Like do you foresee apple switching up connector methods and needing to sell adapters for old bands and all that in later generations of the watch?
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Apple Watch 2... 3,4, etc:Are the watch bands a good long term "investment"?
- Thread starter davideotape
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I have no idea, but the latest rumor is that AW2 will not change the design of the watch so current bands should work. As for AW3 I don't know but Apple would anger customers, but I guess it's a trade-off between tech improvements and what will attract new buyers vs alienating previous customers. There may be adapters but they could detract from the overall design.
If one bought the link bracelet $400+ they might be a little put off of the Apple Watch version x doesn't let them use it.
thats really my point-- i would hope that any current apple watch oem bands would not be rendered useless. its not like an iphone/ipad case in terms of cost, i hope its not treated that way
Isn't Hermes going to sell their bands on-line tomorrow? Imagine the frustrations that will happen if Apple changed the connector...from both consumers AND 3rd party suppliers!
The fact that Hermes is selling their bands starting tomorrow tells me that connector design will not change for a long time. Hermes and Apple have been working together pre-dating Apple Watch release...so, if anybody has the inside track, it is Hermes.
The fact that Hermes is selling their bands starting tomorrow tells me that connector design will not change for a long time. Hermes and Apple have been working together pre-dating Apple Watch release...so, if anybody has the inside track, it is Hermes.
I see no reason for Apple to change the best wristwatch band system I've seen yet.
Who else makes a simultaneously proprietary and backwards-compatible method of attaching straps to a watch? Especially one which is so easy to use and yet doesn't abandon the hundreds of straps already available from other sources?
Who else makes a simultaneously proprietary and backwards-compatible method of attaching straps to a watch? Especially one which is so easy to use and yet doesn't abandon the hundreds of straps already available from other sources?
I haven't forgotten about the port, and I still think it's a stupid idea unless "smart bands" can be swapped around depending on the orientation of the watch.
Would seem to be an unnecessary and aggravating thing to do...
Why piss off a ton of customers and take away a reason people might be more likely to upgrade...
Why piss off a ton of customers and take away a reason people might be more likely to upgrade...
I've thought about the same thing...luckily for me all of my bands have been 3rd party variants off of Amazon, so granted they've been a lot cheaper than Apple's option, however that would mean I have more bands than would be rendered useless 
I think maybe AW3 or AW4 could see a change in connectors, just depends on how small the watch grows over the years. It's bound to happen...just like the 30pin port to the Lightning connector.
I think maybe AW3 or AW4 could see a change in connectors, just depends on how small the watch grows over the years. It's bound to happen...just like the 30pin port to the Lightning connector.
Not at all comparable.
The 30-pin connector was dropped for several reasons unrelated to size. It was a complicated mechanism, more prone to failure because of its tiny parts. Many of its outputs were rendered obsolete by external markets -- no more analog R/G/B/composite video, no more S-video (remember S-video?), etc. Many of the purposes of having thirty pins simply disappeared.
If you think the AW would get thin enough to warrant a change to the connector, you have to realize it would need to become less than half the thickness it is now before this connector won't fit. I don't know about you, but I'm not expecting a five-millimeters-thin sandwich of cover glass, display, touch digitizer, battery, system chip, LED sensor pack, induction coil, and back glass.
This exactly. Also given that there's a certain aesthetic to having a watch with a heft and size to it.