Despite no mention of the Apple Watch SE at Apple’s recent ‘It’s Glowtime’ special event last week, where the Apple Watch Series 10 was unveiled alongside a new color option for the Apple Watch Ultra 2, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has said that behind the scenes, work continues on the rumored new next-gen Apple Watch SE made with a plastic chassis.
Writing in his weekly Power On newsletter on Sunday, Gurman says “earlier this year, I reported that Apple is working on a plastic version of the SE watch in bolder colors. The idea is to potentially bring down the price with a cheaper material, while also making the device more kid-friendly. […] Though a new Apple Watch SE wasn’t part of last week’s launch event, I’m told that the product is still moving forward — potentially for next year.”
“Apple’s manufacturing teams have been running into some cost and quality challenges with the shift to plastic, but they may have a freer hand to resolve the issues now that the transition from steel to titanium on higher-end watches is complete. Other than adding plastic, I expect the new SE to include a processor jump. The current SE is stuck on 2020-era speeds.”
By using plastic, Apple could offer the Apple Watch SE in a range of vibrant colors not possible with aluminum. Historically, Apple used a similar approach with the iPhone 5c, which came in a variety of bright colors such as blue, yellow, pink, and green.
The current Apple Watch SE models sell for $250. However, transitioning to plastic could allow Apple to offer the device at a lower price, making it more competitive with other affordable smartwatches on the market.