Next Apple Watch SE Could Be Made From Plastic

The next-generation Apple Watch SE will feature a chassis made from a hard plastic material, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated in this week's Power On newsletter.

apple watch se gen 2
According to Gurman, it is "sounding increasingly likely" that the next-generation ‌Apple Watch SE‌ models will use a rigid plastic material instead of aluminum. Plastic can keep costs down, and could appeal to parents who are looking for an Apple Watch for their children.

Apple in July launched a new website that encourages parents to purchase a cellular Apple Watch for their children. The "Apple Watch For Your Kids" campaign highlights the benefits of Apple Watch for younger wearers, such as location tracking, options for calling parents, and activity tracking. Adults can set up watches for their kids with their own iPhone, and there are features for keeping it from being used during school.

With plastic, Apple could also offer the ‌Apple Watch SE‌ in a range of fun colors that are not possible with aluminum. Apple used to sell a plastic ‌iPhone‌ 5c, for example, and it came in vibrant blue, yellow, pink, and green colors. Plastic would also better differentiate the ‌Apple Watch SE‌ from the standard Apple Watch models as the current ‌Apple Watch SE‌ is basically a modified version of the aluminum Apple Watch without the latest features.

iphone 5c banner
The current ‌Apple Watch SE‌ models sell for $250, but shifting to plastic may allow Apple to offer the device at a lower price to better compete with companies that offer more affordably priced smart watches.

The ‌Apple Watch SE‌ could be refreshed as soon as this year.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch SE
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Logitech Logo Feature

Logitech Announces Two New Accessories for WWDC

Friday June 13, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
iOS 26 Screens

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Apple to Let iPhone Users Watch Videos on CarPlay Screen While Parked

Thursday June 12, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles. iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
Mac Studio Feature

Apple Begins Selling Refurbished Mac Studio With M4 Max and M3 Ultra Chips at a Discount

Thursday June 12, 2025 10:14 am PDT by
Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March. As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's ...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Seeds Revised iOS 26 Developer Beta to Fix Battery Issue

Friday June 13, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta. Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device. The revised beta addresses an...

Top Rated Comments

now i see it Avatar
11 months ago
From the $17,000 solid gold Edition Apple Watch to this Cracker Jack toy
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
orbital~debris Avatar
11 months ago

With plastic, Apple could also offer the Apple Watch SE in a range of fun colors that are not possible with aluminum.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I present to you ‘nano-chromatic’ aluminium:



Attachment Image
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
breenmask Avatar
11 months ago
unapologetically forgetting iPhone 5C happened
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CygnusTC Avatar
11 months ago
So much for a stellar environmental record!
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Andres Cantu Avatar
11 months ago
Plastic for better margins for Apple, not for cheaper prices.

Same thing happened with the iPhone 5c. Ended up staying at the same price as the 5 would have been had it stayed in the line up.

I’ll believe a lower price until I see it.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bLackjackj Avatar
11 months ago

With plastic, Apple could also offer the Apple Watch SE in a range of fun colors that are not possible with aluminum.
Where did you get this information from? This is factually incorrect. Aluminum can be painted any colour.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)