Apple Ditches Leather Bands for Its New Smartwatch

Apple is going environmentally friendly with its new smartwatch.

The Cupertino-based company revealed during its "Wanderlust" event that its new Watch Series 9 will feature FieWoven bands instead of leather to help the environment and further promote recycling.

You may recall that Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple was reportedly considering discontinuing its leather products in early September.

Apple's New Watch Bands

Apple's new Watch Series 9 is as exciting as it is environmentally friendly. According to the company's announcement, it brings new features that users will hugely appreciate while achieving a "significant environmental milestone" too.

Apple stated that it will no longer offer leather (e.g. watch bands) in any new Apple product. The company's statement confirms Gurman's report that Apple is discontinuing its leather products to become more environmentally friendly.

This environmental milestone takes the form of Apple's introduction of FineWoven material with its Watch Series 9 smartwatch. This material is a "luxurious and durable microtwill," consisting of 68% post-consumer recycled content, contributing a significantly lower carbon emission than leather.

FineWoven also features a suedelike texture, meaning it will feel like it's soft and fuzzy. For those unaware, suede is a type of leather derived from the underside of animal skin, giving it its soft and fuzzy texture, per Sewport.

Read More: Apple's iOS 17 is Missing Some Features at Launch

Apple said that its FineWoven bands for its Watch Series 9 watches come with the Magnetic Link and Modern Buckle bands Watch Series users are familiar with.

Additionally, Apple is offering band collections made from other recycled materials from Nike and Hermès - the companies that helped the tech giant develop such band collections. Each band collection is uniquely made, with Nike's Sport Band containing 32% or more recycled fluoroelastomer.

Nike's Sport Band also includes flakes made from excess bands, creating a randomized pattern on each band under this collection. Meanwhile, Nike's other band collection, the Sport Loop, which includes 82% recycled yarn, comes with a space-dye pattern that repurposes yarn from previous seasons.

Apple's Hermès band collection consists of two woven band designs. The first, Toile H, is an interpretation of Hermès' signature checked canvas, while the second, Twill Jump, is a band featuring a "rich solid color with contrasting details."

Hermès also created Brindon, a hand-braided that displays a bold chevron pattern. Interestingly, the Brindon is the first-ever knitted band for the Apple Watch.

Lastly, Hermès' Kilim band is made of waterproof molded rubber that features a sporty look and a deployment buckle. To complete the look for Hermès' bands, Apple and Hermès developed the Hermès Radial watch face, which complements the design of Hermès' bands.

Apple Watch Series 9 Features

Environmentally friendly bands are one of the many new things Apple's Watch Series 9 comes with. It is powered by Apple's custom Apple silicon, the new S9 SiP, which brings system-wide improvements and new features to the lineup.

These new features include a new double tap gesture that lets users control the Watch Series 9 using only one hand without touching its display. It controls the primary button in an app, allowing the new gesture to be used to stop a timer, play and pause music, or even snooze an alarm.

The addition of a faster Neural Engine in the Watch Series 9 allowed the double tap gesture to become usable on the device. The algorithm within the Neural Engine detects the unique signature of tiny wrist movements and changes in blood flow when the index finger and thumb perform a double tap.

Additionally, Apple added Siri to the device for the first time, allowing users to access and log health data using the device. While Watch Series 9's Siri does require a stable internet connection, it can accomplish some requests without one, such as starting a workout or setting a timer.

Apple customers interested in knowing more about the Watch Series 9 can do so at the device's official webpage.