Changing Apple Watch bands may get more difficult with next-gen models

Collecting and changing bands and straps on watches is a popular hobby – that’s the way to refresh your timepiece without breaking the bank (generally speaking)!

Future Apple Watch models might be drastically different in terms of design and become incompatible with the current Apple Watch band(s) that you’re using, warns a tipster.

9to5Mac spotted a post by X/Twitter user and rare Apple products collector Kosutami. The information hints that “connectors of the next generation of [Apple] Watch” will be “completely redesigned” and Kosutami urges users to “Literally if you have old bands now, just sell it. It’s 100% accurate”.

Also, Bloomberg has reported on Apple’s plans to introduce a new band-design and the reputable Mark Gurman explained how Apple was exploring a change to the way bands are attached to the Apple Watch. The current system reportedly “takes up a considerable amount of space” inside the Apple Watch, which Apple engineers believe could be better utilized by a bigger battery or other components. Bloomberg’s report described briefly the new Apple Watch band design as featuring a “magnetic attachment system”.

X/Twitter tipster Kosutami does not specify if all Apple Watch models should get the new (and incompatible with current Apple Watches) design, but we’ll have to wait until September 2024 for an official confirmation from the Cupertino giant.

If confirmed, this will be pretty big news, given that Apple has used the same system for its smartwatch band attachment since the first-generation model was released in 2015. The company even maintained compatibility through multiple different form factor changes and with the Apple Watch Ultra.