[HN Gopher] The unsung hero of the Apple Watch is its hidden but...
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The unsung hero of the Apple Watch is its hidden buttons
Author : zdw
Score : 217 points
Date : 2023-05-31 16:19 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.theverge.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.theverge.com)
| garyfirestorm wrote:
| >"Most watch users don't know how to change the strap and I bet
| pre-Apple Watch, many didn't realize that was an option
|
| I get it, they got bands and ecosystem and everything, but making
| it sound like no one swapped bands pre apple is a stretch
| reaperducer wrote:
| _making it sound like no one swapped bands pre apple is a
| stretch_
|
| I suspect the author is too young or rural to remember when
| watch stores were common (stand-alone, in malls, in department
| stores, in airports, etc...), and you'd go in to have a battery
| changed, or pick a new strap from the hundreds on display.
| justsomehnguy wrote:
| > too young or rural to remember
|
| >> Antonio G. Di Benedetto, a writer covering tech deals and
| The Verge's Deals newsletter, buying guides, and gift guides.
| Previously, he spent 15 years in the photography industry.
|
| He is on Twitter since 2009 so he is at least 35?
|
| Probably just never paid any attention for the pocket
| watches. Or just "journalism".
| icepat wrote:
| Yes, a very odd take. I had watches ever since I was a child,
| and changing the watch band was a regular occurrence. Mostly
| because I would wear through them.
| Kon-Peki wrote:
| In more recent times, the Timex Weekender had a very large
| ecosystem of swappable bands. But it was designed such that
| you needed no tools and just slid the bands in and out.
|
| The Apple system _is_ really nice, in that you can quickly
| and easily change _attached_ bands without tools.
| icepat wrote:
| Oh the Apple watch system is _definitely nice_! And I
| prefer it to having to fiddle around with small pins to
| shim my watch band off. But that 's not so much the
| issue, the rather odd idea of "hardly anyone changing
| watch bands before Apple" is.
| ghaff wrote:
| What probably is true is that pre-Swatch (and maybe some
| other brands/lines), people certainly replaced watch
| bands. But it was more because the band was worn out as
| opposed to casually swapping them for fashion reasons.
| icepat wrote:
| Yep, I only swapped my band because it was trashed, and
| always to the exact same one as before.
| babypuncher wrote:
| Watch people, sure.
|
| However most people who were just rocking a basic Casio from
| Sprawl-Mart probably never even thought to swap their band.
|
| What is really impressive about the Apple Watch is that it
| convinced a lot of people who really didn't care about watches
| to start dropping $200-$500 on them.
| ghaff wrote:
| By the time the strap is worse for wear on my cheap Timex,
| the battery is probably near-replacement, and the crystal is
| probably a bit banged up too. So easier to just spend $30 to
| replace the whole thing.
|
| But I've certainly replaced watch bands in the past (or had
| it done). Never really been a watch person. I do have an
| Apple Watch which I wear mostly for hiking, etc. I like it
| but it's probably my most optional Apple device.
| drivers99 wrote:
| I wore the same Timex Triathlon for about 16 years. I
| replaced the watch band and the battery numerous times.
| Eventually the plastic button (the main one in the bottom
| left) wore out and it lost its water resistance and I
| finally switched watches. But to switch watches due to the
| replaceable parts (battery, watch band) seems unnecessary
| and wasteful.
| matwood wrote:
| Yeah, Shark watches were all the rage when I was a kid. They
| had lots of different straps, and early versions of
| complications (add-ons you could stick on the band).
|
| https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/a-definitive-deep-dive-on-...
| king_magic wrote:
| Some of us watch enthusiasts enjoy the occasional challenge of
| swapping watch bands :)
| throw7 wrote:
| Except for a few "dress" watches I've switched all others to
| nato-style. One of his arguments is it's "easier". I don't know,
| nato-style is pretty much idiot proof.
|
| I do have a "pin" tool which makes it easy, but I'd rather buy a
| simple tool then buy into an expensive closed ecosystem.
| hbosch wrote:
| In fact, some quick research suggests that multiple Swiss
| watchmakers had engineered quick-change watch straps before
| Apple... but you can definitely credit Apple for bringing it to
| the everyday consumer. I found an article[0] that predates the
| first Apple watch which mentions Hublot, Panerai and Cartier as
| innovators here.
|
| In fact, one of the coolest things about the Cartier Santos is
| not only the quick-release system that frees the band from the
| watch but the hidden buttons that also allow you to resize the
| steel bracelet itself[1]! (Video shows a _2018_ Santos, but
| nevertheless)
|
| Regardless of who got it right first, I do hope that Apple's
| watch strap system becomes more ubiquitous in the watch world.
| Oftentimes watches are over-engineered for their 99% use case of
| casual wear in order to fulfill some fantasy of diving in the
| Caribbean or scaling Mt. Kilimanjaro, and so therefore many are
| screwed or fastened in some way that makes adjusting them a pain
| without tiny little tools and a clean surface.
|
| 0. https://www.thewatchbox.com/blog/gone-60-seconds-quick-
| chang...
|
| 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWv4QBJyz78&t=103s
| reaperducer wrote:
| _I do hope that Apple 's watch strap system becomes more
| ubiquitous in the watch world. Oftentimes watches are over-
| engineered for their 99% use case of casual wear in order to
| fulfill some fantasy of diving in the Caribbean or scaling Mt.
