11 ms·

The unsung hero of the Apple Watch is its hidden buttons

269 points by zdw 3y ago

musictubes 3y ago
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 3y ago
  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 3y ago
    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.
    - bombcar 3y ago
      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 3y ago
        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 Hermès multi color case for $600.
        ghaff 3y ago
        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 3y ago
        But they do sell $600 Hermès 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 3y ago
        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.
        fragmede 3y ago
        from Apple. Burberry will happily charge you $410 for a case. https://us.burberry.com/checkleather-iphone-14-pro-case-p80716881 https://us.burberry.com/checkleather-iphone-14-pro-case-p807...
      - DHPersonal 3y ago
        They've tried it with their watches. https://www.apple.com/apple-watch-hermes/ https://www.apple.com/apple-watch-hermes/ https://www.techradar.com/news/why-apple-gave-up-on-its-18-karat-gold-apple-watch-edition https://www.techradar.com/news/why-apple-gave-up-on-its-18-k...
    - rocketbop 3y ago
      Well you can actually buy a $4000 Casio GShock. They also have the Casio Oceanus line which are fancy and expensive. The $20 Casios are just the gateway drug and a lot of people with one Casio tend to have many.
- alden5 3y ago
  There is a 7$ 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.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
frantathefranta 3y ago
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 3y ago
  I’ve long wondered why Swatch didn’t get into the Apple Watch band business.
  - varenc 3y ago
    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 3y ago
      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 3y ago
        Swatch Group is so huge with so many brands like Omega, Longines, Hamilton, etc, I’m sure they look at the market holistically.
  - alt227 3y ago
    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.
falcolas 3y ago
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).
larelli 3y ago
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 3y ago
  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 3y ago
    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.
    - kreetx 3y ago
      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?)
      - interpol_p 3y ago
        There's a "boxing" workout, but yeah it tore apart the third-party band I was using. Since then I have used my older Apple bands for boxing workouts and it survives. The watch itself is totally fine
    - elzbardico 3y ago
      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.
garyfirestorm 3y ago
>“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 3y ago
  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.
  - icepat 3y ago
    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 3y ago
      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 3y ago
        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 3y ago
        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.
oatmeal1 3y ago
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 3y ago
  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 3y ago
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 3y ago
  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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8b_MzNyHmE
hbosch 3y ago
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-change-straps-panerai-cartier-and-hublot.html https://www.thewatchbox.com/blog/gone-60-seconds-quick-chang... 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWv4QBJyz78&t=103s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWv4QBJyz78&t=103s
- reaperducer 3y ago
  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 3y ago
    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."
graypegg 3y ago
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.
KennyBlanken 3y ago
> “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 3y ago
  > 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 3y ago
  When a masochist gets seniority or becomes management, they become a sadist.
- BirAdam 3y ago
  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.
JustSomeNobody 3y ago
> 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 3y ago
  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.
ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago
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/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09JWLYLG5/ [1] https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MUHJ2AM/A/38mm-silver-link-bracelet https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MUHJ2AM/A/38mm-silver-lin...
- unshavedyak 3y ago
  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)
  - jghn 3y ago
    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 3y ago
      Hm... This looks good: https://nomadgoods.com/products/metal-band-steel-silver-44mm https://nomadgoods.com/products/metal-band-steel-silver-44mm Not cheap, but it actually looks better than the Apple $350 band.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago
    > 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/ 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.
m3kw9 3y ago
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.
arek_nawo 3y ago
> 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.
amelius 3y ago
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.
- namdnay 3y ago
  The underside of your wrist is far more natural, but it means it’s harder to show off :)
- wccrawford 3y ago
  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.)
- jerlam 3y ago
  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 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 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.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
throw7 3y ago
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.
tantalor 3y ago
These aren't buttons
ant6n 3y ago
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 3y ago
  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 3y ago
  Even an image that clearly labels the buttons with one to three would have been an improvement already.
king_magic 3y ago
Some of us watch enthusiasts enjoy the occasional challenge of swapping watch bands :)
Maxburn 3y ago
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 3y ago
  Springbars are manifestly not easier to use at all. They're more fragile and far more difficult to use.
stronglikedan 3y ago
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 3y ago
  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.
its-summertime 3y ago
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 3y ago
  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).
dom96 3y ago
I was today years old when I learned about these buttons...

