According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the rumored plastic design for the next-generation Apple Watch SE is now in ‘serious jeopardy.’ There are some internal conflicts regarding the plastic housing, and it isn’t necessarily cheaper to produce.
Last year, Bloomberg reported that Apple was considering switching to a ‘rigid plastic’ for the next-generation Apple Watch SE. This would’ve potentially allowed for an even lower starting price.
Now, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that the switch to plastic is ‘in serious jeopardy.’ Design teams don’t like how it looks, and it isn’t currently cheaper to produce than the already-existing aluminum casings:
And the redesigned, plastic Apple Watch SE I’ve written about is also in serious jeopardy. The design team doesn’t like the look, and the operations team is finding it difficult to make the casing materially cheaper than the current aluminum chassis.
Whether or not Apple overcomes these hurdles remains to be seen. That said, Apple Watch SE will be coming up on 3 years old this fall, so we’ll likely see a refresh in about 6 months, plastic or not.
Gurman also reiterates that the next-generation Apple Watch Ultra will gain support for satellite texting, as well as 5G connectivity.
My favorite Apple accessories on Amazon:
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