Apple Watch SE may switch to an all-plastic chassis to lower costs

AppleInsider said:

If true, this report would see the entire chassis of the Apple Watch SE changed -- making the device less environmentally friendly.

The nylon material might be 100% recycled but product durability and lifetime are likely to be severely affected. Apple already did a "eco-friendly" plastic product: FineWoven. It was penny-pinching mixed with greenwashing in a product without durability.

Any review of Watch SE 3rd should remember what Apple did to 1st gen. End-of-sale in 2022, last OS upgrade in 2023. With iPhone SE it was 3 years and XR is receiving 4 years and counting of full upgrades after end-of-sale. Apple has yet to deliver that kind of value in a Watch SE. Taking the path of FineWoven is not going to help.

I find that even the higher end Apple Watch options — not including the luxury bands options — are well within a reasonable price, but I'm glad if Apple makes it even easier to have an excellent wristworn communication device and health monitor. 

I think there materials have their place, just as much as more premium materials for those willing to pay for it.  I don't think apple is going to do an across-the-board material replacement but just limit it to the more cost-conscious market.

nubus said:

Any review of Watch SE 3rd should remember what Apple did to 1st gen. End-of-sale in 2022, last OS upgrade in 2023. With iPhone SE it was 3 years and XR is receiving 4 years and counting of full upgrades after end-of-sale. Apple has yet to deliver that kind of value in a Watch SE. Taking the path of FineWoven is not going to help.

I don't mean to undermine your larger point about the Watch, but I have to point out that the iPhone XR came out in 2018, and is on the list for iOS 18 compatibility, so that's six years of support, not four. I'm aware that you said "from end-of-sale," but all that says is that people who buy products that are at the end of their sales cycle are getting less support time, which is bloody obvious.

I had the original Apple Watch (I still have it, though I've moved on twice in the years since). It's end-of-sale was 18 months (late 2016), right after it was replaced by the Series 1 AND 2, which came out at the same time. The original Apple Watch is now referred to as Series 0, since it was quickly replaced by the Series 1 and 2.

Assuming you are actually referring to the Series 1 by mistake, end-of-sale for it was a year after it came out, which would be when the Series 3 debuted in 2017. If as you say the last update for it was in 2023, that's six years of updates.

I think you may be confused about what "end-of-sale" means. It doesn't mean the last old Apple Watch still in any resellers' inventory anywhere; it means when Apple Stores and Apple's online store stop selling new units (refurbished does not count).

nubus said:

AppleInsider said:

If true, this report would see the entire chassis of the Apple Watch SE changed -- making the device less environmentally friendly.

The nylon material might be 100% recycled but product durability and lifetime are likely to be severely affected. Apple already did a "eco-friendly" plastic product: FineWoven. It was penny-pinching mixed with greenwashing in a product without durability.

Any review of Watch SE 3rd should remember what Apple did to 1st gen. End-of-sale in 2022, last OS upgrade in 2023. With iPhone SE it was 3 years and XR is receiving 4 years and counting of full upgrades after end-of-sale. Apple has yet to deliver that kind of value in a Watch SE. Taking the path of FineWoven is not going to help.

There are options out there for plant derived plastics, or ocean recovery plastics. So plastic does have to mean a backward step environmentally but yes durability will be the question.  

There is a corn husks plastic that produces Lignin as a by product which is then useful for emergent batteries. The watch SE could make a small scale (by Apples standards) test product for both “waste”cycle plastics and lithium free batteries