Right this moment’s “It’s Glowtime!” Apple occasion noticed a collection of headline-grabbing bulletins, from the iPhone 16 Professional to the AirPods 4. And the Apple Watch wasn’t not noted of the enjoyable, with a totally redesigned Sequence 10 mannequin providing each the thinnest physique and the largest 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 concerning 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 shade end (a somewhat lovely satin black) however the Apple Watch SE, so far as we will inform, didn’t change in any respect. It wasn’t even talked about within the presentation.
Which makes it somewhat unusual, if 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 shade, there isn’t a brand new shade or chip, and it hasn’t had a worth minimize, 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 every week in the past?
We’ve emailed Apple PR to ask for clues, however there are just a few prospects. Maybe the vary of equipment has modified in some small method that we haven’t observed but: new bands, maybe these “Recent band colours” talked about on the positioning, that should be shipped out to clients. (The Extremely 2 obtained a brand new band, the Milanese loop in black titanium, and this was introduced in the course of the presentation. However a much less thrilling SE band may not have merited stage time.)
Alternatively, Apple might 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 subsequently wouldn’t need to purchase the present one; which implies it now has to ramp that manufacturing again up once more and get models out to distributors. Possibly the corporate even deliberate to replace the SE this fall, and altered its thoughts at a late stage. Or likes the thought of individuals pondering the SE on the positioning proper now’s 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 purple 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.