Apple launches ‘Made for Apple Watch’ third party bands program
Apple likes to have its users use as many officially licensed third party accessories as it can. To further expand it, the company announced a ‘Made for Apple Watch’ third party bands program today.
Apple has a similar MFi program for its iPhones, iPads and iPods, enabling third party vendors to launch and sell Apple approved accessories. This is done for the safety of Apple products in the hands of the end users, but Apple also gains by way of a license fee per unit sold.
Third party vendors have already released a bunch of straps and battery packs before this announcement. They may or may not have the official ‘Made for Apple Watch’ approval just yet, though. For its part, Apple has also published official design guidelines for third party bands, further promising that lugs (attachments for the bands) will be available soon. This should enable vendors to properly design and make accessories to spec, ensuring proper compatibility with the Apple Watch.
