Apple’s September 9 event introduced new Series 10 watches and added a new color option for the Watch Ultra 2. However, there was no Ultra 3 and no new Watch SE model. A third version of the Apple Watch SE is definitely in the works, writes Mark Gurman Bloomberg,
The third Apple Watch SE will likely arrive in 2025. According to Gurman, the Apple team is busy changing the design from the original aluminum to plastic. Using plastic will allow Apple to lower the price and introduce new, bold colors.
The Watch SE (2022) is already pretty affordable at $250 for the 40mm model and $280 for the 44mm one, and even the cellular upgrade is pretty cheap at just $50 more than the GPS model. However, a rival, the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE, is $200, so a price drop may be necessary.
The current Apple Watch SE (2022) doesn’t have a wide variety of colours
As for the new colors, remember the iPhone 5c? That was plastic and Apple went too far with the colors. Kids might like the new colors and parents might like the new prices. As Gurman points out, most countries are considering or have already banned smartphones in schools, so the Watch SE could be a way to stay connected even without a phone. Apple also provides a way for your child to set up the watch even if they don’t have their own iPhone (you can use your iPhone instead).
Anyway, Gurman also revealed that the new SE might get a chipset upgrade. The Watch SE (2022) uses the Apple S8 chipset, which is the same as the Series 8 watches that arrived in 2022. However, the underlying hardware isn’t much different from 2020’s S6. Apple was very vague about an upgrade to the new Apple S10 chipset, focusing on the AI side of things. Whether the new SE has an S9 or S10 chip might depend on supply and prices.
A quick note on the Ultra series – The Apple Watch Ultra 2 from 2023 was a fairly minor upgrade and Apple is skipping a year before the Ultra 3 arrives. Gurman suggests the Ultra series will follow a 2-year upgrade schedule just like the SE. Still, the Watch Ultra 3 might not be particularly impressive.
