During Apple’s March 21 event, among all the goodies released, were some new bands for Apple Watch. The most notable were the ones made from a completely new material than offered before. Those new $49 Woven Nylon bands come in a variety of colors for both the 38mm, and 42mm Apple Watches.
Woven Nylon bands for Apple Watch
For our review, I have the 42mm version in black. Though they come in many different colors. Seven colors to be specific. Each one is made from woven nylon to be fairly rugged, with a fabric-like feel.
How does it look?
On the underside of the shorter piece, there is a decal with the size printed, and on the longer piece, there is a similar decal with “Woven Nylon”. The band is very lightweight, almost surprisingly so. They are also well made. Many other nylon bands have edges that are cut and melted to stop from fraying. Apple’s implementation is completely woven, with just the end needing to be sealed.
My black nylon band has black lugs to go along with it. What that means is if you have the aluminum silver, or the stainless Apple Watch, the lug won’t exactly match your casing. They are also made of plastic instead of metal like on the higher end bands. The buckle side of it is made of 316L Space Gray stainless steel.
Tim Cook mentioned that about one third of Apple Watch owners regularly switch their bands. But I would be willing to bet a far smaller percentage actually purchased one of the $100+ bands Apple offers, opting instead for a third-party style from Amazon or eBay. Now, the lower price point opens up a second option aside from the sports band for the casual owner to buy.
Should you buy one?
Personally, I am a huge fan of these bands. The $49 price point isn’t horrible, matching that of Apple’s other cheap offering, the Sport bands. You can probably find third-party ones for cheaper, but they usually lack the quality of first party options. I think Apple aimed for this price point for a reason.
To me this is the perfect spot between something that can look classy, while able to be worn hiking or at the gym. Leather bands I have to swap daily when going to the gym, and metal ones are quite heavy and I prefer to save them for certain situations. If you are looking for an all around band, even with a pop of color, the new Woven Nylon bands are a great option.
Availability
If you want to pick one up they are available directly from Apple for $49. Currently there seems to be quite a backorder for them so you may need to get lucky swinging by your local Apple Store instead. What do you think about the nylon band?