Apple Watch SE may come in plastic and bright colors
Deciding whether your child is ready for a smartphone is a tricky business. Some say it should happen in middle school, while others suggest giving phones to preteens. In recent years, Apple has offered an alternative with its Apple Watch for Kids setup, which gives kids access to communication features on a wrist-worn device without all the apps. Now, Apple seems poised to take that even further.
The tech giant is considering plastic casings for its next-generation Apple Watch SE, according to a report by BloombergThe move “could lead to a better color palettemaking them potentially more “child-friendly”.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment, though the company recently added a brand name to its website promoting the Apple Watch as “a great call for children.”
Apple’s moves to make its $249 Apple Watch SE more appealing to families would mark a further embrace of the product’s role as a sort of pre-smartphone training wheels for kids. The Apple Watch SE offers many of the same popular features as its $399 cousin, just with a smaller, less capable display. But, crucially, Apple does add cellular data and phone calling capabilities to the budget device, underscoring Apple’s marketing message that “it’s independence for them. And peace of mind for you.”
Read more: Using an Apple Watch for the first time changed my relationship with self-care
According to a May survey by analyst firm Piper Sandler, more than a third of American teens own an Apple Watch. CNBC reports that the wearable can offer an alternative for students who are restricting the use of smartphones on campus at schools.
Apple hasn’t said when it plans to launch its next Apple Watch, though the original version launched in 2020 and the latest one arrived in 2022, making a 2024 update seem likely. Apple is also expected to launch a new version of its budget $429 iPhone SE sometime next year.
