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jon08

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 14, 2008
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I currently have a 3rd party black band but these seem to wear out pretty fast, plus they seem to attract dust quite a bit (see attached screenshots).

So my question is, is it worth investing more money into buying a genuine Apple sport band esp. in terms of durability and dust-collecting?
 

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Genuine Apple sport bands are much better quality than the 3rd party ones. They are not silicon so don't attract dust like the knockoffs. They feel much sturdier. You can get a brand new genuine Black Apple band on eBay for less than $20.
 
It's kinda hard to find it for less than 25-30 EUR with shipping included here in EU...
 
So recently I bought a genuine black sport band off ebay (Space Black Stainless Steel Pin) that apparently came with AW6.

But I’m kind of disappointed because it’s not really black but actually more like anthracite color. Why??
 

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Because real black is not in stock since a lot of time. In the last years all the iPhone case and AW bands are a kind of dark-grey colours.
 
So recently I bought a genuine black sport band off ebay (Space Black Stainless Steel Pin) that apparently came with AW6.

But I’m kind of disappointed because it’s not really black but actually more like anthracite color. Why??
There were actually 2 generations of “black” sport bands sold by Apple over the years. The original version (marked 38mm or 42mm on the packaging and band) is much closer to true black. The second generation (marked 40mm or 44mm) is more of a dark grey. Apple discontinued black g2 last fall with the launch of the S7 watches and replaced it with a new Midnight color. Midnight is even less of a true black (it’s a really really dark navy).
 
There were actually 2 generations of “black” sport bands sold by Apple over the years. The original version (marked 38mm or 42mm on the packaging and band) is much closer to true black. The second generation (marked 40mm or 44mm) is more of a dark grey. Apple discontinued black g2 last fall with the launch of the S7 watches and replaced it with a new Midnight color. Midnight is even less of a true black (it’s a really really dark navy).
This is just my opinion but I like Midnight much better. When the old black started getting kinda shiny it would look like an old tire
 
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When I got my launch day S0 back in 2015, it came with a white sport band. I went to the Apple Store and got a black one for it, thinking “man, $50 seems a bit steep but I hope it’ll last.” Seven years later, it’s still on my wrist every day on my S4 :)

So, yes, it should last you a while!

92C1221D-3CE9-474D-9FCE-0899B3626B7F.jpeg
 
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So recently I bought a genuine black sport band off ebay (Space Black Stainless Steel Pin) that apparently came with AW6.

But I’m kind of disappointed because it’s not really black but actually more like anthracite color. Why??
The true black color you have in mind is reserved for the black sport band that comes with the space black Apple Watch Hermès models. They probably did that to maintain the exclusivity of the Hermès watches just like the signature Hermès orange sport band.
 
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