In his latest Sunday digest, Mark Gurman on the pages of Bloomberg expressed confidence that Apple is still preparing to announce a version of the Watch SE smartwatch with a durable plastic case. Such a device will debut no earlier than next year, and will most likely receive a fairly powerful processor.
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A device with this name debuted in the Apple line in 2020. The first-born of the family was a contemporary of the Apple Watch Series 6, it offered an aluminum case, an older processor, and in order to reduce the price to $279, the company abandoned support for the Always-On Display function and electrocardiogram recording. When the Apple Watch SE was updated in 2022, it got a plastic (nylon composite) case cover, but the processor migrated from the more expensive Apple Watch Series 8. Along the way, the price of the watch was reduced to $249.
It is possible that the transition to an all-plastic case will allow Apple to make the Watch SE more affordable, and it will also be easier to paint it in a variety of bright colors. This will make the watch more attractive to children and teenagers. The price may remain the same, but this is compensated by new features for the series such as ECG or Always-On Display. The processor will probably go up a notch compared to the S8, or even more. Right now, the Apple Watch SE is stuck in 2020 in terms of performance.