Right this moment’s “It’s Glowtime!” Apple occasion noticed a sequence of headline-grabbing bulletins, from the iPhone 16 Professional to the AirPods 4. And the Apple Watch wasn’t omitted of the enjoyable, with a very redesigned Sequence 10 mannequin providing each the thinnest physique and the most important show the road has ever had, together with quicker charging and a brand new health-monitoring function.
The Sequence 10 replaces the Sequence 9 within the lineup, however what in regards to the different fashions? Most pundits anticipated new variations of the Apple Watch Extremely and SE too, however these didn’t seem: the 2nd-gen variations of every stay on sale. The Extremely 2 will get a brand new colour end (a slightly lovely satin black) however the Apple Watch SE, so far as we are able to inform, didn’t change in any respect. It wasn’t even talked about within the presentation.
Which makes it slightly unusual, whenever you go to the Apple web site, to see that the Apple Watch SE 2 is available for purchase… on preorder. There isn’t a brand new colour, there isn’t a brand new colour or chip, and it hasn’t had a worth reduce, so what provides? The inventory is presumably on the market already, having launched in fall 2023, so why do we have to wait till the twentieth? What’s the distinction between shopping for it now and shopping for it per week in the past?
We’ve emailed Apple PR to ask for clues, however there are a number of potentialities. Maybe the vary of equipment has modified in some small means that we haven’t seen but: new bands, maybe these “Contemporary band colours” talked about on the positioning, that have to be shipped out to clients. (The Extremely 2 bought a brand new band, the Milanese loop in black titanium, and this was introduced throughout the presentation. However a much less thrilling SE band may not have merited stage time.)
Alternatively, Apple could have tapered off manufacturing of the SE in July and August, on the understanding that clients would have been anticipating a brand new mannequin and due to this fact wouldn’t need to purchase the prevailing one; which suggests it now has to ramp that manufacturing again up once more and get items out to distributors. Perhaps the corporate even deliberate to replace the SE this fall, and altered its thoughts at a late stage. Or likes the concept of individuals considering the SE on the positioning proper now could be newer than it truly is, though that will be barely naughty. (And in equity, it’s fairly clear that it isn’t new. The Sequence 10 has a crimson NEW badge, whereas Extremely 2 has NEW COLOR. The SE has no badge in any respect.)
We’ll replace this text if we discover the reply, or if Apple replies. However for now, it must stay a small however intriguing thriller.