| Kilimanjaro, and so therefore many are screwed or fastened in
| some way that makes adjusting them a pain without tiny little
| tools and a clean surface._
|
| I agree, but for different reasons. I have several very nice
| dress watches that I keep for sentimental reasons that I'm not
| able to wear because the manufacturer used one-off straps for
| them. The mechanisms still work fine, but I can't wear them
| because the exact strap for that exact watch is no longer
| available.
|
| Hey, EU -- While you're forcing USB-C on everyone, how about
| picking a watch band standard, too?
| reaperman wrote:
| So, I'm a huge fan of regulation but the problem with over-
| regulation is that it will stop really fun products from
| being released in those markets.
|
| Like, imagine a watch that has an inflatable cuff that can
| take your blood pressure. It may be unsightly, bulky, and
| very dorky. So maybe it wouldn't fit this new "EU Watch Band
| Standard" that was imagined for Apple Watch. So a very large
| company like Apple could lobby the EU to change the law and
| might even do that with enough lead time so it doesn't delay
| the product launch. But a small company, kickstarter, etc
| would be screwed because there's no way they could expect to
| get the legislators' attention for something like this.
|
| And yes, the legislation could be written with sensible
| carveouts, but we all know it won't, or they'll either not be
| comprehensive enough, or they'll be a leaky sieve that lets
| every shady corporation say "oh yeah there's a standard
| watchband but our _special watch_ falls under exemption
| 312(c). " Or you can have a government agency handle
| "exemption requests" without legislative action, but then the
| small kickstarter will go through 6 rounds and 18 months of
| records and documentation requests, if they even bother
| looking into the process at all and not just saying "oh fuck
| that."
| yunohn wrote:
| > imagine
|
| Yes, so imaginative innovations for niche usecases can
| easily be exempted. The goal would be to enable mainstream
| mass-market devices to follow the standard. It's not as
| complicated as you suggest, and works in almost every
| industry.
| mynameisvlad wrote:
| I mean, straight up no. If there is any sort of
| legislation, regardless of exemptions, time will have to
| be spent to figure out if the exemption applies, and
| generally will require some work to either apply for or
| defend the exemption as part of the development and
| release process.
|
| This would stifle innovation in the long run. Why bother
| with this extra work when there are a other variations on
| the idea that would be quicker to launch?
| burntwater wrote:
| Every innovation is niche, until it gets adopted by the
| mainstream. Many large companies have attempted to create
| mainstream products which have failed.
| ImprovedSilence wrote:
| You might not be able to get the _exact_ strap, but there are
| certainly numerous aftermarket straps (from low to high end)
| you can easily get. The strap is more than likely held in by
| a spring bar, and the while there are various widths, they
| are standard widths, ie 20 or 22mm etc... especially any
| older mechanical watch, will absolutely have the ability to
| interchange the band. And if it's not a spring bar but a
| solid fixed piece of metal, you can use a nato style strap or
| something similar.
| reaperducer wrote:
| _You might not be able to get the exact strap, but there
| are certainly numerous aftermarket straps (from low to high
| end) you can easily get._
|
| I've tried, and even brought them to several watch stores
| and jewelers in Seattle, Houston, and New York with no
| luck.
|
| The problem isn't the spring bar, it's the shape of the
| watch where connection is made.
| Spinnaker_ wrote:
| I'm curious, which very nice dress watch manufacturer won't
| replace the band for you? They went out of business?
| thadk wrote:
| For what it's worth, scaling the freestanding Mt. Kilimanjaro
| volcano is about as intense as a 4 day backpacking trip up up
| up to high altitude, little to no watch-risky technical
| climbing required for the common routes.
| saiya-jin wrote:
| Whiskey/cocacola routes take 7 days standard, at least in
| 2012 they both did. For good reasons, folks struggle with
| altitude and you have plenty of people who go up high first
| time in their lives, so taking time to acclimatize is smart
| for general groups. Even with this, success rate was not more
| than 50%.
|
| I've personally struggled like hell on the top, almost
| hallucinated and so did rest of my team members. But we made
| a junior mistake of going too fast up on summit day. When I
| did ie Mont Damavand in Iran, which is just 250m lower after
| cca 3 years, no issues and roud trip was just 2 days. But
| I've trained and did some crazy stuff in between. Most folks
| don't do that kind of stuff.
| jefftk wrote:
| Sure, but none of that is hard on watches.
| high_priest wrote:
| What the heck are people talking about with the quick swap
| bands being an innovation?
|
| Literally all the watches I own, from grandfathers antiques, to
| modern Amazfits, all of them have the bands on a spring loaded
| bar. Like... I don't remember the last time I have seen a
| different mechanism.
|
| There is a brief mention of this system as a "conventional" one
| in the article
|
| ```
|
| Apple took the conventional spring bars of traditional watches,
| miniaturized them, turned them on their sides, and embedded
| them into the watch band.
|
| ```
|
| Complicating a simple solution for the sake of a flashy "flush"
| finish, doesn't sound like an innovation.
| delecti wrote:
| I suspect people are downvoting because they're imagining the
| older style of watch band spring bars. The older ones like
| this [1] require a tool, dexterity, and also some luck that
| it doesn't go flying across the room.
