Twelve South’s new Apple Watch sweatband doesn’t work with every watch

One of the defining features of the Apple Watch is the vast number of bands you can buy to make it fit your needs and style. That can be particularly useful for workouts. You might not want to wear a leather band during a long run, but you can easily swap in bands made of other materials that can better withstand sweat. If you’ve been looking for a full-on wrist sweatband to use alongside your Apple Watch, though, accessories maker Twelve South now has you covered with the ActionBand for Apple Watch.

The ActionBand is a terry cotton band that sits tight on your wrist and has a frame for you to slot in the watch part of your Apple Watch. The frame is designed in such a way to let you access the Digital Crown and the watch’s side button, so you won’t have to rely entirely on the touchscreen if you need to navigate around your watch while working out. To clean a pair of the sweatbands (when you buy the ActionBand, you get one with an Apple Watch cradle and one without), Twelve South says you can just toss them in the washing machine.

While the ActionBand does seem well-designed and comfortable, if you’re not already someone who uses sweatbands, I don’t know if it’s worth picking up. In my experience, Apple’s standard Sport Band is already quite comfortable for long workouts, so switching to a sweatband wouldn’t have a benefit for me there. I’d argue that the Sport Band is easier to clean than the ActionBand; just run it under some water. And if I used the ActionBand while doing yoga, I’d worry that the sweatbands could make poses where I have to grab my wrist more difficult.

The ActionBand also has a big catch: unlike Apple’s own watch bands, the ActionBand isn’t compatible with every Apple Watch. Right now, only the Apple Watch Series 4, 5, 6, and SE can be slotted into the ActionBand, though Twelve South says Apple Watch Series 7 compatibility is “coming soon.” Unfortunately, the Apple Watch Series 3 isn’t compatible with the ActionBand at all, which presumably means older models with a largely similar design aren’t, either.

If you are interested in the ActionBand, though, you can pick one up now for $30 from Twelve South’s website.