hermes

Tomorrow, Apple will unveil the new Apple Watch Series 8 alongside two other new Watches. While people are eager to know more about the new smartwatches, Apple Watch Series 7 Hermès Edition and its bands are now unavailable at the Apple Online Store. In addition, Hermès removed from its website the Watches and bands in collaboration with Apple.

All three of the Hermès AirTag products sold on Apple’s website are showing as “Currently Unavailable” when attempting to order them. It doesn’t matter which product or color you choose.

One 9to5Mac reader believes this may be over a quality issue he experienced with his Hermès Key Ring, which fell apart in his pocket …

Earlier this month, Apple announced that it would make the premium Hermès bands for Apple Watch available as a standalone purchase and today it has done just that. Now, Apple Watch customers can purchase a Hermès band for their Apple Watch separately via Apple’s online store.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Our top stories this week include our hands-on coverage and real-world testing of the new iPhone SE and iPad Pro 9.7-inch, as well as the latest on what to expect from the next generation iPhone 7 and iPhone sales going forward. Apple also attracted some attention with the announcement of new Hermès Apple Watch bands this week, and we had a handful of notable iOS and Mac app launches and updates.

Stories surrounding the Apple and FBI controversy over encryption came to a slow as the FBI officially confirmed the hack it discovered does not work with the iPhone 5s or later iPhones. Head below for the handy links to all of this week’s top stories. 

Expand
Expanding
Close

Until today, the only way to get a premium Apple Watch Hermès band was to buy the band and watch together from the Apple Store, or buy a very-similar (and cheaper) knockoff band and pretend it is genuine. It was also only offered in one color, fauve brown. That is all about to change however. Apple has announced that it will soon start selling Apple Watch Hermès bands standalone and in several new colors.

Soon, customers will be able to buy Double Tour, Single Tour and Cuff bands separately in fauve brown, feu red, blanc white, bleu paon green and blue saphir blue shades. The new bands will be available from April 19, 2016 …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple is planning to introduce new iPad hardware at an event in mid-March, according to sources, with the most likely device being a new iPad Air. This new iPad with a 9.7-inch screen, presumably to be called the “iPad Air 3,” will be launched alongside the a new 4-inch iPhone known as the “iPhone 5se” and a series of new Apple Watch models. Apple is currently planning to hold its keynote during the week of March 14th, but the final date is still in flux, according to sources.

Expand
Expanding
Close

After several months of limited availability in select retail stores across the globe, Apple Watch Hermès is now available to purchase online. Interestingly, that counters the initial point-of-sale strategy with the other three Apple Watch collections, which were at first only available to purchase online before hitting retail stores months later. Instead, the Apple Watch collection introduced in partnership with Hermès last fall enjoyed a more intimate point-of-sale experience with North American availability limited to Apple, Hermès, and Maxfield locations in LA, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Toronto with a similar situation across Europe and Asia.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Originally released back in October, Apple partnered with French leather fashion company Hermès for a lineup of high-end leather bands for the Apple Watch. The Hermès bands, however, have only been available from Apple stores and Hermès stores in big cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Miami. Starting this Friday, however, the Hermès collection will be available online from both Hermes.com and Apple.com (via Fashionista).

Expand
Expanding
Close

It’s immediately noticeable that the new Lowry Cuff strap from Pad & Quill meets the company’s usual quality standard requirements. You’ll first likely notice the strap is handcrafted by the rugged look of the stitching that clearly wasn’t done by machine. And the leather, which the company notes is full-grain vegetable-tanned leather from Horween Tannery (a favorite source of leather for a lot of high-end goods), is extremely soft to the touch. Some leather bands are stiff and as a result a bit cheap feeling, especially before breaking them in a bit, but the Lowry Cuff doesn’t suffer from any of those issues.
Expand
Expanding
Close

There are now four “versions” of the Apple Watch — the $349+ Apple Watch Sport, the $549+ Apple Watch, the $1,100+ Apple Watch Hermès, and the $10,000+ Apple Watch Edition. Apart from metal and glass differences, all four Apple Watches are virtually identical to one another, enabling DIYers and entrepreneurs to tweak one model to look like another. Earlier this year, gold plating services made the Apple Watch look like the Apple Watch Edition for under $400. Now there are ways to make the Apple Watch Sport or Apple Watch look like an Apple Watch Hermès for under $100.

Apple uses the silver stainless steel Apple Watch as the base for the Apple Watch Hermès, but upgrades it with three Hermès leather watch bands: Single Tour ($1,100 model, 38mm or 42mm), Double Tour ($1,250 model, only 38mm), or Cuff ($1,500 model, only 42mm), representing a premium of over $500 to $900 depending on the band. Here are some third-party alternatives that let you achieve the same basic look without dropping the extra cash….

Expand
Expanding
Close

If you haven’t yet found your perfect Apple Watch strap among the company’s own offerings or the numerous third-party options, Apple has today officially launched its partnership with French leather fashion company Hermès.

Uncompromising craftsmanship. Pioneering innovation. Groundbreaking functionality. Apple Watch Hermès is the culmination of a partnership based on parallel thinking, singular vision and mutual regard. It is a unique timepiece designed with both utility and beauty in mind. With leather straps handmade by Hermès artisans in France and an Hermès watch face reinterpreted by Apple designers in California, Apple Watch Hermès is a product of elegant, artful simplicity — the ultimate tool for modern life.

Splashing out between $1100 and $1500 gets you a special version of the stainless steel Watch, with Hermès branding on the back, a number of special watch faces and a choice of three leather straps. Color options depend on the strap, some with suitably exotic-sounding names … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

In a new interview posted in the Wall Street Journal, Apple’s Jony Ive and Hermes’ artistic director Pierre-Alexis Dumas discuss Apple’s first partnership with a luxury fashion brand to create branded Apple Watch models. To recap, on Wednesday, Apple announced Apple Watch Hermes, a collection of watches code signed with the renowned Paris designer. The watches will be available in October.

Ive says the partnership is unprecedented and began before the Apple Watch was even announced to the public, breaking traditional Apple secrecy.

Expand
Expanding
Close