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so that is another reason why so many vendors can have third party products available right at launch time of a new product.

I think the point is, *some* of these case makers and other vendors don’t have the _actual_ specifications prior to release, they’re going based off what analysts reporting based off measurements/specifics, it’s not difficult for them to make a mold and then manufacturer case or watch band in this instance. They work off leaks and part rumors, unless they’re given something directly from a source from the factory or insider.

Also, do you know how many vendors have to take their products down realizing that they were off by a millimeter with their case specifications from eBay or Amazon, that happens all the time every year before launch. Watch Bands are easier, being they only have two exact measurements.
 
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Form factor should stay unchanged, only the size of the display will be bigger. If they come up with a new band mechanism they would lose a ton of business from people like me who have an extensive band collection they've invested a lot of money in - I've spent more $$$ on bands than the actual watch at this point.
 
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Form factor should stay unchanged, only the size of the display will be bigger. If they come up with a new band mechanism they would lose a ton of business from people like me who have an extensive band collection they've invested a lot of money in - I've spent more $$$ on bands than the actual watch at this point.
Hearing that final part sounds insane to me, especially if you have the ceramic one. I really truly never thought people needed that many bands. For disclosure, I do not own an Apple Watch - yet.
 
If they do change the band form factor I certainly will stop buying new bands for fear it could only happen again.
 
Hearing that final part sounds insane to me, especially if you have the ceramic one. I really truly never thought people needed that many bands. For disclosure, I do not own an Apple Watch - yet.

You don’t *need* that many bands to supersede the costs of watch. If you’re purchasing Apple OEM bands, two of them for example can cost more than the actual Apple Watch itself, for example, I own two stainless steel link bands and a leather loop, but it depends on what someone is willing to spend and there is different levels of quality between OEM and third party.
 
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Managed to spot one of the new watches over the weekend. From what I could tell we won’t be too surprised and the OP should be happy.
 
Hearing that final part sounds insane to me, especially if you have the ceramic one. I really truly never thought people needed that many bands. For disclosure, I do not own an Apple Watch - yet.
People don't necessarily need that many bands, just like they don't necessarily need 20 pairs of shoes. However, if one's sense of style (and budget) allows for it, matching the style/color of a band (or shoe) to a particular wardrobe is hardly unheard of. It may not be my approach - I don't buy a new belt to match every new pair of trousers, or new neckties to match every new suit jacket. Three belts do it for me - black dress, brown dress, and brown casual, but there are those who go much farther than that.

I happen to have three bands - the "natural" stainless steel Milanese Loop that came with the watch, a less formal midnight blue sport band, and a black nylon band I got as a gift. The latter two are better suited for daily use with my very casual wardrobe. The Milanese Loop comes out for dressier occasions.

The thing is, Apple has made it very easy to change bands - press two buttons and you can slide off one band and slide in another. No fiddling with those spring-loaded pins used for traditional watch bands. So, did Apple intend owning multiple bands to be a "thing" from the start? Sure seems like it.
 
Spotted where?

I think the OP was referring to an Apple employee/engineer was observed somewhere in public likely beta testing the Series 4. But I also would like to know more specifics of where and a better clarification of what there post meant.
 
Personally, I can't see Apple doing that to its customers... but then, again, it would not be the first time.

Whether or not it happens with the next AW or an AW 2, 3, or 4 years from now, one day the watch band attachment will change, you can be sure. Apple will change them in the future as the product evolves to be thinner, at some point they will say, "you know if we made the band attachment thinner, we could shave 2mm of the overall thickness and weight of the product." And bam! There goes your watch band collection "investment."

That's why your headphone jack is gone too.
 
What makes you confident it was "the new watch"?

One anecdotal report from someone saying they observed a ‘new’ watch doesn’t mean anything, they’re guessing based off what they *think* they saw, because they don’t actually know. When the first generation Apple Watch actually was first observed in public worn by Apple engineers prior to release, there were leaked photos on the Internet of what it would look like. On that note, you will know in approximately one month what it will look like.

But in retrospect, Apple is not known to make drastic design changes, being the first generation Apple Watch through the Series 3 is due for a change, I don’t expect the Series 4 to be entirely different, especially given the one reliable rumor we have had from Ming Kuo stated that the display would be 15% larger, additional health sensors and increased battery life. There is no doubt in my mind that Apple will retain the band port for the Series 4.
 
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