Apple Watch pre-orders won't allow you to customize watch bands and cases

If you have a specific case and band combination that you want to pre-order for the Apple Watch starting on April 10 (when reservations will start being accepted), better move on to Plan B. According to a published report on Monday, Apple is limiting pre-orders to combinations of cases and bands already put together by Apple in pre-determined collections found online in the Apple Watch Store.

That doesn't mean that you can't get what you want. But to do so, it will cost you extra. For example, if you have your heart set on a silver aluminum case and a black band, you will have to buy the latter separately and swap out the band yourself. To make this clear, any combination of case and band that is not explicitly listed in a collection will require you to pay extra for the band that you want. That is Plan B.

If you want to see the combinations that you will be able to pre-order starting on April 10th, click on the sourcelink to go to the Apple Watch Store. Additional bands will be priced from $49 for the 38mm Sport Band, to $449 for the 42mm Link Bracelet.

The Apple Watch is expected to launch on April 24th, and it appears that the officially sanctioned pairings of cases and bands will also carry over to the physical Apple Store as well. This could be simply a matter of Apple trying to make things as simple as possible for the first launch of its smartwatch. While it does make ordering the Apple Watch easier, and also helps streamline the process for Apple, it is being done at the customer's expense, literally.


source: AppleWatchStore, iMore via RedmondPie