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Apple Hoping to 3D-Print More Products

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Apple is hoping to 3D-print aluminum device enclosures in the future, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Apple-Watch-SE-3-1.jpg

In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman revealed that Apple is pushing to move to 3D-printed aluminum enclosures for for future devices. The MacBook Neo relies on a new aluminum manufacturing process that saves as much metal as possible to drive down costs and speed up production.

3D-printing aluminum enclosures would similarly enable Apple to save material and increase efficiency. The process is likely to come to the Apple Watch first, and potentially the iPhone at a later date.

The process is a follow-up to Apple's 3D-printed titanium technique, which debuted with the Apple Watch Ultra 3. Apple's manufacturing design and operations departments are collaborating on the project.

Gurman added suggested that Apple may expand its new "Neo" branding to the Apple Watch SE in the future, making it the "Apple Watch Neo."

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Article Link: Apple Hoping to 3D-Print More Products
 
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https://www.macrumors.com/2026/03/08/apple-hoping-to-3d-print-more-products/
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I wonder what an Apple Watch Neo would be that an Apple Watch SE is not?

You could imagine a new case being designed like the MacBook Neo, that looks cooler - and more modern - than the current SE.

Hard to see what features that they'd cut from the SE.

Hypertension, blood oxygen and ECG is already not an SE feature. It's hard to imagine that many under 25s who'd need any of that.

Maybe then, the Watch Neon would just be the current SE made cheaper - using 3d printing - with brighter colours in a new case design and any new apple made components...

...And surely the discontinuation of the SE.
 
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Veinticinco said:
“3D-printing aluminum enclosures would similarly enable Apple to save material and increase efficiency.”

And yet, no mention of passing on costs savings to the consumer.
Click to expand...
They did exactly that on the MacBook Neo. They could do so on other products if this makes a significant cost difference.

9to5mac.com

Molly Anderson on the 'special equation' that halved MacBook Neo materials use - 9to5Mac

Molly Anderson, Apple’s Industrial Design Leader, discusses the process behind creating the MacBook Neo in a new interview today. Tom...
9to5mac.com 9to5mac.com
 
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Tagbert said:
They did exactly that on the MacBook Neo. They could do so on other products if this makes a significant cost difference.
Click to expand...
Did you forget Molly said they didn’t compromise on the Neo? Built from scratch, no cheaper materials or processes. Incredible aluminium no less.
 
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Veinticinco said:
Did you forget Molly said they didn’t compromise on the Neo? Built from scratch, no cheaper materials or processes. Incredible aluminium no less.
Click to expand...
Clearly she was talking about a cheaper process, not worse, but cheaper. That was part of the savings for the Neo. It was an investment. The Neos sold now are likely lower margins to get to that price but as they amortize the development of that process, their costs go down.

Something similar could happen with 3D printed Watches and other devices.
 
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Veinticinco said:
“3D-printing aluminum enclosures would similarly enable Apple to save material and increase efficiency.”

And yet, no mention of passing on costs savings to the consumer.
Click to expand...
More like maximize profit while keeping the price the same.
 
bluecoast said:
I wonder what an Apple Watch Neo would be that an Apple Watch SE is not?

You could imagine a new case being designed like the MacBook Neo, that looks cooler - and more modern - than the current SE.

Hard to see what features that they'd cut from the SE.

Hypertension, blood oxygen and ECG is already not an SE feature. It's hard to imagine that many under 25s who'd need any of that.

Maybe then, the Watch Neon would just be the current SE made cheaper - using 3d printing - with brighter colours in a new case design and any new apple made components...

...And surely the discontinuation of the SE.
Click to expand...
Neo vs. SE is just branding that means entry level, so they really wouldn't have to change anything other than the name for the next Apple Watch SE, similar to how Apple replaced the iPhone SE with the iPhone 16e (which I will argue should become the iPhone Neo in its next iteration, same with the base model iPad).

Not that Neo makes sense for an entry level product since it implies something new and fresh, but SE for Special Edition never really made sense either since that implies something limited edition.
 
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what evidence exists that 3D printing cases for Apple devices would save materials consumed in the process, compared to how they do it now with CNC milling of the aluminium chassis? might save them time, might save them some hardened steel CNC drill bits… but significant material costs? Dont they recycle the aluminium? Yes that has a high energy cost, but it's way cheaper in embedded energy than smelting and refining bauxite! What is the energy cost of melting aluminium to point it is liquid to deposit it with 3D printers? I'd have thought even higher, sine they are doing it on each printer and therefor the potential to scale are reduce energy consumption is lower. (its not like PC panels which do scale).
 
bradman83 said:
Neo vs. SE is just branding that means entry level, so they really wouldn't have to change anything other than the name for the next Apple Watch SE, similar to how Apple replaced the iPhone SE with the iPhone 16e (which I will argue should become the iPhone Neo in its next iteration, same with the base model iPad).