|
| Bands with the newer style like this [2] can easily be done
| without tools or any stellar dexterity, but are still a bit
| more fiddly than how it seems Apple watches are. I'm betting
| this is the type you're talking about, as it's the only kind
| I've had to deal with across my ~decade of smartwatch use.
|
| [1] https://www.bartonwatchbands.com/products/stainless-
| steel-sp...
|
| [2] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B9FQ3PXF/ref=ppx_yo_d
| t_b...
| yunohn wrote:
| Spring bars are NOT easy to work with. They're easy to lose,
| hard to attach/remove, and definitely not quick.
|
| The Apple Watch release buttons are much better - takes
| barely 5s to replace bands.
|
| Additionally, it detaches the part that holds the band,
| allowing for deeper customisation. This is the thing you
| normally need screwdrivers for.
| babypuncher wrote:
| I don't know about your grandfather's watches, but non-smart
| watches I've had that take standard bands require a
| screwdriver.
| high_priest wrote:
| Rugged watches, outdooring ones, garmins, sure. They have
| big bars which require a screwdriver. They are made to
| first tear out your hand and then "maybe" break.
| panopticon wrote:
| I think Garmin switched all of their watches to the
| QuickFit system at least 5 years ago.
| jerlam wrote:
| Quickfit is mostly concentrated on their larger/higher
| end watches, like Fenix and up. Their lower end watches
| (like the Forerunner 265) still have a quick release
| spring bar.
|
| In contrast, Casio G-Shocks, which are specifically built
| to be rugged/fashionable, don't have any kind of quick
| change mechanism. The strap is integrated into the case
| that further protects the watch.
| panopticon wrote:
| > _Quickfit is mostly concentrated on their larger
| /higher end watches, like Fenix and up. Their lower end
| watches (like the Forerunner 265) still have a quick
| release spring bar._
|
| Ah, yeah. I was mostly addressing the "rugged watches"
| comment, but yes that's absolutely correct.
| spiffytech wrote:
| The new thing seems to be attaching bands with bars that can
| be removed with a fingernail, rather than a tiny screwdriver
| or other pointy tool.
| pavon wrote:
| The spring bars are a pain. Many of my extended family don't
| have the finger dexterity to operate them at all, and either
| take them to the jewelry counter to replace or bring them to
| me. The rest can change them, but hate the damn things and
| take several tries sometimes with the bar flying across the
| room and complain about it every time.
|
| This isn't change for the sake of change, it is a genuine
| improvement.
| ChuckNorris89 wrote:
| Also even cheap Casios had the feature to infinitely adjust
| the strap they GP is talking about.
| mynameisvlad wrote:
| By using a tool to push out the pins? That's not even
| remotely what GP is talking about. Look at their posted
| video to understand the difference.
| RandallBrown wrote:
| The spring loaded bars are not very quick to swap.
| onli wrote:
| Spring loaded with a button to move them easily to the side?
| Or spring loaded with the small rings to use a tool with?
|
| My impression is that the button system did got more popular
| over the last years, but it certainly existed many years
| before. Hard to find sources though.
| johnwalkr wrote:
| Watches are jewelry, and regardless of who did it first,
| making a reliable, easy-to-use flush strap system is an
| innovation. I'd argue it's less complex for the user, it's
| certainly easier to use.
| wlesieutre wrote:
| Are you talking about the spring bars that you need a tool to
| remove?
| jjoonathan wrote:
| If your fingernail is the right size and you are willing to
| risk breaking it and impaling your fingertip and cracking
| the body of your watch with the leverage and the band isn't
| jammed to complicate the procedure, you can often make it
| work without tools.
|
| Yeah, the swap button is a big improvement.
| NikolaNovak wrote:
| The spring bars are not a quick swap and they are not easy or
| painless. I have a small watch collection and a larger strap
| collection :P, but I'd never call it easy or convenient.
|
| Now, there are some straps, even in budget category, that
| have a small lever that manipulates the spring and it's
| fairly easy to switch - but only if all your straps have the
| same mechanism. This is then compounded by different widths
| and types and whatnots.
|
| As ever, Apple reaps the benefits (as well as drawbacks) of
| the basically single hardware device - you can build a
| massive ecosystem around a predictable, controlled, singular,
| homogeneous product line.
|
| Or to put it other way - any one of my friends or family can
| and do change apple watch straps. 96% of them would be either
| unable or unwilling or both to change a regular strap. Even
| myself, I prefer the Nato straps on my regular watches as
| they are easier to swap than conventional straps.
| somat wrote:
| As a fellow convert to the church of the nato strap this
| made me lookup the situation for the apple watch.
| Unfortunately a real contentious nato strap is incompatible
| with the watch due to it's wrist sensors. So you end up
| with two piece nylon straps calling themselves nato bands.
| I guess if you were fine being classified dead by your
| watch you could probably put a nato band on one.
|
| The casio g-shock has a problem with nato bands as well.
| the g-shock has a laughably small band pin width(16 mm). so
| to get a nato strap(24 mm) on one you need a band width
| adapter. which undoes most of the advantage of the nato
| strap. I am not really sure why they made it so small. My
| mechanical engineering is a bit weak does a small pin have
| less side load than a large pin?
