Will the Apple Watch Pro need a whole new band to function perfectly?
David Phelan
The next Apple Watch will be announced on Wednesday, September 7 at Apple’s next special event. And it looks like there will be more watches than ever. But the most-anticipated model, a larger-screen model that may be called the Apple Watch Pro, could be the first to not be compatible with previous bands, which is a big change for Apple.
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The Apple Watch has always come in two case sizes. They were originally 38mm and 42mm, after the Series 4 these grew to 40mm and 44mm. And now, the watch cases measure 41mm and 45mm.
But all the while, Apple has managed to pull off a pretty clever trick: backwards compatibility for all straps. So the bands you bought with your 38mm watch will still fit the 40mm and 41mm models and the bands originally made for the 42mm watch will work for the 44mm and 45mm versions.
Part of the reason this can happen is that these measurements refer to the height of the box, not a diagonal measurement. Still, it’s a cool thing and means that users have learned that they shouldn’t be making their strap collection when they upgrade.
But a rumor on Weibo, picked up by MacRumors, has indicated that the new Pro model will break with that trend. While the 8 Series and the new SE, which are also expected to be announced, are expected to remain unchanged in size and match the 7 Series, the Pro will be different.
It is believed that the case size will be noticeably larger, 47mm or even 48mm, and this increase, along with an expected new design with a screen and flatter sides, will make older straps incompatible.
This is a big change. While it’s true that some newer straps (like the wonderful Solo Loop) were only designed for newer watch hardware, Series 4 and later, it’s always been the case that older straps will still work with newer watches.
Perhaps the new design and, just as importantly, the expected focus on extreme sports means a new range of straps is desired.
Whatever the reason, there will be trepidation from many who don’t want to throw away their band collection. These people can only upgrade to Series 8.
There’s a twist to this story: Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has now tweeted on the matter, saying, “I think the Apple Watch Pro will support older bands, though they might not fit as well or look as perfect given the size of the new watch.”
I’m interested in this. Apple won’t recommend a strap unless it fits perfectly (like how the first Magic Keyboard for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro wasn’t considered compatible with an updated Pro, but it fit very close). And maybe here it is different: if the strap is technically attached with the same mechanism but there are doubts about the security of the connection, it will certainly not be considered compatible. After all, you don’t want your watch to come off your wrist, especially if you’re doing extreme sports, which is what the Apple Watch Pro is all about.
More like we have it.
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