In his latest “Power On” newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Apple intends to completely revamp the low-end Apple Watch SE.
“For the first time, the company will be moving this model away from aluminum and use a plastic case,” he writes “In fact, this will be the first time that any Apple Watch has used a plastic shell since the initial version was introduced in 2014.”
One of the reasons for doing this is to lower production costs. The aluminum case for the SE costs Apple about $5 a unit. The plastic shell likely will be about half that, Gurman is told.
“That might not make a huge difference by itself, but Apple is looking for ways to get the price of the SE down,” he says. “I suspect that the company might want to sell something for around $200, helping the watch compete with models from Samsung Electronics Co. Currently, the SE is $249.”
Another advantage of plastic: The material allows for bolder colors than aluminum and is probably more kid-friendly.
“It’s no coincidence that Apple revamped its watch marketing several weeks ago to appeal to parents,” Gurman writes. “With recent school phone bans, Apple has been touting its watch as a low-cost phone alternative that can help parents stay in touch with their children — and track their whereabouts.”
This info from Gurman is from the free edition of “Power On”. If you like it, consider subscribing to Bloomberg.com—you’ll receive the newsletter earlier and get exclusive access to a Q&A section.
