A Bloomberg report last year revealed that Apple had been experimenting with the idea of building an Apple Watch SE made of plastic in an effort to cut costs. However, it seems that the company has now given up on changing the material of the entry-level Apple Watch, which, let’s be honest, should always be metal.
The controversial rumored plastic Apple Watch SE
The original report from July 2024 said that Apple wanted to change the aluminum shell of the Apple Watch SE in favor of “hard plastic.” With the change, the company wanted to reduce the production cost of the Apple Watch, which would either help Apple increase its profits or reduce the final price for consumers.
Unsurprisingly, the idea was seen as quite controversial by many people. Some believed that a plastic Apple Watch would look “too cheap,” even by the standards of an “SE” product. On the other hand, some people argue that plastic would be a great material for parents who want to give their children an Apple Watch.
The current Apple Watch SE, which is made of aluminum, costs $249 at Apple – and you can find it for $169 on Amazon. That’s already an excellent deal for an Apple Watch made of metal. Personally, I don’t think a price reduction is worth the switch from metal to plastic, even if Apple cut the price of the Apple Watch SE from $249 to $199.
If we go back to 2013, when Apple introduced the iPhone 5c, many people didn’t like the idea of having an iPhone made of plastic in an era when they were already used to having iPhones made of glass and metal. Apple has never made another iPhone out of plastic.
I get the argument of an “Apple Watch for kids,” but the Apple Watch SE isn’t just about that. I know a lot of people who buy the Apple Watch SE because it looks like any other Apple Watch and has all the key watchOS features, but for a much lower price. Again, I don’t think it’s a worthy trade-off.
Luckily, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported this week that Apple may have given up on changing the material. According to his sources, Apple’s design team “doesn’t like the look” of a watch made of plastic, while the operations team concluded that using plastic wouldn’t reduce costs considerably.
But what about you? What are your thoughts on having an Apple Watch made of plastic? Let me know in the comments section below.
Read also
Gadgets I recommend:
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