| jclardy wrote:
| I have mechanical watches and an Apple Watch...I swap bands
| on my Apple Watch almost every day because it takes about 5
| seconds. I've swapped bands on my mechanicals maybe once this
| year, because it is super finicky, the spring bar always
| launches into another dimension and you spend 10 minutes
| feeling around on the floor to find it. All while you risk
| scratching the finish on your watch as you try to push back a
| tiny metal spring with a tiny metal pick. And that is if you
| have a springbar tool available, which is the best case
| scenario.
| falcolas wrote:
| Ironically enough, I've picked up some adapters so I can use
| regular watch bands with my Apple Watch. There are just more
| options (that I like) using regular watch bands, and most decent
| (i.e. >= $20) watch bands now use quick release spring bars,
| making them stupidly simple to change (and not lose said bars).
| its-summertime wrote:
| The complication sounds somewhat like a soft DRM for hardware:
| Requiring third parties to potentially have a looser fit etc if
| they can't get the mechanism right
| Kirby64 wrote:
| It's apparently not particularly hard. There's oodles of
| vendors selling sub-$10 straps that have a very tight fit, in
| my view. I've got an actual Apple band that is 'loose' in
| comparison (very small amount of side-to-side motion).
| larelli wrote:
| The article goes to great lengths to describe the difficulties in
| manufacturing and assembling the mechanism in the band itself but
| then also mentions that there a large ecosystem of third-party
| bands available. How do all those get made? Does every
| manufacturer have to use the same high-precision machines?
| elzbardico wrote:
| I've got two third-party straps. Basically, only the middle
| button in the strap works and attaches to the middle notch.
| Most of the time this is enough to keep the strap in place. But
| it is not as nearly as secure as it is with the original Apple
| strap. I use the original one when doing stuff like playing
| tennis or squash.
| interpol_p wrote:
| I had no idea that third party straps connected differently!
| Thanks for the info.
|
| I have had two third party straps tear off, once during
| boxing and once while playing with my kids. The (much
| pricier) Apple ones never have, and so I only use those for
| sport as well.
| elzbardico wrote:
| Once I had a third-party strap tearing off while I was
| cycling. I was lucky it happened during a break. Since
| then, I only use original apple straps for any sport.
| kreetx wrote:
| Surprised that you don't take the watch off during boxing,
| is that supported? (Not saying you can't do whatever you
| want with it, just that are they really that durable?)
| microtherion wrote:
| The strap side of the mechanism is much simpler than the watch
| side, and I suspect that for some styles of bands, you can even
| obtain fasteners from some wholesale manufacturer and attach
| them to your band, instead of fiddling with the dimensions
| yourself.
| JustSomeNobody wrote:
| > Most watch users don't know how to change the strap and I bet
| pre-Apple Watch, many didn't realize that was an option
|
| Hmmm... what's this little springy thing on my Garmin watch? Oh!
| check that out! I can replace the bands!
|
| Apple makes cool stuff, I even have some of it, but stop suckin'
| their butts.
| mikestew wrote:
| The Garmins I've had before the Apple Watch was first released
| involved getting out an Allen/Torx wrench to change the band.
| It wasn't until _after_ the Apple Watch came out that I noticed
| Garmin had quick-release bands. So, though there were arguably
| quick-release bands before the Apple Watch, you picked a poor
| example.
| amelius wrote:
| Anyone else noticed that looking at the top of your wrist for a
| prolonged time is difficult because the joints that turn the
| wrist are near an extreme point?
|
| I think a more natural orientation of the screen is slightly more
| down on the wrist.
| jerlam wrote:
| There was a period of time where manufacturers tried to solve
| this problem, at least for athletes. There was the Timex OVA
| (Optimum Viewing Angle) where the watch face was located at the
| top of the wrist, using a very rigid strap:
|
| https://kr.aving.net/news/articleViewAmp.html?idxno=10025
|
| I had one. It looked strange, but the face was much more
| visible. However, it also meant that the watch face had to be a
| lot smaller.
|
| There was also the Nike Triax which rotated the screen 45
| degrees:
|
| https://www.gq.com/story/nike-triax-watch
|
| Both of these were phased out probably due to their weirdness.
| And also because watches, even for athletes, play a role as
| jewelry, especially in the social media age.
|
| It's common in the military to wear your watch on the inside of
| your wrist, where it's more visible but also less prone to
| damage.
| wccrawford wrote:
| I actually find that turning the top of my wrist up is more
| taxing than the top. Looking at the top of my wrist feels a lot
| more natural to me.
|
| OTOH, in doing it right now, I noticed that I also stick my
| elbow out to make that happen, which isn't necessary for the
| bottom of the wrist, so perhaps that's the difference. Without
| sticking my elbow out, the watch would be at the wrong angle to
| view, though, in either situation. (It'd be 90 degrees out.)
| namdnay wrote:
| The underside of your wrist is far more natural, but it means
| it's harder to show off :)
| [deleted]
| stronglikedan wrote:
| Proprietary? Fitbits have had these buttons since forever. And my
| Samsung has something similar, but in the pins, but just as easy
| to manipulate. This isn't an Apple thing, lol.
| dzikimarian wrote:
| At least weekly, there has to be article about Apple. It must
| describe something that, in case of other company, would be met
| with a shrug at most. It will be on the front page.
|
| That's the law.
| arek_nawo wrote:
| > Most watch users don't know how to change the strap and I bet
| pre-Apple Watch, many didn't realize that was an option.
