I travel frequently, both for work and for pleasure. Over the past few years I’ve found certain accessories I just can’t live without. Whether I’m walking out the door to a coffee shop or I am getting on a plane and need to pack more serious gear, these are the travel accessories I couldn’t live without when it comes to iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
Some intrepid makers have put their 3D printers to work making cool, retro-themed Apple Watch stands. Specifically, they’re creating ones shaped like Apple’s early, beloved desktop computers like the 128K.
It makes sense, really. The Apple Watch shows the time in big green letters when it’s on its side in Nightstand Mode, and green was basically the only color those monitors were capable of displaying. So that’s where these creators are taking their inspiration for some sweet places to hang their Apple Watches.
The Cult of Mac Watch Store just opened for business, offering a carefully curated selection of Apple Watch accessories — just in time for all your holiday shopping needs.
Whether you’re looking for luxe leather and steel bands or clutter-killing stands, our shiny new online store showcases nothing but the best Apple Watch accessories. You’ll find quality goods that let you put your personal stamp on your Apple Watch, all at fair prices.
The internet is awash with knockoff bands for the Apple Watch that are almost as good as the genuine articles.
Knockoff products are traditionally cheap and nasty, but tons of these replica Apple Watch bands are so good, they rival Apple’s own products — at a fraction of the price.
We’ve taken a tour of knockoff band land, and found that there are lots of cheap, inexpensive bands on eBay and Amazon that are high in quality and are getting glowing reviews from customers.
“My black Apple Sport band has started flaking off, while the third-party knock-offs still look brand new,” said Neven Mrgan, a designer for Panic software in Portland, Oregon who bought a less-than-half-price band on Amazon.
Cupertino, Calif. and the swamps of Louisiana may sound like a mismatched marriage. But the luxury design house Bianca Mosca knew the two would make a beautiful pair when it launched alligator bands for the Apple Watch.
If the Apple Watch fell flat with some fashion critics when it first arrived earlier this year, it could possibly change some minds with a lushly-textured exotic skin band that comes in 11 colors.
It’s hard to resist the allure of a fancy Apple Watch stand, especially if you want to take advantage of watchOS 2’s awesome Nightstand Mode. Sena’s Travel Case and Stand is one such premium accessory, and how useful it’ll be to you depends on what kind of relationship you have with your smartwatch.
It looks great, and it’s definitely high-quality. And while it does solve a couple major issues I’ve been having with my Apple Watch, it offers solutions for some other ones I can’t imagine ever confronting.
Apple doesn’t do a lot of explaining on the website about its watch bands. You get a gallery of styles with mentions of material and a price, all under the headline, “Thoughtfully Designed Bands.” Apparently, great thought goes into water exposure.
Avid Apple product deconstructor Greg Koenig recently put Apple’s quilted Venezia leather Loop band to a soak test for his blog, atomic delights. After four soaks, Koenig was impressed to find no visible damage.
You no longer have to depend on the Internet to provide you with third-party Apple Watch accessories, as the company has started stocking them in its gleaming, glass-covered retail locations.
The first accessory on offer is a minimalist charging dock that will be compatible with watchOS 2’s Nightstand Mode when the firmware update launches this fall.
You got an Apple Watch, congrats! It’s a beautiful, powerful, pricey bit of tech that’s also just a sharp table corner or door handle away from ruining your day. Make sure your new acquisition stands the test of time with Spigen’s protective Apple Watch protector and matching power stand. Right now the combo is just $21.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
Let’s face it — you wouldn’t have an Apple Watch if it wasn’t nice to look at. Now you can give your watch a gawk-worthy place of privilege whether it’s on or off your wrist, with TRNDLabs’s Natural-Wood Apple Watch Charging Stand, going for just $19.99 in this very limited-time Cult of Mac deal.
One of the main complaints Apple Watch naysayers have is that the advertised 18-hour battery life of the wearable is kind of crappy. An expensive, upcoming accessory aims to address that issue, but we’re not sure that the look appeals to us much.
The new band is called the Reserve Strap, and while it definitely sounds useful, its price and appearance leave our pointers well clear of the pre-order button.
You waited for the Apple Watch for what felt like forever…so casually tossing it on your nightstand at the end of the day? Not an option. Keep yours charging safely and stylishly with this wood charging stand, now $19.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
Apple Watch stand makers are responding to watchOS 2’s Nightstand mode feature, which will turn your wearable into a makeshift alarm clock and display the time in landscape mode when it’s charging on its side. New Apple Watch docks are starting to appear to accommodate this feature ahead of the software update coming this fall.
Now that you’ve dropped a few hundred bucks on your shiny new Apple Watch, you may be tempted to give it someplace to live while you charge it. But you don’t have to shell out even more cash to provide your new gadget with a resting place. Odds are you even have the stuff you need laying around your house right now.
Here are a few cool, creative, and cheap ways Apple Watch owners have found to prop up their preciouses.
The “secret” developer port on the Apple Watch has yet to be harnessed by third-party developers, but it definitely possesses cool powers, as this new video shows: The tiny port hidden by the Apple Watch band can actually charge your device faster than normal.
If you’d like to see the Apple Watch in a cool new way, we have something to show you.
Apple created the below Apple Watch assembly drawing as part of its Made for Apple Watch program, which supports designers who are interested in creating third-party bands for the new wearable. It includes guidelines, notes and measurements of every part of the Watch, but mostly it’s just beautiful to behold.
One of the biggest questions surrounding the Apple Watch has been what kind of accessories will be allowed to work with the device. Several third-party companies have already started advertising their own bands and cases, but Apple has yet to introduce any kind of formal guidelines.
Until now.
Like its iPhone counterpart, the new “Made for Apple Watch” program outlines how third-party manufacturers can make their own bands. Here are some of the key takeaways:
The Apple Watch isn’t available for preorder yet, but that hasn’t stopped accessory makers from proudly showcasing their wares for the upcoming device.
We still don’t know if Apple will let Apple Watch accessories connect directly into the smartwatch’s mysterious port, but there will be plenty of fancy stands and even some third-party bands.
Here are 12 Apple Watch accessories to trick out your fancy new wearable:
We still don’t know the exact launch date of the Apple Watch, but if you just can’t wait to load up on accessories for your Apple wearable, the first Apple Watch dock is already available on Kickstarter.
ChronosDock, a “luxury” bedside dock, is the first Apple Watch accessory we’ve seen launch so far. Its makers, Kickshark, say it’s “the most indulgent, opulent piece of docking jewelry” they could imagine. It only costs $99, but they insist it’s “excessive in the extreme” to satisfy all you high-end fashionistas.
We think it looks kind of boring, but take a look for yourself:
