Spring Apple Watch band collection updates colors, Nike Sport Loop now available to all

Posted:
in Apple Watch edited March 2018
Apple has rolled out its spring 2018 collection of Apple Watch bands including a Hermes color refresh, and the Nike Sport Loop available separately for the first time.




The spring updates include Woven Nylon bands with a stripe that alternates white with color, exclusive Nike bands that color-match with the latest Nike running shoes, and a new edge-paint color for Apple Watch Herms bands.

The Sport Band now comes in Denim Blue, Lemonade and Red Raspberry, with the Woven Nylon band arriving in Black Stripe, Blue Stripe, Gray Stripe and Pink Stripe. The Sport Loop has new Flash Light, Hot Pink, Marine Green, and Tahoe Blue colors, and the Classic Buckle has added Spring Yellow, Electric Blue, and Soft Pink.

The Nike Sport Loop will now be sold separately in Black/Pure Platinum, Bright Crimson/Black, Cargo Khaki, Midnight Fog and Pearl Pink, joining new Nike Sport Band colors in Barely Rose/Pearl Pink, Black/White and Cargo Khaki/Black.

The Single Tour Rallye and Double Tour bands now display contrasting paint details. The 38mm Double tour is available in Indigo with rouge H polished edge and rouge H contrasted loop and in Blanc with rouge H polished edge and rouge H contrasted loop.

The 42mm Single Tour Rallye now comes in Indigo with rouge H polished edge and rouge H contrasted loop, or in Blanc with rouge H polished edge and rouge H contrasted loop.




The Sport, Sport Loop and Woven Nylon bands are $49 and the Classic Buckle is $149. The Nike Sport Band and the Sport Loop are $49. The Hermes Single Tour Rallye is $439 and the Double Tour is $489. All of the bands are arriving at retail and online later in March or the beginning of April.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 30
    EvanDEvanD Posts: 1unconfirmed, member
    Is that a watch band or a belt???
  • Reply 2 of 30
    peterhartpeterhart Posts: 156member
    I figured Watch Band updates could be launched, quietly or to fanfare, at the Chicago event next week. They are not live on Apple's website yet -- at least, for me in Eastern Time just after 9am...
  • Reply 3 of 30
    EvanD said:
    Is that a watch band or a belt???
    It's a double tour.
    SpamSandwichracerhomie3
  • Reply 4 of 30
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    The sport loop and woven nylon bands are amazing. The spring updates look great. But If Apple priced them $20 cheaper they’d sell A LOT more of them. 
    jcs2305
  • Reply 5 of 30
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    peterhart said:
    I figured Watch Band updates could be launched, quietly or to fanfare, at the Chicago event next week. They are not live on Apple's website yet -- at least, for me in Eastern Time just after 9am...
    Website hasn’t been updated yet. I’m guessing because the bands don’t go on sale until the end of month/early April. I can’t see why they’d be announced at that event. Remember it’s not a spring event it’s an education event.
    randominternetperson
  • Reply 6 of 30
    peteopeteo Posts: 402member
    Is there a reason why Apple Insider did not put a link to the press release? It shows more of the bands


    https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2018/03/new-apple-watch-bands-feature-spring-colors-and-styles/
    edited March 2018 peterhartpatchythepirateSpamSandwichrandominternetpersonbestkeptsecret
  • Reply 7 of 30
    The sport loop and woven nylon bands are amazing. The spring updates look great. But If Apple priced them $20 cheaper they’d sell A LOT more of them. 
    Right. Think of all the crappy third-party bands people buy on Amazon, et al. Those sales might go to Apple if their bands were priced just a little less. And the quality is better than many of the third-party bands. Much better. 

    Though pricing them lower might make them be seen as not-quiet-so-premium. 
    racerhomie3
  • Reply 8 of 30
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    The sport loop and woven nylon bands are amazing. The spring updates look great. But If Apple priced them $20 cheaper they’d sell A LOT more of them. 
    Right. Think of all the crappy third-party bands people buy on Amazon, et al. Those sales might go to Apple if their bands were priced just a little less. And the quality is better than many of the third-party bands. Much better. 

    Though pricing them lower might make them be seen as not-quiet-so-premium. 
    So, you want them to be priced like the cheaper crap, but maintain the premium quality?!
    Doesn't usually work like that.
    peterhartStrangeDays
  • Reply 9 of 30
    AppleishAppleish Posts: 688member
    I'd like to see some alternative Edition bands. More choices with the gray and white ceramic components. I've tried others of their bands with my gray Edition, but none of them really work with it, except the gray sport band that came with it.