|
| Although Apple has a history of simplifying and popularising
| various things, I thinks it's a bit of an overstatement. Could it
| be that people were influenced by marketing and "fashionable"
| image of various bands that they began collecting and switching
| them as desired?
|
| For me at least, a few of my older watches and smartwatches had
| an option to change bands, though I never used them. With my
| first and current AW 7 I only used this "feature" to first change
| the default band and after that only recently once my previous
| one got worn out.
| musictubes wrote:
| The stainless link bands are amazing too. I wondered why the
| Swiss hadn't made resizing the band so easy. Then I realized that
| being forced to go to a jewelers/watch shop is a feature for
| them.
| bombcar wrote:
| The realization that anything over a $12 F-91W is more jewelry
| than a timepiece helps explain much of the watch market. Once
| you own _more than one_ watch you 're gonna get many of them,
| which is something some watchmakers count on.
| rootusrootus wrote:
| This is one area I think Apple has done a pretty good job in.
| They'll happily sell you a basic watch with a nice elastomer
| band for a few hundred bucks. This is the smartwatch
| equivalent of that F-91W. But Casio can't sell you a fancy
| F-91W that looks stylish and makes them an extra thousand
| bucks in profit.
| rocketbop wrote:
| Well you can actually buy a $4000 Casio GShock. They also
| have the Casio Oceanus line which are fancy and expensive.
| The $20 Casios are just the gateway drug and a lot of
| people with one Casio tend to have many.
| bombcar wrote:
| It has worked so well for Apple that I'm honestly surprised
| they haven't gone down the "bling route" with the iPhone,
| limited edition super-high end status symbol phones.
| rootusrootus wrote:
| That is a good point. I think the most expensive case you
| can buy for an iPhone from Apple is about $60. Even if
| you check off all available options you still can't break
| $2000 for a new iPhone. But there are third-party cases
| costing multiple thousands of dollars, so there must be
| _some_ market for it. Though I suspect Apple knows more
| about the size of that market than I do. Still, I 'm
| surprised they don't even try to sell an ugly Hermes
| multi color case for $600.
| ghaff wrote:
| Apple isn't really in the business of low volume
| luxury/status goods. Yeah, some people will mock Apple
| users as status-seeking. But, really, everything Apple
| sells may not be bargain goods but they're a pretty long
| throw from one of those many Vegas clothing etc. stores
| where, at least figuratively, I couldn't buy a single
| item--or at least wouldn't even consider it.
| rootusrootus wrote:
| But they do sell $600 Hermes watchbands. And the
| stainless steel watch, which is essentially a designer
| choice. So a designer phone case would be a decent analog
| to that. I'm actually surprised $59 is the most expensive
| case they sell.
| BirAdam wrote:
| The primary thing here is the Hermes band is made by
| Hermes and sold in Apple's stores. They don't actually
| make it.
|
| Apple will make higher-end stuff if they continue to have
| trouble selling new hardware tho. I expect that they'd
| actually go both directions, more low-end and more high-
| end.
| DHPersonal wrote:
| They've tried it with their watches.
|
| https://www.apple.com/apple-watch-hermes/
| https://www.techradar.com/news/why-apple-gave-up-on-
| its-18-k...
| [deleted]
| alden5 wrote:
| There is a 7$ watch link remover on amazon with prime one-day
| shipping where i'm at, apple's no-tool bands cost $350+. there
| isn't some sorta collusion between watchmakers and jewelers
| when bands are designed with a simple pin link mechanism.
| ChrisMarshallNY wrote:
| I have a whole boatload of straps -almost none, Apple straps.
|
| You can buy all kinds of knockoff (and surprisingly high-quality)
| straps on Amazon, for $50 or less (many of mine were about $15).
|
| Apple, on the other hand, charges eye-watering prices for fairly
| basic straps.
|
| All that said, the last few years, I've just been getting the
| stainless steel variants of the Watch (I currently have an 8),
| and use a metal band that I got for about $25[0].
|
| The Apple version of a similar band is ... _slightly more
| expensive_ [1].
|
| [0] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09JWLYLG5/
|
| [1] https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MUHJ2AM/A/38mm-silver-
| lin...
| WA wrote:
| I'm usually in the camp of buying official Apple accessories,
| because the details matter and are better than in knockoffs.
| Stuff like the strength of the magnets in the stainless
| wristbands.
|
| But: I have the silver Milanese that came with my Series 5 and
| noticed that it destroys the fabric of my long sleeve button
| shirts. Quite annoying that this apparently didn't receive the
| same thoughtful care like other Apple products.
| mirkules wrote:
| It is mind-boggling to me that something so frivolous is a $1B
| industry. Watch straps to me are completely functional. Sure,
| I'll _pick_ a better-looking strap, but I would never pay extra
| - especially not the exorbitant amount Apple charges - for
| looking "pretty".
|
| Just goes to show that all my assumptions about what makes a
| product popular/profitable are wrong.
|
| P.S. I do have the Apple watch anyway. My strap requirements
| are: breathable, can be removed easily, doesn't pinch arm hair.
| stouset wrote:
| I find that the people who say things like this are the same
| folk who will spend extra on a gaming PC battlestation that
| has color-coordinated neon lighting from the chassis, monitor
| backlighting, and on their keyboard.