Not that Neo makes sense for an entry level product since it implies something new and fresh, but SE for Special Edition never really made sense either since that implies something limited edition.
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Great points but I wonder if the new chassis is an important part of what makes the Neo.

Or if it’s mostly cost + fun colours ! Ie so Apple could simply reuse the iPhone chassis of previous models but make them yellow etc.

I agree, the SE suffix doesn’t mean anything much.

Only Apple knows if there is enough people who care about the SE branding enough to go and get ‘the latest SE’ when their iPhone / watch breaks. It surely can’t be many.
 
bradman83 said:
Neo vs. SE is just branding that means entry level, so they really wouldn't have to change anything other than the name for the next Apple Watch SE, similar to how Apple replaced the iPhone SE with the iPhone 16e (which I will argue should become the iPhone Neo in its next iteration, same with the base model iPad).

Not that Neo makes sense for an entry level product since it implies something new and fresh, but SE for Special Edition never really made sense either since that implies something limited edition.
Click to expand...

Actually I think Neo branding is something new. If you pay attention you will notice that the promotional video is narrated by a very young person. "Neo" is a Greek prefix for "new" or "young". As in "new, young customer".
 
wideEyedPupil said:
what evidence exists that 3D printing cases for Apple devices would save materials consumed in the process, compared to how they do it now with CNC milling of the aluminium chassis? might save them time, might save them some hardened steel CNC drill bits… but significant material costs? Dont they recycle the aluminium?
Click to expand...

It might be the scrap from CNC milling is recycled via the NEO production, potentially lowering those costs.

wideEyedPupil said:
Yes that has a high energy cost, but it's way cheaper in embedded energy than smelting and refining bauxite! What is the energy cost of melting aluminium to point it is liquid to deposit it with 3D printers? I'd have thought even higher, sine they are doing it on each printer and therefor the potential to scale are reduce energy consumption is lower. (its not like PC panels which do scale).
Click to expand...

I guess a lot depends on the sintering process used with the aluminum powder. It may well be some sort of powder deposition/sintering process rather than a melt and extrude.
 
wideEyedPupil said:
what evidence exists that 3D printing cases for Apple devices would save materials consumed in the process, compared to how they do it now with CNC milling of the aluminium chassis? might save them time, might save them some hardened steel CNC drill bits… but significant material costs? Dont they recycle the aluminium? Yes that has a high energy cost, but it's way cheaper in embedded energy than smelting and refining bauxite! What is the energy cost of melting aluminium to point it is liquid to deposit it with 3D printers? I'd have thought even higher, sine they are doing it on each printer and therefor the potential to scale are reduce energy consumption is lower. (its not like PC panels which do scale).
Click to expand...
Apple uses Laser Powder Bed Fusion. Not Liquid Metal out of a nozzle. Resulting in much less waste material.

 
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What is the new aluminum manufacturing process used on the Neo? I didn't see it anywhere. Thanks.

*edit, found the the answer: They didn't invent anything new, they combined a few processes. They extrude the aluminum into a shape that is close to the final shape needed. Then then bend it in certain spots to get it even closer. Finally, they CNC machine it.

This is compared to the prior process (that I believe started with either the apple remote control or the first MacBook Air) where the whole case is CNC machined out of a single rectangular block. In this case, they recycle all the chips, but there are more overall chips compared to the new way.
 
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Veinticinco said:
“3D-printing aluminum enclosures would similarly enable Apple to save material and increase efficiency.”

And yet, no mention of passing on costs savings to the consumer.
Click to expand...
3D printing isn't necessarily cheaper though. For example on the iphone air charging port the goal was to make a thinner port while maintaining strength (which is presumably harder with traditional machining), not necessarily to make it for cheaper. If anything the process might even be more expensive even if less material is used.
 
I can't imagine 3D printing is cheaper. It's only cheaper when the volume is super low, like a handful. In mass production, money is spent on capital expense equipment, so that the per-piece cost can be very low. No one on the planet has more volume than Apple.

Besides raw cost, there is time. 3D printing is dog slow, even the fastest machines. To CNC machine a case from a raw block of aluminum might take 5-10 minutes from start to finish. To 3D metal print that same case might take 24 hours. Apple would need several orders of magnitude the number of 3D printers as CNC machines to meet the volume demands.
 
3D printing in commercial space that can support the volume of capital expense equipment, is probably more for shapes that can't be made with other means. Something like a sealed solid that has a bunch of internal cooling channels going in 10 different directions and all curved. That can't be made in one piece except for 3D printing.
 
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