    I'd like a ceramic link bracelet.
    edited March 2018 patchythepirate
  • Reply 10 of 30
    mike1 said:
    The sport loop and woven nylon bands are amazing. The spring updates look great. But If Apple priced them $20 cheaper they’d sell A LOT more of them. 
    Right. Think of all the crappy third-party bands people buy on Amazon, et al. Those sales might go to Apple if their bands were priced just a little less. And the quality is better than many of the third-party bands. Much better. 

    Though pricing them lower might make them be seen as not-quiet-so-premium. 
    So, you want them to be priced like the cheaper crap, but maintain the premium quality?!
    Doesn't usually work like that.
    You don’t think Apple could maintain the premium quality by lowering the price but getting more sales?  Those crappy Amazon bands go for around $15 (sometimes even less), if Apple’s bands were closer to $30 than $50 they may convert some of those sales.  And it’s possible Apple can’t lower the price and maintain the quality, but I bet there’s some flexibility there.

    You say “doesn’t usually work like that” but look at the iPhone 5/5s now called the SE.  Its price is much lower now than when it first came out but I would argue that the quality hasn’t dropped.  Likewise, the Sport Bands have been out since 2015.  What is the reason the price can’t go lower? Just that Apple updates the colors every so often?
  • Reply 11 of 30
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    mike1 said:
    The sport loop and woven nylon bands are amazing. The spring updates look great. But If Apple priced them $20 cheaper they’d sell A LOT more of them. 
    Right. Think of all the crappy third-party bands people buy on Amazon, et al. Those sales might go to Apple if their bands were priced just a little less. And the quality is better than many of the third-party bands. Much better. 

    Though pricing them lower might make them be seen as not-quiet-so-premium. 
    So, you want them to be priced like the cheaper crap, but maintain the premium quality?!
    Doesn't usually work like that.
    You don’t think Apple could maintain the premium quality by lowering the price but getting more sales?  Those crappy Amazon bands go for around $15 (sometimes even less), if Apple’s bands were closer to $30 than $50 they may convert some of those sales.  And it’s possible Apple can’t lower the price and maintain the quality, but I bet there’s some flexibility there.

    You say “doesn’t usually work like that” but look at the iPhone 5/5s now called the SE.  Its price is much lower now than when it first came out but I would argue that the quality hasn’t dropped.  Likewise, the Sport Bands have been out since 2015.  What is the reason the price can’t go lower? Just that Apple updates the colors every so often?
    Older computing hardware sells for less because it's slower & less functional, so the price is an incentive to consumers to purchase older & slower. The specs & function of the bands are 100% exactly as functional today as they ever were, so there is no pricing incentive being offered. 
    mike1
  • Reply 12 of 30
    tonkinitetonkinite Posts: 7unconfirmed, member
    Drab or Clownish, pick one...

    I wouldn’t touch any of these...
  • Reply 13 of 30
    mike1 said:
    The sport loop and woven nylon bands are amazing. The spring updates look great. But If Apple priced them $20 cheaper they’d sell A LOT more of them. 
    Right. Think of all the crappy third-party bands people buy on Amazon, et al. Those sales might go to Apple if their bands were priced just a little less. And the quality is better than many of the third-party bands. Much better. 

    Though pricing them lower might make them be seen as not-quiet-so-premium. 
    So, you want them to be priced like the cheaper crap, but maintain the premium quality?!
    Doesn't usually work like that.
    You don’t think Apple could maintain the premium quality by lowering the price but getting more sales?  Those crappy Amazon bands go for around $15 (sometimes even less), if Apple’s bands were closer to $30 than $50 they may convert some of those sales.  And it’s possible Apple can’t lower the price and maintain the quality, but I bet there’s some flexibility there.