|
| People value aesthetics. Not everything in life is purely
| functional. Maybe you don't personally appreciate the beauty
| of a nice wristwatch strap, and that's fine. But I can
| virtually guarantee that there's some area of your life where
| you have spent additional dollars on a widget to gain some
| additional aesthetic value above and beyond what was purely
| functional. You simply did so on objects _you personally_
| care about. You likely have even done so without being
| consciously aware of this decision! Someone else with
| different preferences could easily look at that purchase and
| boggle at how anyone could spend extra on something so
| pointless.
|
| And if you really, truly, have never spent extra time,
| effort, or money on something you'd appreciated for its
| beauty? To me, that's... just kind of depressing.
| mirkules wrote:
| I think my comment was misinterpreted, judging by both
| comments to it.
|
| What I meant to say, wrist straps were not even on my radar
| of aesthetics, and I was shocked to learn it's a $1B
| business (for Apple alone?). So clearly, I missed how much
| they mean to people.
|
| Obviously, I (and pretty much everyone else) do buy things
| at least partially influenced by aesthetics (clothing,
| sunglasses, furniture, to name a few). Wrist straps were a
| huge surprise for me, though. Another one is paying a
| premium for different colored phones (and I admit I was
| first in line to pay a premium for a jet black RAZR phone
| back in the day)
| SenHeng wrote:
| I was in a discussion about a decade ago on the topic of form
| following function. People were arguing that decorative bits
| were unnecessary and detract from the beautiful form of
| something that's functionally pure. A creative director that
| works with several name brands you've heard of ended the
| conversation there by replying that decoration serves a
| different kind of function, mainly communication. If
| engineers had their way, most products would have nothing but
| cubes and spheres. In this sense, decoration would be
| rounding the edges of a cube to communicate that the product
| is kid friendly, fun to play with and will not hurt if you
| step on it. Conversely, sharpening the overly round corners
| helps convey that the product is a serious tool for serious
| business.
|
| I'm paraphrasing because here because this is so long ago but
| I hope you get the point. Apple doesn't make products that
| 'just look pretty', they also tend to be highly functional.
| (As long as you're not holding it wrong.)
| manuelabeledo wrote:
| I own a bunch of straps too. While I think that Apple charges a
| premium on their straps, I'm sure that the quality and
| durability is not comparable on average.
|
| For example, I got a couple of knock off silicone bands for my
| wife. They almost immediately started to peel and broke after a
| few trips to the ocean. The original ones seem to retain the
| same soft touch feeling.
|
| On the other hand, Apple silicone bands are quite bad compared
| to Nomad sport bands.
| r0m4n0 wrote:
| I bought the $20 metal Amazon dupe of the stainless steel
| link band that runs $349 from apple. 4 years in and the
| knockoff is still going strong
| Bud wrote:
| [dead]
| unshavedyak wrote:
| Related, can anyone recommend 3rd party straps they like? I
| used to have a wood strap and i loved it but it broke (wood and
| all). It was good quality, i'm just rough with them i think.
| Now that i'm back on the regular Apple strap.. i miss the nicer
| one.
|
| Curious if anyone has recommendations.
|
| _(Sidenote, man i don 't think i could buy that $25 metal
| strap.. i'd assume it was junk lol)_
| jonny_eh wrote:
| I just started wearing this one:
| https://mobyfox.com/products/sega-genesis-3d-smartwatch-band
|
| Not the most comfortable, but it's fun to look at.
| jghn wrote:
| I've had good luck with bands from Barton & Nomad.
|
| For a while I was doing the < $15 on amazon path, but
| switched to some of the above and never looked back.
| ChrisMarshallNY wrote:
| _> i 'd assume it was junk lol_
|
| It's not. I've been using the same band for years. I am
| constantly taking it off, and putting it back on, so the
| butterfly latch gets lots of exercise.
|
| The Apple band is nicer, but ... I got one that is likely an
| exact replica of it (including the quick-release buttons on
| the links -which is silly, because you only take them out
| once, unless you plan to gain a bunch of weight), for $60.
|
| I don't even know if you can spend more than $60 on Amazon,
| for one of these things.
|
| I have a bunch of wood bands (I literally have several dozen
| bands).
|
| However, the ones I like the most are "hybrid" ones:
| https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071NV2GF4/
|
| I got that, five years ago (I still have it, and it's fine).
| I don't know if they make the same one, anymore.
| thoughtpalette wrote:
| I've purchased a few from Nyloon I've been happy with. The
| canvas ones do take a little bit to break in.
|
| I've also only recently discovered the Etsy category from
| somewhere in this post.
|
| https://www.nyloon.net/
| themadturk wrote:
| My wife and I both have Fulmosa metal watch straps, $23.99 at
| Amazon [1]. Hers is blue, mine is black. Very comfortable,
| easy to put on and take off. Mine is starting to show a
| little wear in the paint on the links at the bottom of the
| wrist, but my wrist doesn't get dirty. The links are a pain
| to get off and on, of course, but they do provide a small
| toolkit.
|
| [1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B096M9BQY5/ref=ppx_yo_d
| t_b...
| quirino wrote:
| > Crafted from the same 316L stainless steel alloy as the case,
| the Link Bracelet has more than 100 components. The machining
| process is so precise, it takes nearly nine hours to cut the
| links for a single band. The custom butterfly closure folds
| neatly within the bracelet. And several links feature a simple
| release button, so you can add and remove links without any
| special tools.
