Difference Between Apple Watch Nike Plus and Standard

New to the market is the Apple Watch Nike+ edition. It brings a few new features of its own, yet sells for the same price as the regular Apple Watch Series 2. This begs the question, are there any significant differences beside just looks? Additionally, are you able to get the exclusive Nike+ bands or any of the Nike+ software features for your regular Apple Watch? Let’s run through the list to compare.

Nike+ Bands and Models

Let’s start with the obvious. If you’ve seen the Apple Watch Nike+ you know that the bands are different than regular Apple Watch bands. They’re essentially just sport bands, but with stylistic perforations in them so they breathe a little better around your wrist. Two out of four also feature Nike’s signature volt yellow color.

You can’t buy any other model of Apple Watch and choose to get the Nike+ band later.

These bands come alongside your Apple Watch Nike+ and nowhere else. You can’t buy them separately and therefore can’t buy any other model of Apple Watch and choose to get the Nike+ band later. (Some knockoffs are available on Amazon, but we can’t in good conscience endorse those.)

The Nike+ models are available in four color combinations: black/volt, black/cool gray, silver/volt and silver/white. The bands with black in them come with a space gray aluminum Apple Watch and the bands with silver come with a silver one. They’re all available in either 38 mm or 42 mm sizes for $369 and $399 respectively.

The Apple Watch Nike+ is not available in Series 1 either. The bands and branding only come alongside Series 2, which adds swim-proof casing, a brighter display and GPS.

Nike+ Watch Faces

In addition to the bands, the Apple Watch Nike+ comes with several exclusive watch faces. The most notable is the one you see in product images with Nike’s big bold font displaying the digital clock, plus customizable complications on the left and bottom. There are other options though, some with a traditional analog clock too.

Both the watch faces and the volt color option for them are not available on other Apple Watches.

These watch faces also feature one new signature color option: volt yellow. When you’re customizing your watch face to pick a color, the Apple Watch Nike+ lets you choose volt (separately from regular yellow) to match the Nike branding.

Both the watch faces and the volt color option for them are not available on other Apple Watches. These are two features exclusive to your Apple Watch Nike+ purchase.

Nike+ Run Club

The Nike+ Run Club is also available as an iPhone app and an iMessage app.

Nike+ Run Club is an Apple Watch app that lets you time and track your runs plus compete against friends to achieve goals. The app sends motivational reminders about the weather or your friends’ progress to get up and get going. It uses the Apple Watch’s GPS to track where you ran and draws out a map of your run. Nike+ Run Club also takes advantage of the iOS/watchOS Health app and built-in heart rate monitor to record your health data.

The Nike+ Run Club is also available as an iPhone app and an iMessage app. Therefore, it’s available on all Apple devices and not just exclusive to the Apple Watch Nike+. While it’s also not preloaded, Apple Watch Nike+ buyers do get a special prompt while setting up their new Watch to install the Run Club app right away.

In summary, the only exclusive features of the Apple Watch Nike+ are the bands, watch faces, and on-screen volt yellow color. It shares all other features with the Apple Watch Series 2. Run Club is available for any Apple Watch.