A year on, some Apple Watch Solo Loops aren't standing the test of time

Apple Watch Solo Loop Band (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

Apple Watch Solo Loop bands have been around for a year now and some aren't doing so great.
A Reddit thread is full of people reporting that their bands have torn already.

Apple's Apple Watch Solo Loop has been around for around a year now and they're some of the best Apple Watch bands on offer. But as we get closer to the arrival of Apple Watch Series 7, some are suggesting it might be an idea to steer clear when picking up the new watch. That's because some people are finding the band breaks all too easily.

A growing Reddit thread that started less than a week ago is already filling with people reporting that their Solo Loops are less solo than they once were — they're now very much a duo.

Redditor GPT96:

I loved the solo loop as it truly was the most comfortable band and was my daily. Unfortunately a micro tear developed and it finally ripped after about 10 months. I would replace it but they're too expensive and the standard sport band, while not as comfortable, gets the job done. Also my watch is easier to slip off the charger using the sport band.

Torn Apple Watch Solo Loop.jpgjpg (Image credit: u/MacGr3gg0r)

And another:

I somehow got a tear in the band near where it connects to the watch face. For a while I could stand it, but the tear was slowly getting longer, and I didn't want to risk it accidentally completely ripping through one day.

And there are more. One person reports that they bought their Solo Loop last September and that it had broken by June.

Priced at $49 each, the bands consist of a single piece and are designed to stretch so they can be put onto a wrist. But it's that elasticity that seems to be giving way, at least for some.

Here's how Apple describes its liquid silicone rubber bands.

Made from liquid silicone rubber, the Solo Loop features a unique, stretchable design with no clasps, buckles, or overlapping parts, so it's ultracomfortable to wear and easy to slip on and off your wrist. Each band is specially treated with UV to give the band a silky, smooth finish. It's also swimproof and sweatproof, so it can go just about anywhere you want to wear it.

Has your Apple Watch Solo Loop met an early demise? Shout out in the comments and let me know.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.