|
| Apple makes their watchband sound like the absolute pinnacle of
| engineering. I do agree Apple accessories are generally
| ridiculously expensive. Phone cases, chargers...
| mikeyouse wrote:
| What kills me is that you can't rely on them, even with all
| that engineering and cost. I was tired of 3rd party combo
| chargers failing for wireless charging + charging a watch --
| Apple's costs _$130_ but I figured at least it was one thing
| I wouldn 't have to worry about ever again.
| (https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MHXF3AM/A/magsafe-duo-
| cha...)
|
| The piece of shit failed after maybe 3 months, it just
| wouldn't charge the phone and my spouse would wake up with a
| completely dead battery in the morning. Forums are littered
| with people with similar problems.
|
| Same thing with their shitty expensive cases -- terrible
| peeling with moderate use. Drives me crazy you can pay so
| much for such a terrible quality 'premium' product.
| bdcravens wrote:
| I guess my wife and I have been lucky, as we each have the
| same charger, with no issues. Before that I had a Nomad
| wireless charger with a watch charger, and it worked well
| enough. I just wanted something that have full speed
| Magsafe charging, and was super portable. What did you
| switch to?
| mikeyouse wrote:
| Honestly just gave up on the wireless aspect -- still use
| the MagSafe one for the watch charger and then a corded
| phone charger.
| hinkley wrote:
| People don't buy a product, they buy a story, and that
| description you quote is definitely a story.
| woobar wrote:
| I would agree that third-party knockoffs of plastic or textile
| straps are great. The metal ones are just not worth it. Unless
| you like dirty wrists and peeling paint, I'd avoid them. just
| look at the reviews for the one you've posted [1]
|
| https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1TW5ISDWA84PV/re...
| ChrisMarshallNY wrote:
| Yup, but I just got the basic stainless steel one.
|
| It can give my wrist a dark "shadow," if I am sweating a lot,
| but otherwise, it's been fine.
|
| I have a ton of straps. Some of the non-metal ones are total
| garbage, and peel and crack.
|
| If they had an "interim" variant, for around $100, I would
| consider that. I have a Junghans Apollo, that I got their
| full-fat strap for, and that was $150. That watch cost more
| than any of the (current) Apple Watches, and I haven't worn
| it in years.
| woobar wrote:
| Yeah, I've meant "stainless steel" when I mentioned dirty
| wrists.
| ChrisMarshallNY wrote:
| Would not be at all surprised, if the Apple band did the
| same (my Junghans one does).
|
| Not gonna drop $350, to find out.
|
| It's no big deal, and only happens occasionally.
| woobar wrote:
| I had few Amazon SS bands, and they all were leaving dark
| marks. Apple's Silver Milanese Loop is stain free. Also
| price difference is not that bad compared to knockoffs.
| Maxburn wrote:
| Springbars with quick release are far easier to use and more
| compatible.
|
| I've always thought that the apple design adds a LOT of size to
| the watch head with the way they intrude inside the case. If they
| didn't do that and had the standard horns/lugs that every other
| watch has the watch head could be smaller. Also occurs to me that
| might be a desired result though so they can have a bigger
| display.
| Bud wrote:
| [dead]
| ant6n wrote:
| I find these descriptions incomprehensible. Its like explanations
| written for ppl who already know the thing. Some labelled images
| or videos or before/after comparisons might help.
| Tempest1981 wrote:
| Agreed. I'm having trouble visualizing the layout of buttons 1,
| 2, and 3. I wonder if the author actually understands it well
| enough to explain, vs simply repeating what he was told.
|
| And is the spring part of the band? That's how I read this:
|
| > showing the band and its internal spring and tooth system
| mounted within the band slot.
| _Microft wrote:
| Even an image that clearly labels the buttons with one to three
| would have been an improvement already.
| KennyBlanken wrote:
| > "The number of people who lived in the factory getting these
| machines up and running, 24/7 sleeping bags on the floor, is not
| zero. People's whole lives to get that one slot perfect."
|
| Why do companies brag about this sort of thing? That's not
| something to be proud of. Hell, in my state, that would be a
| workplace violation (one mandatory day of rest every 7 days, and
| I believe mandatory minimum rest between shifts, 10 hours I
| think?)
|
| That 24/7 nonsense with sleeping bags on the floor wasn't to get
| that one slot perfect....it was to get the slot perfect _on an
| unrealistic schedule set by management._
| rootusrootus wrote:
| > Why do companies brag about this sort of thing?
|
| I don't think Apple has made any such claims. This is "ex-
| engineers" as quoted by The Verge. I take everything in the
| article with a grain of salt, I expect it has been embellished.
| hinkley wrote:
| When a masochist gets seniority or becomes management, they
| become a sadist.
| BirAdam wrote:
| I had a moment of discomfort when reading that as well, and I
| had a very similar thought. Why is this a brag-worthy thing?
| Why are people valuing that level of dedication to a megacorp?
| A decent amount of this is cultural in the USA; at least, it is
| in my experience. A certain percentage of Americans tend to
| value extremely hard work as well as the willingness to
| sacrifice for that hard work without any context or
| equivocation. Putting in 80 to 90 hour weeks to make
| billionaires a little bit richer? Absolutely! "I did it, and
| look how awesome I am! You should do it too!" Meanwhile, on
| their death beds, many Americans show regret for spending so
| much time at work and so little time with their families.
