Looks like we’ve got some wear issues on the Apple Watch, especially the Space Gray ones. There are posts on Reddit and the Apple Discussion Forums that show both the Apple logo and actual text etched into the back of the watches peeling off.
Apple Discussions user dougie70w says that he bought his Apple Watch at the beginning of June “and the band started to peel part so bad that I replaced it with an after market metal band that I purchaced on Amazon.”
He’s got an appointment at a local Apple Store today and hopes that having Apple Care will let him get a replacement.
Reddit user eternitydia posted his own Apple Watch (again in Space Gray) to show the Apple logo disappearing, saying, “Looks like the Apple had (sic) been eaten…”
Another Reddit user, RyMiDo, asks, “The apple logo fell out of my watch… Has anyone seen this before?”
One user told AppleInsider that Apple has contacted them and promised a replacement for their Apple Watch in return for the old one. The Apple Watch owner was asked, they said, about climate, activity levels, and whether it had been immersed in water. The representative from Apple also said that this was only reported on space gray Sport models.
My Sport model isn’t space gray, and I don’t see the type of wear on mine, nor do any of the staffers at Cult of Mac. It could be the way the text and logo is printed on the space gray model.
Whatever the case, if you’re seeing this on your own Apple Watch, be sure to contact Apple to see if they will replace it.