Kuo: New Apple Watch Ultra to Launch This Year With 3D-Printed Parts

The second-generation Apple Watch Ultra will launch later this year and feature 3D-printed mechanical parts, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

apple watch ultra sandy
In a post published on Medium earlier today, Kuo said that his latest survey of Apple's supply chain indicates that "Apple is actively adopting 3D printing technology." Specifically, "some of the titanium mechanical parts of the 2H23 new Apple Watch Ultra will be made by 3D printing."

The components could include the Digital Crown, Side Button, and Action Button, as these are the only mechanical parts of the Apple Watch Ultra. These titanium parts are currently CNC machined.

The change has the potential to improve production time and reduce costs. If shipments from suppliers go well, Kuo believes more Apple products will adopt 3D printing technology in the future.

Until now, only Bloomberg's Mark Gurman had said that Apple would release a second-generation Apple Watch Ultra alongside the Apple Watch Series 9 models later this year. Thus, Kuo's latest report seems to add further credibility to the belief that the Apple Watch Ultra will follow the same annual update cycle as the standard Apple Watch series.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch Ultra 2
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Top Rated Comments

Premium1 Avatar
10 months ago
Reduce costs.... Just not for the consumers.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macsplusmacs Avatar
10 months ago
Apple Watch Ultra 2040:

Apple just sends you the watch plans and your print out your watch on your 3D printer that is next to your Kurieg 9000
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
10 months ago
I don't have a good feeling about this. However, I just hope it's still durable and rugged!
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
boyreinvented Avatar
10 months ago
There’s a huge difference between using an industrial metal 3D printer and a Ultimaker printing plastic as a hobby.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bleuperrr Avatar
10 months ago

I don't think I really understand the difference between manufacturing a specific/custom element of a device and 3D printing it, in this context.
Is the difference that one is cut from a block of material, while the other is built up from a base material?
That's basically correct. One shaves a block down to the end product the other builds the product up using basically metal dust 3D printed to make the part. The cool thing with 3D printing is you can make parts that are impossible to make with CNC. 3D printed titanium is also stronger in tensile strength. Not to mention the wasted material CNC has. I'm surprised Apple hasn't done this sooner honestly.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BGPL Avatar
10 months ago
Reducing costs with 3D printed parts on their flagship, most robust watch for the most serious outdoorsman. Makes sense.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature

iOS 18 Rumored to Add These 10 New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday April 24, 2024 2:05 pm PDT by
Apple is set to unveil iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on June 10, so the software update is a little over six weeks away from being announced. Below, we recap rumored features and changes planned for the iPhone with iOS 18. iOS 18 will reportedly be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, with new ChatGPT-inspired generative AI features, a more customizable Home Screen, and much more....
apple id account

Apple ID Accounts Logging Out Users and Requiring Password Reset

Saturday April 27, 2024 12:41 am PDT by
There are widespread reports of Apple users being locked out of their Apple ID overnight for no apparent reason, requiring a password reset before they can log in again. Users say the sudden inexplicable Apple ID sign-out is occurring across multiple devices. When they attempt to sign in again they are locked out of their account and asked to reset their password in order to regain access. ...
macos sonoma feature purple green

Apple's Regular Mac Base RAM Boosts Ended When Tim Cook Took Over

Friday April 26, 2024 6:34 am PDT by
Apple used to regularly increase the base memory of its Macs up until 2011, the same year Tim Cook was appointed CEO, charts posted on Mastodon by David Schaub show. Earlier this year, Schaub generated two charts: One showing the base memory capacities of Apple's all-in-one Macs from 1984 onwards, and a second depicting Apple's consumer laptop base RAM from 1999 onwards. Both charts were...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: Apple's iPad Event Finally Announced!

Friday April 26, 2024 8:31 am PDT by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the announcement of Apple's upcoming "Let loose" event, where the company is widely expected to announce new iPad models and accessories. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's event invite shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Apple CEO Tim...
ipad pro 2022

Apple Event Rumors: iPad Pro With M4 Chip and New Apple Pencil With Haptic Feedback

Sunday April 28, 2024 6:19 am PDT by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman outlined some of the new products he expects Apple to announce at its "Let Loose" event on May 7. First, Gurman now believes there is a "strong possibility" that the upcoming iPad Pro models will be equipped with Apple's next-generation M4 chip, rather than the M3 chip that debuted in the MacBook Pro and iMac six months ago. He said a ...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces 'Let Loose' Event on May 7 Amid Rumors of New iPads

Tuesday April 23, 2024 7:11 am PDT by
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...