Apple Watch May Gain Additional Casing Material Options Later This Year

[MacRumors]

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a good track record in providing information on yet-to-be released Apple products, today released a report predicting that up to three new casing options for the Apple Watch will launch sometime this fall.

Kuo points out that the Apple Watch's sale momentum could stall entering the fourth quarter of the year, and thinks the release of new casing options for the device could reinvigorate it heading into the 2015 holiday shopping season.

Rumors stating that Apple was looking into a platinum casing for the Watch right before the "Spring Forward" event could point toward the option becoming available down the road.

Aside from current casing materials of aluminum, stainless steel and 18k gold, we believe 1-3 new versions of Apple Watch featuring new casing materials are likely to go into mass production in 4Q15. If this is the case, we think it could boost Apple Watch shipments momentum in 4Q15-1Q16.

Though impressed by the "outstanding designs" of the Apple Watch and new MacBook, Kuo sees the Watch underselling the market expectation of 20-30 million units in 2015 to about 15-20 million devices sold throughout the year. The analyst sees the Watch selling between 5-6 million units in the first half of the year, and the new MacBook about 450,000 units in that same time frame.

Kuo notes that as with many first-generation products, the Apple Watch will "focus on verifying whether the user behavior and business model are right", with subsequent generations honing in and expanding on the device's features and adding new ones, as well. As a result, he expects shipments to "grow significantly" in these second or third-generation Apple Watches in comparison to his predicted numbers for the first-generation model.

Article Link: Apple Watch May Gain Additional Casing Material Options Later This Year

 

[Merackon]

Hopefully Palladium

 

[Reason077]

24 karat Unicorn horn or I'm going home.

 

[bokdol]

can them make one out of moon rocks.

 

[TheRealTVGuy]

Aside from the fact that I cringe everytime I see the name Ming-Chi Kuo, I think from other reports we've seen published that Platinum won't be coming to the Apple Watch this year. We know they looked at it as a possibility, but backed off.

Now, next year... who knows!

Sorry Ming Chi, not this time.

 

[SpiderDude]

my stooooock!!! no!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apple sticking it to the investors again.
If perspectives of sales of current gen were already a bit iffy, this is gonna wreck it, really hard.

 

[mangomind]

Hopefully it's not the plastic Apple Watch C!!!!

 

[testcard]

I'd like to see a tough resin case, similar to the material used in Casio's watches.

 

[ephemeralreason]

I'd rather a round watch than new material. Just my aesthetic preference.

 

[Ries]

Maybe they are pulling an "ipad 4". 6 months down the road, the new improved apple watch, the S2

 

[Menopause]

Which will soon be "pushed back" to Q1 2016 "due to production issues", oh wait, that's a year from now, the usual product cycle of handheld Apple products. FFS, why do we have to do this every time?

 

[andrea81]

Adamantium would be pretty scratch-free I guess.

 

[brinary001]

If there were wise, they'd incorporate a plastic version for $200-250. Would grab more customers. Doubt they'll do it though.

 

[Faelan]

I'm hoping for an unobtanium case...

 

[xraydoc]

Platinum. Great. Something even more expensive than the $17,000 smart watch.

Jony Ive has gone off his rocker.

 

[Z400Racer37]

Make mine LiquidMetal please!

 

[heeloliver]

I'd rather a round watch than new material. Just my aesthetic preference.

won't happen anytime soon. Ive chose the square screen so text works well with the display, and they still have the freedom of circular watch faces with the OLED screen.

 

[OllyW]

I would like to see a tough plastic cased Watch Sports.

 

[Kissaragi]

Platinum. Great. Something even more expensive than the $17,000 smart watch.

Jony Ive has gone off his rocker.

If only they offered a cheaper option out of stainless steel. Oh wait.....

 

[nagromme]

Platinum wouldn't reinvigorate anything. I can see maybe some anodized aluminum colors (pink, green, project RED, even "gold"). Or 5C-style sturdy plastic for a lower entry price.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

MacRumors user response to any article: 'grumble grumble grumble grumble'

 

[gmanist1000]

Hopefully it's not the plastic Apple Watch C!!!!

I didn't even think about this, but it is probably going to happen at some point. Multiple Watch colors (in plastic) would definitely appeal to children.

 

[Tankmaze]

I'm thinking plastic with lower price point then the sport, about 100 dollars less perhaps. $249 would be a sweet spot.

 

[Leonard1818]

Let's focus on making this a need versus a want and then worry about what colors it comes in.

 

[kmj2318]

Platinum sounds like a stretch to me, but given the Edition, who can say.

I don't understand the desire for platinum. It's indistinguishable from SS unless you hold them next to each other. A little bit whiter but that's it.

Rolex gets around this because you can easily tell a platinum version because they usually have a blue dial.

If Apple makes one, I expect they would want to differentiate the Platinum from the SS version somehow. Most likely with an exclusive type of band.

What other materials could be on the reasonable priced tier ? Maybe a titanium? I can't think of anything else right now.