New 'Solo Loop' Style Bands Optimized for Apple Watch Series 4 and Later

Apple has new band styles for the Apple Watch out today, called the Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop. In the details on each band's store page, Apple points out that these bands are aimed at the Apple Watch Series 4 and later watches.

solo loop compatibility
The reason for this is because these new bands come in eighteen different size options. Apple gives customers a printable tool to find their perfect fit for the Solo Loop bands on Apple.com.

Once you print the tool out and wrap it around your wrist, Apple gives you a number of 1-12, which corresponds to which case size (40mm or 44mm) and band size you'll need. There is some overlap between 40mm and 44mm case sizes, increasing the band size count to eighteen.

printable apple watch tool
These sizing options omit the older Apple Watch case sizes of 38mm and 42mm. To keep things simple, Apple is noting that the bands are only compatible with modern models of the Apple Watch, essentially including Apple Watch Series 4 and later.

Still, these new bands should technically fit on the equivalent 38 and 42mm casings from Series 3 and earlier, but you may have to size up a bit to account for the slightly smaller casing if you want to use one of these bands with an older watch. We should get more detailed information about fit and compatibility for these new bands once they start arriving to customers later this week.

Catch up on today's news by reading our full coverage on the Apple Watch Series 6.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch 10, Apple Watch SE
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Wednesday January 15, 2025 7:16 am PST by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device. Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple Expected to Launch 20+ Products This Year: Here's the Full List

Friday January 17, 2025 5:30 am PST by
2025 promises to be quite a big year for Apple, with the company rumored to be planning more than 20 product announcements this year. Apple's rumored smart home hub will be its second all-new product to launch in as many years, following the Apple Vision Pro headset last year. And of course, we will get several new iPhone and Apple Watch models, like every year. Beyond that, Apple could...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...

Top Rated Comments

iamMacPerson Avatar
57 months ago
‘Only compatible with modern models of Apple Watch’.

Ummm they still sell the Series 3...
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
57 months ago

What? I’ve never had a band start to smell, and I don’t clean them nearly as often as I probably should.
Given your username, I am rather surprised that is the case. :P
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HiVolt Avatar
57 months ago
It's too bad they didn't simply say "if you're wearing your band on this hole on 40 or 44mm watch, this is the size you need"

referencing the sport bands of course.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chewie16 Avatar
57 months ago
Did you guys notice that this band is made from silicone and not fluoroelastomer?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stromos Avatar
57 months ago

The sport bands are made out of fluoroelastomer due to their lower allergic reaction rates. IIRC Apple made a point of this when they released them.

Silicone on the other hand is a common allergy nuisance.

The Watches all use the same slot, the only difference is a very minor difference in the corner radius.

How can it be that they are not compatible with all models?
Think its more likely the sizes are different on the watch itself. So the sizing tool isn't going to be accurate.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JimmyBanks6 Avatar
57 months ago

Think its more likely the sizes are different on the watch itself. So the sizing tool isn't going to be accurate.
If that was the case you would think Apple would just release two sizing tools depending on your model though.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)