Apple Testing 'NATO-Sytle' Bands for Apple Watch

The often reliable Mark Gurman reports that Apple has tentatively planned a March 15th even where they hope to unveil the long-rumored 4-inch “iPhone 5se” along with new Apple Watch bands. According to Gurman, Apple has been testing high-quality NATO-style bands for the Watch which may or may not be ready to unveil next month.

The new band lines will include multiple new colors for the rubberized Sport bands, new Hermès bands, a ‘space black’ version of the Milanese Loop, and an entirely new band line made of a new material. Supply chain sources indicate that Apple has been testing a series of “high-quality” NATO-style nylon bands for the Apple Watch, but we have not confirmed that this is indeed the new line launching in March.

NATO bands have been popular for quite some time and many folks elect to put them on high-end Watches such as Rolex, despite not usually costing much. While many believe that NATO bands came NATO troops, the story is a little different according to Gear Patrol:

Interestingly enough, the term “NATO strap” came into use as a shortened version of NATO Stocking Number (NSN), and otherwise has very little to do with the strap carrying its namesake. The more correct name for the “NATO” strap is actually the “G10” — which is how we’ll refer to it from here. In 1973, “Strap, Wrist Watch” made its debut in the British Ministry of Defence Standard (DefStan) 66-15. For soldiers to get their hands on one, they had to fill out a form known as the G1098, or G10 for short. Subsequently, they could retrieve the strap at their unit’s supply store of the same name.

I’ve seen my fair share of NATO-style straps for Apple Watch by third-party companies and have even had some shipped to me. Unfortunately almost all of them have been pretty crappy if I’m being honest. If Apple is working on a NATO strap for the Apple Watch, I imagine it would be pretty nice.

I also hope they make versions that have matching Sport adapters since NATO bands are considered to be somewhat sporty.