While there is no shortage of rumors and leaks about the third-generation Apple Watch SE, it has been almost two years since the last SE smartwatch was released New reports suggest that Apple is working on some ideas to lower the cost of the affordable watch

As reported by Bloomberg's Mark Garman, Apple is looking for ways to use less material, speed up production, and lower costs

Apple Whisperer first reported last year that Apple was testing 3D printing the Apple Watch casing He claims that the company is still looking into that capability, but its manufacturing capacity does not appear to be ready yet

Another switch would affect the lower-priced Apple Watch SE model, which was last upgraded in 2022 Garman claims that Apple is considering replacing the aluminum shell with hard plastic

The 2022 update has already changed the case to a color-matched "nylon composite" plastic, and it would not be at all surprising if Apple might continue that trend; by 2024, the tech companies are struggling to make AI-enabled, less environmentally friendly devices

Apple is speculated to be considering an all-plastic version of the Watch SE next to compete with Samsung's newly announced $199 Galaxy Watch FE the Galaxy FE is Samsung's first watch and will join the affordable Galaxy FE series joining the Galaxy FE series

Currently, the Apple Watch SE starts at $249, which is lower than the original Watch SE, which launched at $279 With technology prices rising across the board this year, it may be enough for Apple to bring the price down to $219 or $199 without significant upgrades

The SE model has not been upgraded every year since its launch in 2020 Apple has been fairly consistent in that off-year models tend to be updated at the same time We expect a new SE model to be announced this year, probably at Apple's annual fall event in September However, the only watch rumors out there so far are about the Apple Watch 10 and the Apple Watch Ultra 3