| dom96 wrote:
| I was today years old when I learned about these buttons...
| oatmeal1 wrote:
| It's a shame a technology publication can't invest in someone to
| create a visualization of the mechanism in action. Words are a
| poor way to describe what is happening.
| garyfirestorm wrote:
| the typical mindset in many fields - purity! 'something along
| the lines, why should english majors learn to code or know 3D
| modeling' this closed off mindset is prevalent even in higher
| ed. sometimes even in engineering - many of my mechanical engg.
| friends looked down on writing basic python code or know
| anything about electronics and controls - 'thats not my
| problem!' they said.
| seanalltogether wrote:
| Is there an animation of this in action, I don't think I'm
| getting a real understanding of whats happening from just the
| text and pictures.
| Maxburn wrote:
| You push the button and the band is released to slide out the
| side in either direction. Slide it in from the side and it
| locks automatically.
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8b_MzNyHmE
| frantathefranta wrote:
| I've been hanging on to my original band from when I bought my
| Series 7 watch, partly because I'm not sure I trust amazon bands
| that seem to cost a fraction of the price of the OEM bands. If
| they fail, I'll get a ding on the watch at best or a broken
| screen at worst. This did make me trust the off-brand bands a
| little more, since they seem to require a better mechanism that
| my previous swappable-band watch had.
| browningstreet wrote:
| I've long wondered why Swatch didn't get into the Apple Watch
| band business.
| alt227 wrote:
| Its an Apple proprietary system and as such there will be a
| large licensing cost, including most likely a per unit
| payment designed to let the 3rd party make the most paper
| thin of margins.
| CharlesW wrote:
| > _Its an Apple proprietary system and as such there will
| be a large licensing cost..._
|
| That's incorrect.
| https://developer.apple.com/accessories/watch-bands/
| alt227 wrote:
| Fair enough, I dug further into it and the bands are one
| of 2 apple technologies which do not require licensing.
| Cases and watch bands.
|
| https://mfi.apple.com/en/who-should-join
|
| _Who does not need to join:
|
| Developers and manufacturers of non-electronic
| accessories, including non-MagSafe cases and Apple Watch
| bands_
|
| I apologise for my previous incorrect statements.
| browningstreet wrote:
| And yet there are tons of official watch band makers.
| alt227 wrote:
| Yes there are plenty of companies out there who will
| happily run their business with quantity of sales over
| quality of margin, however larger companies such as
| Swatch usually need a larger slice of the pie to make it
| worthwhile.
| reaperducer wrote:
| _most likely a per unit payment designed to let the 3rd
| party make the most paper thin of margins._
|
| Swatch doesn't make $20 disposable watches anymore. I was
| in a Swatch store a couple of weeks ago, and the majority
| were in the $150-$200 range, with some going for $500 or
| more.
|
| Swatch can afford to license the connector.
| alt227 wrote:
| The point is not that they cant afford the license its
| that when they are selling their own products for
| hundreds of dollers, probably with $50 or more profit
| margin per unit, then making $2 profit per unit on a
| strap after licensing costs is not worth the
| manufacturing investment for such a big company.
| reaperducer wrote:
| I can just imagine Maude Flanders: "Oh, won't somebody
| think of the profits!"
|
| _not worth the manufacturing investment for such a big
| company._
|
| Isn't the whole point of being a big company that you can
| make big investments that a small company can't?
| sokoloff wrote:
| Being a big company may help in a lot of ways:
| easier/cheaper to re-use existing expertise, ability to
| make a larger number of speculative investments, often
| greater brand awareness, ability to sell products to an
| existing customer base, and others.
|
| It doesn't help nearly as much to overcome fundamentally
| unattractive unit economics (unless scale can make them
| later become attractive).
| ghaff wrote:
| It's complicated.
|
| You _can_ make larger investments. But, while you may
| have economies of scale for certain things, you probably
| also have overheads up and down and across the company
| for everything you do.
| varenc wrote:
| Swatch primarily makes money selling watches, so they
| probably think it'd be a bad look if they made watches for
| another brand, tacitly endorsing it.
| browningstreet wrote:
| True, but volume growth has taken a hit. High end Swiss
| watch sales are climbing but overall watch sales are down.
| Swatch has the moon watches and such, but their pop watch
| market could reasonably be at risk against smart watches.
| rocketbop wrote:
| Swatch Group is so huge with so many brands like Omega,
| Longines, Hamilton, etc, I'm sure they look at the market
| holistically.
| ericabiz wrote:
| I have owned Apple Watches since the Series 2. (Currently on an
| SE 2) I have always used third-party watch bands I get off
| Aliexpress--much cheaper than Amazon if you're patient with
| shipping. Zero issues with the latch mechanism.
| graypegg wrote:
| Surprised there isn't a MFI program for 3rd party Apple Watch
| bands that provides the connectors only. (At some inflated unit
| price of course)
|
| Or maybe 3rd party bands are only viable in the low cost side of
| the market, and apple just owns the high side.
| tantalor wrote:
| These aren't buttons
| m3kw9 wrote:
| Yeah this is pretty cool, when I first checked out my watch I was
| fascinated by how it worked, and I knew there was some mechanical
| trickery as it didn't make sense if you just looked at it.
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