    You say “doesn’t usually work like that” but look at the iPhone 5/5s now called the SE.  Its price is much lower now than when it first came out but I would argue that the quality hasn’t dropped.  Likewise, the Sport Bands have been out since 2015.  What is the reason the price can’t go lower? Just that Apple updates the colors every so often?
    Older computing hardware sells for less because it's slower & less functional, so the price is an incentive to consumers to purchase older & slower. The specs & function of the bands are 100% exactly as functional today as they ever were, so there is no pricing incentive being offered. 
    Of course, you are correct. Also, Watch bands can’t really be compared to iPhones. But @Mike1 seems to believe Apple couldn’t lower the price and maintain the quality as @rogifan_new suggested. I disagree, but also believe Apple won’t do that as it would potentially have a negative affect on the premium image of the bands. 
    peterhart
  • Reply 14 of 30
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    The sport loop and woven nylon bands are amazing. The spring updates look great. But If Apple priced them $20 cheaper they’d sell A LOT more of them. 
    Right. Think of all the crappy third-party bands people buy on Amazon, et al. Those sales might go to Apple if their bands were priced just a little less. And the quality is better than many of the third-party bands. Much better. 

    Though pricing them lower might make them be seen as not-quiet-so-premium. 
    I doubt anyone looks at the sport bands and thinks of them as “premium” because they’re $49. If anything they think they’re overpriced.
  • Reply 15 of 30
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member

    mike1 said:
    The sport loop and woven nylon bands are amazing. The spring updates look great. But If Apple priced them $20 cheaper they’d sell A LOT more of them. 
    Right. Think of all the crappy third-party bands people buy on Amazon, et al. Those sales might go to Apple if their bands were priced just a little less. And the quality is better than many of the third-party bands. Much better. 

    Though pricing them lower might make them be seen as not-quiet-so-premium. 
    So, you want them to be priced like the cheaper crap, but maintain the premium quality?!
    Doesn't usually work like that.
    The margins on these have to be huge. It would be a shame if Apple priced them as such so as to not compete with 3rd party bands.
  • Reply 16 of 30
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    mike1 said:
    The sport loop and woven nylon bands are amazing. The spring updates look great. But If Apple priced them $20 cheaper they’d sell A LOT more of them. 
    Right. Think of all the crappy third-party bands people buy on Amazon, et al. Those sales might go to Apple if their bands were priced just a little less. And the quality is better than many of the third-party bands. Much better. 

    Though pricing them lower might make them be seen as not-quiet-so-premium. 
    So, you want them to be priced like the cheaper crap, but maintain the premium quality?!
    Doesn't usually work like that.
    You don’t think Apple could maintain the premium quality by lowering the price but getting more sales?  Those crappy Amazon bands go for around $15 (sometimes even less), if Apple’s bands were closer to $30 than $50 they may convert some of those sales.  And it’s possible Apple can’t lower the price and maintain the quality, but I bet there’s some flexibility there.

    You say “doesn’t usually work like that” but look at the iPhone 5/5s now called the SE.  Its price is much lower now than when it first came out but I would argue that the quality hasn’t dropped.  Likewise, the Sport Bands have been out since 2015.  What is the reason the price can’t go lower? Just that Apple updates the colors every so often?
    Older computing hardware sells for less because it's slower & less functional, so the price is an incentive to consumers to purchase older & slower. The specs & function of the bands are 100% exactly as functional today as they ever were, so there is no pricing incentive being offered. 
    So it costs Apple the same to make the plastic sport bands as it did 2-3 years ago? I find that hard to believe. Also I’m sure they’re priced with plenty of margin so why not give up a bit of the margin to increase sales? Considering how nice these bands are I guarantee you more people would buy them if they were $29 or even $39. 
  • Reply 17 of 30
    spice-boyspice-boy Posts: 1,450member
    Has Samsung released their spring 18 watch bands yet? 
    I love my Milanese loop silver band, never thought about why I would change it. 
  • Reply 18 of 30
    evilutionevilution Posts: 1,399member
    I don't wear a watch around my neck so I don't need a strap that long.
  • Reply 19 of 30
    mjtomlinmjtomlin Posts: 2,673member
    mike1 said:
    The sport loop and woven nylon bands are amazing. The spring updates look great. But If Apple priced them $20 cheaper they’d sell A LOT more of them. 
    Right. Think of all the crappy third-party bands people buy on Amazon, et al. Those sales might go to Apple if their bands were priced just a little less. And the quality is better than many of the third-party bands. Much better. 

