You can now get the Pride Edition woven nylon Watch band from Apple's online retail store!

Updated June 2017: Added all the new bands Apple added after WWDC.

Every Spring and Fall (and sometimes early summer!), Apple releases new watch bands for the Apple Watch. Watch band collectors like myself and Rene get pretty excited whenever Apple gives us more colors. Plus, retired colors become collectors items. Here's everything you need to know about bands available for your Apple Watch!

What's new with Apple Watch bands?

Apple updated its online retail store to include the Pride Edition woven nylon Watch band, and it looks just as beautiful as it did on the wrists of marchers at the Pride Parade in 2016. There are also a few new Sport bands, woven nylon, and leather bands, and Apple retired a couple of the older colors (RIP Azure).

What's so exciting about new bands?

SO SKEPTICAL. In all seriousness, though, they're a fun way to spruce up your watch-wearing experience, and a weird (but fun) collection item. Apple tends to release new collections every Fall and Spring, coinciding with the fashion industry's own collection releases, and new bands tend to adopt similar color schemes from the industry's lineup.

Tell me about the Nike Sport bands! Is it true I can get them without buying a Sport watch now?

Yup! The Nike Sport bands are now available for any Apple Watch-wearer if you have $49 and a hankering for them. You can get them for either the 38mm or 42mm sizes. Apple recently added a lot of new colors to the lineup.

  • Light Violet/White
  • Violet Dust/Plum Fog
  • Blue Orbit/Gamma Blue
  • Obsidian/Black
  • Anthracite/Black,
  • Pure Platinum/White, or
  • Volt/Black

Interesting to note: If you're buying a new Nike Sport Watch and band combo, you can now only get the Anthracite/Black or Pure Platinum/White band options paired with the watch — the Volt/Black option (AKA the neon green look) is now only available for standalone purchase.

Why would I want the Nike Sport band?

It depends on your preference, of course, but the Nike Sport band is superior to Apple's traditional Sport band for runners and other heavy exercisers thanks to its perforated fluoroelastomer design. The perforations help air your wrist out in a way the traditional Sport band can't, giving you a lighter and more breathable wear.

What about the regular Sport band? Any new colors there?

Three, in fact! You can now get the Sport band in Mist Blue (a very pale blue), Pollen (a deep yellow), and Flamingo (a catchy pink). Along with these entries, a number of older Sport bands have been retired; the current collection now looks as follows:

  • Mist Blue
  • Pollen
  • Flamingo
  • White
  • Pink Sand
  • Midnight Blue
  • Black
  • Product Red

There are new Woven Nylon bands, too?

Yes, and they're fun as fun can be: The new Woven Nylon models are largely tri-tone striped bands, and should look fantastic on the wrist. They include:

  • Orange Woven Nylon (dark blue/orange/light blue triblend)
  • Berry Woven Nylon (red/maroon/pink triblend)
  • Red Woven Nylon (sand/red/yellow triblend)
  • Pollen Woven Nylon (blue/lime/turquoise triblend)
  • Tahoe Blue (jean/sky blue/dark blue triblend)
  • Midnight Blue (dark blue single blend)
  • Pride Edition (rainbow)

The only existing woven nylon bands that still remain from the original collection are the Pearl and Black bands

What about the Classic Buckle?

Apple retired a couple of colors and added a couple new ones.

  • Sunflower Classic Buckle
  • Saddle Brown Classic Buckle
  • Taupe Classic Buckle
  • Red Classic Buckle
  • Midnight Blue Classic Buckle
  • Black Classic Buckle

The old colors and Classic Buckle design have been officially retired; if you have a curved rectangular Classic Buckle, congratulations — you now have a relic of the past.

Anything new for the other leather bands?

Like the other band collections, the other leather bands have had their options dramatically reduced: You can now only get the 42mm-only Leather Loop in Smoke Gray and Midnight Blue, while the 38mm Modern Buckle has been reduced to Midnight Blue.

What about the Hermès bands?

Apple didn't add any new colors to the Hermès lineup, but it did get rid of a few of the OG colors. Here's what's available right now.

  • Fauve Barenia Leather Double Tour (38mm only)
  • Bleu Zéphyr Epsom Leather Double Tour (38mm only)
  • Lime Epsom Leather Single Tour (42mm only)
  • Colvert Swift Leather Single Tour (42mm only)
  • Fauve Barenia Leather Single Tour (42mm only)
  • Fauve Barenia Leather Double Buckle Cuff (38mm only)
  • Etoupe Swift Leather Double Tour (38mm only)
  • Rose Jaipur Epsom Leather Double Tour (38mm only)
  • Feu Epsom Leather Single Tour (42mm only)
  • Etoupe Swift Leather Single Tour (42mm only)
  • Etoupe Swift Leather Double Buckle Cuff (38mm only)
  • Rose Jaipur Epsom Leather Double Buckle Cuff (38mm only)

Anything new for the stainless steel bands?

Nope. You can still pick up the Milanese Loop and the Link Bracelet in Silver and Space Black, but there are no new colors or styles there.

Any new hardware casings for Apple Watch?

Not this time around. If you want to buy a new Apple Watch, you have the following options:

  • Silver
  • Gold
  • Space Grey
  • Rose Gold
  • Stainless Steel
  • Ceramic

Apple has also dramatically reduced its paired watch-and-band collection: When you buy a new Apple Watch, you can only get it with a few specific band choices:

  • Silver Sport with White Sport Band
  • Space Grey Sport with Black Sport Band
  • Rose Gold Sport with Pink Sand Sport Band
  • Gold Sport with Midnight Blue Sport Band
  • Silver Nike Sport with Pure Platinum/White Nike Sport Band
  • Space Grey Nike Sport with Anthracite/Black Nike Sport Band
  • Space Black Stainless Steel with Black Sport Band
  • Stainless Steel with White Sport Band
  • Stainless Steel with Milanese Loop
  • Space Black Stainless Steel with Space Black Milanese Loop
  • Stainless Steel with Fauve Barenia Leather Double Tour (38mm only)
  • Stainless Steel with Fauve Barenia Leather Single Tour (42mm only)
  • Stainless Steel with Fauve Barenia Leather Single Tour Deployment Buckle (42mm only)
  • Stainless Steel with Fauve Barenia Leather Double Buckle Cuff (New for 2017, 38mm only)
  • Stainless Steel with Feu Epsom Leather Single Tour (42mm only)
  • Stainless Steel with Etoupe Swift Leather Double Tour (38mm only)

How can I preview how these bands will look?

If you can't get down to an Apple Store to see the bands in person, you can visit Apple's interactive watch gallery, which lets you preview cases and faces with the entire band collection.

Will the new bands fit both Series 1 and Series 2 Apple Watches?

Absolutely! Every Apple Watch and band has the same clasp and connection design. Fun fact: The 38mm bands will fit a 42mm Apple Watch (and vice versa), but they won't look particularly great if you do so.

What do I do if I really want a band Apple doesn't make anymore?

Right now, your best bet is to check Ebay or Etsy. You can also check out Amazon's many knockoff bands — they're not directly from Apple, but they still look great.

Apple Watch Bands for Less

Questions?

Other questions about the new Apple Watch bands? Let us know below!