and could wind up being 45mm versus the 42mm. With that being said would my current bands work with the new Watch that is coming out or would I have to re-purchase new bands?

Might be too early to speculate and or answer but was just curious.

Thanks all!

Dave K
Click to expand...
Probably yes, I read on this forum users who bought so many bands it's worth more than the actual watch itself lol
 
You have absolutely know insider knowledge of what you state below and your claims are base purely upon wishful thinking. Your claim makes as much sense as people stating the iPhone would never drop the 30 pin connector port or the 3.5mm headphone port. Apple keeps moving forward and is certainly not going to put a hold on watch design changes -when have they ever done this with any of their products. And your argument supposes that the majority of the new design Apple Watch buyers would be current owners - what about new buyers who do not own any bands?

FACT: If the Apple Watch case size increases or decreases by even the slightest amount then the current band connector will either not fit correctly or will look horrible, thus not meeting Apple's stringent design standards. There is no way to avoid this.

I say this as someone who has multiple bands myself and REALLY REALLY do not want to purchase new bands. However in the end having to purchase new bands would not stop me from buying a new style Apple watch.


bluespark said:
They'll fit. There's not a chance Apple would break watch band compatibility. If it did, everyone would be immediately afraid to pay Apple's prices for bands and that entire segment would fall into a "death spiral" of pricing pressure. That in turn would render the AW itself unsuitable for those seeking a premium watch experience. In addition, consumers who previously spent $$$ on Apple's watch bands would be furious and might avoid the AW altogether as a result. There is simply no chance -- none -- Apple would let that happen.
Click to expand...
 
I very much doubt they are going to change this. One, it would be very annoying to users, but more TWO I haven't seen any real significant discounts from the many current vendors moving inventory - which is the ultimate tell.
 
Probably not changing. And if it doesn’t change for 4 then it won’t change for 5, 6, or 7 either since apple is likely going to keep the same new form factor for 2-3 generations.
 
tivoboy said:
I very much doubt they are going to change this. One, it would be very annoying to users, but more TWO I haven't seen any real significant discounts from the many current vendors moving inventory - which is the ultimate tell.
Click to expand...

Although I agree with you that they won’t change the band port, vendors don’t always have inside information of what Apple will do, especially with the Apple Watch, it’s the one product that has very few leaks and rumors. Retailers for the most part are just as much in the unknown as much as everyone else is.

Example: Its Kind of like a case maker for an iPhone, they make cases in advance before the iPhone releases based on what they see and here for rumors, photo’s, specifications, but it doesn’t mean they know exactly what Apple is going to release for the product until we see the final debut during the keynote.
 
dkupras said:
I've heard rumors that the new Apple Watch Series 4 could have more of a bezel-less display and could wind up being 45mm versus the 42mm. With that being said would my current bands work with the new Watch that is coming out or would I have to re-purchase new bands?

Might be too early to speculate and or answer but was just curious.

Thanks all!

Dave K
Click to expand...

Frankly, we can't know, but Apple would really be upsetting a lot of people if they lose support for existing watch bands in favour of new improved Watch Band 2.
 
cwanja said:
God I hope there is no ‘adapter’ or ‘dongle’ to get the bands to work. That would be hell.
Click to expand...
"Welcome to this brand new dongle era. Nothing connects with each other without a dongle" /s
This reminds me a meme with an image showing a computer with parallel ports connect to a USB drive with a chain of dongles. The image says "There is always a way".
there-is-always-a-way_o_4188293.jpg
 
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Relentless Power said:
Although I agree with you that they won’t change the band port, vendors don’t always have inside information of what Apple will do, especially with the Apple Watch, it’s the one product that has very few leaks and rumors. Retailers for the most part are just as much in the unknown as much as everyone else is.

Example: Its Kind of like a case maker for an iPhone, they make cases in advance before the iPhone releases based on what they see and here for rumors, photo’s, specifications, but it doesn’t mean they know exactly what Apple is going to release for the product until we see the final debut during the keynote.
Click to expand...
There are definitely vendors who are getting embargoed dimensional specs for various products prior to release of an apple product.
 
Relentless Power said:
Although I agree with you that they won’t change the band port, vendors don’t always have inside information of what Apple will do, especially with the Apple Watch, it’s the one product that has very few leaks and rumors. Retailers for the most part are just as much in the unknown as much as everyone else is.

Example: Its Kind of like a case maker for an iPhone, they make cases in advance before the iPhone releases based on what they see and here for rumors, photo’s, specifications, but it doesn’t mean they know exactly what Apple is going to release for the product until we see the final debut during the keynote.
Click to expand...
Happens all the time with iPhone cases and happening more and more.
 
cwanja said:
Happens all the time with iPhone cases and happening more and more.
Click to expand...

This,
and. All the parts for phones, laptops, watches, etc. that apple makes to sell themselves (which are always available right at the point that the new product comes out) are made in China (mostly) and these are the official products. Some of those specs make their way to other vendors (and heck sometimes the SAME vendor selling their own product) so that is another reason why so many vendors can have third party products available right at launch time of a new product.
 
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