    Though pricing them lower might make them be seen as not-quiet-so-premium. 
    So, you want them to be priced like the cheaper crap, but maintain the premium quality?!
    Doesn't usually work like that.
    You don’t think Apple could maintain the premium quality by lowering the price but getting more sales?  Those crappy Amazon bands go for around $15 (sometimes even less), if Apple’s bands were closer to $30 than $50 they may convert some of those sales.  And it’s possible Apple can’t lower the price and maintain the quality, but I bet there’s some flexibility there.

    You say “doesn’t usually work like that” but look at the iPhone 5/5s now called the SE.  Its price is much lower now than when it first came out but I would argue that the quality hasn’t dropped.  Likewise, the Sport Bands have been out since 2015.  What is the reason the price can’t go lower? Just that Apple updates the colors every so often?
    Older computing hardware sells for less because it's slower & less functional, so the price is an incentive to consumers to purchase older & slower. The specs & function of the bands are 100% exactly as functional today as they ever were, so there is no pricing incentive being offered. 
    So it costs Apple the same to make the plastic sport bands as it did 2-3 years ago? I find that hard to believe. Also I’m sure they’re priced with plenty of margin so why not give up a bit of the margin to increase sales? Considering how nice these bands are I guarantee you more people would buy them if they were $29 or even $39. 

    You're asking Apple to give up margins for sales. When in the history of Apple have they ever done that? Do you really think Apple cares if they sell 1 million bands versus 2 million bands? Apple prices their products where they feel it's representative of the quality of the product. This is an extremely niche accessory product the sole purpose of which is to add a perceived value to the AppleWatch. The more someone pays for that accessory, the more valuable their AppleWatch is to them.

    If someone invests hundreds of dollars in bands for the Apple Watch, the likelihood of them not buying another Apple Watch in the future, is extremely slim.
    StrangeDaysmike1
  • Reply 20 of 30
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    mjtomlin said:
    mike1 said:
    The sport loop and woven nylon bands are amazing. The spring updates look great. But If Apple priced them $20 cheaper they’d sell A LOT more of them. 
    Right. Think of all the crappy third-party bands people buy on Amazon, et al. Those sales might go to Apple if their bands were priced just a little less. And the quality is better than many of the third-party bands. Much better. 

    Though pricing them lower might make them be seen as not-quiet-so-premium. 
    So, you want them to be priced like the cheaper crap, but maintain the premium quality?!
    Doesn't usually work like that.
    You don’t think Apple could maintain the premium quality by lowering the price but getting more sales?  Those crappy Amazon bands go for around $15 (sometimes even less), if Apple’s bands were closer to $30 than $50 they may convert some of those sales.  And it’s possible Apple can’t lower the price and maintain the quality, but I bet there’s some flexibility there.

    You say “doesn’t usually work like that” but look at the iPhone 5/5s now called the SE.  Its price is much lower now than when it first came out but I would argue that the quality hasn’t dropped.  Likewise, the Sport Bands have been out since 2015.  What is the reason the price can’t go lower? Just that Apple updates the colors every so often?
    Older computing hardware sells for less because it's slower & less functional, so the price is an incentive to consumers to purchase older & slower. The specs & function of the bands are 100% exactly as functional today as they ever were, so there is no pricing incentive being offered. 
    So it costs Apple the same to make the plastic sport bands as it did 2-3 years ago? I find that hard to believe. Also I’m sure they’re priced with plenty of margin so why not give up a bit of the margin to increase sales? Considering how nice these bands are I guarantee you more people would buy them if they were $29 or even $39. 

    You're asking Apple to give up margins for sales. When in the history of Apple have they ever done that? Do you really think Apple cares if they sell 1 million bands versus 2 million bands? Apple prices their products where they feel it's representative of the quality of the product. This is an extremely niche accessory product the sole purpose of which is to add a perceived value to the AppleWatch. The more someone pays for that accessory, the more valuable their AppleWatch is to them.

    If someone invests hundreds of dollars in bands for the Apple Watch, the likelihood of them not buying another Apple Watch in the future, is extremely slim.
    I think there is a balance between margins and sales. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. Is the iPhone SE or $329 iPad a lesser product because of its price point? Of course not. As far as your last point, if someone isn’t investing much money in bands because they think Apple’s are too expensive so they either buy cheap knockoffs on Amazon or nothing other than the band the watch came with how does that make it likely they’ll chose to buy another Watch in the future? Considering how many styles and colors Apple offers it seems to me their intention is NOT to cede the Watch band market to 3rd parties. So why not make the price point a bit more attractive to generate even more sales? 
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