A Plastic Apple Watch For Your Kids? Its Likely Specifications, Features And More

Apple is betting on plastic once again and this time, it is the Apple Watch. Similar to the iPhone 5c which wanted to be more affordable while being fun, the Apple Watch SE is now wanting to go further down the price ladder and grab a share of the pie in the more affordable segments. This new kid-centric plastic Apple Watch could end up being the next big thing for Apple and its wearable intentions.

Will it be called the Apple Watch FE? That would be wild since Apple wouldn’t want to borrow a name from Samsung’s bank, would it? Cough…*Apple Watch Ultra…cough…cough.

Nonetheless, this new iteration of the Apple Watch is expected to help Apple explore a more happening price tier and make its most popular wearable product more accessible. The specifications and features are still under the cover but thanks to a bunch of rumours, we have a fair idea of what to expect.

Hence, if you are planning to get an affordable smartwatch in the near future and the present-day Apple Watch SE is on your radar, join us in exploring everything we know about the next-generation plastic Apple Watch SE and its intentions to revise the entry-level smartwatch scene.

What the new Apple Watch SE has in store for you

Frankly, not a lot. The Apple Watch SE has always prioritised economics over features and prestige. It has been the Apple Watch to go for if:

– you have a limited budget for your smartwatch

– you seek a simple smartwatch without any of the health and fitness shenanigans.

With the third generation, Apple now wants to make it more accessible to the masses. Since a further reduction in features isn’t possible, Apple is exploring more affordable materials to absorb the cost of manufacturing.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman sheds light on Apple using plastic to make its next-generation Watch SE. Plastic has always been perceived as an inferior material to build gadgets. A case in point was the iPhone 5C, an affordable alternative to the iPhone 5S. The iPhone 5C’s plastic body allowed Apple to make it light. However, the idea of having a plastic body on a premium iPhone didn’t click well with the masses and hence, ended up being an absolute flop.

An Apple Watch for kids!

Since plastic isn’t a desirable material, Gurman says that a plastic Apple Watch will be pitched to children and a young crowd with colourful shells. Instead of muted colour tones, the kid-friendly Apple Watch is likely to get bolder colour tones. Although the specifications and features are yet to be spoken about, it is speculated that the plastic Watch SE will borrow the System-in-Chip (SiP) from the next-gen Watch Series X and retain most of the design of its predecessor.

The use of plastic could also help Apple in meeting its carbon-neutral goals by 2030.

Plastic Apple Watch SE vs its rivals

Gurman in his newsletter says that the plastic Apple Watch SE could aim for the recently announced Samsung Galaxy Watch FE worth USD 199. It is also speculated to take on the OnePlus Watch 2R, another affordable smartwatch from OnePlus running the latest version of Wear OS.

Compared to both the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE and the OnePlus Watch 2R, the plastic Apple Watch SE seems to be on the back foot considering the premium metal and glass construction they offer. All that remains to be seen is whether Apple manages to play nice with the pricing and draw a larger crowd to its entry-level wearable device.

(Hero and Featured Image Credits: Courtesy Ricardo Resende via Unsplash)