269 points by zdw 3y ago

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 3y ago
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 3y ago
  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.
  - bombcar 3y ago
    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 3y ago
      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 Hermès multi color case for $600.
      - ghaff 3y ago
        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 3y ago
        But they do sell $600 Hermès 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 3y ago
        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.
      - fragmede 3y ago
        from Apple. Burberry will happily charge you $410 for a case. https://us.burberry.com/checkleather-iphone-14-pro-case-p80716881 https://us.burberry.com/checkleather-iphone-14-pro-case-p807...
    - DHPersonal 3y ago
      They've tried it with their watches. https://www.apple.com/apple-watch-hermes/ https://www.apple.com/apple-watch-hermes/ https://www.techradar.com/news/why-apple-gave-up-on-its-18-karat-gold-apple-watch-edition https://www.techradar.com/news/why-apple-gave-up-on-its-18-k...
  - rocketbop 3y ago
    Well you can actually buy a $4000 Casio GShock. They also have the Casio Oceanus line which are fancy and expensive. The $20 Casios are just the gateway drug and a lot of people with one Casio tend to have many.
alden5 3y ago
There is a 7$ 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.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

frantathefranta 3y ago

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 3y ago
I’ve long wondered why Swatch didn’t get into the Apple Watch band business.
- varenc 3y ago
  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 3y ago
    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 3y ago
      Swatch Group is so huge with so many brands like Omega, Longines, Hamilton, etc, I’m sure they look at the market holistically.
- alt227 3y ago
  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.

falcolas 3y ago

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).

larelli 3y ago

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 3y ago
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 3y ago
  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.
  - kreetx 3y ago
    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?)
    - interpol_p 3y ago
      There's a "boxing" workout, but yeah it tore apart the third-party band I was using. Since then I have used my older Apple bands for boxing workouts and it survives. The watch itself is totally fine
  - elzbardico 3y ago
    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.

garyfirestorm 3y ago

>“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 3y ago
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.
- icepat 3y ago
  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 3y ago
    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 3y ago
      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 3y ago
        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.

oatmeal1 3y ago

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 3y ago
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 3y ago

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 3y ago
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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8b_MzNyHmE

hbosch 3y ago

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-change-straps-panerai-cartier-and-hublot.html https://www.thewatchbox.com/blog/gone-60-seconds-quick-chang... 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWv4QBJyz78&t=103s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWv4QBJyz78&t=103s

reaperducer 3y ago
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 3y ago
  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."

graypegg 3y ago

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.

KennyBlanken 3y ago

> “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 3y ago
> 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 3y ago
When a masochist gets seniority or becomes management, they become a sadist.
BirAdam 3y ago
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.

JustSomeNobody 3y ago

> 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 3y ago
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.

ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago

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/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09JWLYLG5/ [1] https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MUHJ2AM/A/38mm-silver-link-bracelet https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MUHJ2AM/A/38mm-silver-lin...

unshavedyak 3y ago
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)
- jghn 3y ago
  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 3y ago
    Hm... This looks good: https://nomadgoods.com/products/metal-band-steel-silver-44mm https://nomadgoods.com/products/metal-band-steel-silver-44mm Not cheap, but it actually looks better than the Apple $350 band.
- ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago
  > 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/ 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.

m3kw9 3y ago

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.

arek_nawo 3y ago

> 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.

amelius 3y ago

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.

namdnay 3y ago
The underside of your wrist is far more natural, but it means it’s harder to show off :)
wccrawford 3y ago
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.)
jerlam 3y ago
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 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 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.

deleted 3y ago

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throw7 3y ago

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.

tantalor 3y ago

These aren't buttons

ant6n 3y ago

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 3y ago
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 3y ago
Even an image that clearly labels the buttons with one to three would have been an improvement already.

king_magic 3y ago

Some of us watch enthusiasts enjoy the occasional challenge of swapping watch bands :)

Maxburn 3y ago

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 3y ago
Springbars are manifestly not easier to use at all. They're more fragile and far more difficult to use.

stronglikedan 3y ago

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 3y ago
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.

its-summertime 3y ago

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 3y ago
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).

dom96 3y ago

I was today years old when I learned about these buttons...