Apple is planning to reintroduce its striking ceramic Apple Watch casing as soon as this year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
Watch on YouTubeWriting in his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that the ceramic case option is expected to return either this year or in 2027. Apple first introduced a ceramic Apple Watch Edition with the Series 2 in September 2016, replacing the original gold Edition model and bringing the line's price down from thousands of dollars to a comparatively modest $1,249.
The white ceramic finish, made from a compressed zirconia and alumina powder polished with a diamond slurry, was marketed as being four times as hard as stainless steel. Apple expanded the material a year later with a gray ceramic option alongside the Series 3, but the Edition line disappeared entirely for the Series 4 in 2018, with Apple dropping ceramic and offering no high-end case option at all that year.
The white ceramic finish returned for the Series 5 in 2019 alongside an all-new titanium option, before Apple discontinued it for good when the Series 6 launched in 2020. The material has been absent from the Apple Watch lineup for six years since. It has since become one of the more sought after finishes among collectors on the resale market.
The Apple Watch Series 2's white ceramic case option.Beyond the reintroduction of the ceramic casing option, the upcoming Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 will apparently continue "the trend of modest upgrades," with "under-the-hood improvements" including a meaningful increase in performance. This likely refers to the introduction of a new chip. The previous two Apple Watch generations have featured the same S10 chip, which is effectively unchanged from the previous S9 chip introduced in 2023.
Gurman added that this year's new Apple Watch models will also offer new color and band options, alongside a number of new health and fitness-related upgrades. The Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 are expected to be introduced alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and first foldable iPhone next month.
