Watchband Adapter To Bring Spring Bars To Apple Watch?
Click is currently in the prototype stage with only 3D printed versions of the adapter available to show off, but the team behind Click is planning to introduce it via a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter in the next two weeks.
It’s possible, however, that Click will never make it out of the prototype phase and into the hands of consumers. Click is not the first Apple Watch watchband adapter as it claims to be, but the second. Earlier this year, a designer introduced a crowdfunding campaign for another strap adapter designed for the Apple Watch. The campaign was shut down shortly after it launched, presumably by Apple, in an effort to prevent people from circumventing the specific design aesthetic the company has in mind for the Apple Watch.
Apple’s distaste for adapters that will allow the Apple Watch to be used with any watch band is not surprising given the amount of work that went into developing the six custom bands for the Apple Watch
It’s not surprising, no. But it is disappointing given Apple Watch’s billing as Cupertino’s “most personal device ever.” I’d call it patently hypocritical, but I’ll save that for mid-year if such policies are still in place, as I think any prohibitions until then are largely motivated by Apple’s desire to control the message and fashion buzz through the device’s April launch.
At the end of the day, the mass release of these kinds of adapters is an even bigger foregone conclusion than Apple opening up Faces to third parties, and the real challenge for devices like Click will be successfully matching their materials and finishes to the entire Apple Watch lineup.
(As an aside, some Apple Watch Bands already seem to have this sort of attachment point in principle, but you’d have to get at it by destroying the premium strap it’s actually anchored to, which would be a costly no-go for most folks. Plus, those would only work for Nato-style straps, as metal bracelets and most leather or synthetic bands can’t be woven around the spring bar.)
