10th August 2026 – (Cupertino) Apple is set to bring back its distinctive ceramic case option for the Apple Watch, with the feature expected to debut as early as this year according to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg. First appearing with the Apple Watch Series 2 in September 2016, the ceramic Edition watched replaced Apple’s gold model and was priced significantly lower, launching at one thousand two hundred and forty-nine dollars. The striking white ceramic, crafted from compressed zirconia and alumina powder and finished using a diamond slurry, was promoted as being four times harder than stainless steel. In 2017, Apple introduced an additional grey ceramic variant with the Series 3, but the high-end Edition category was then withdrawn with the Series 4 in 2018, leaving no luxury casing options that year.
The white ceramic made a brief comeback with the Series 5 in 2019, joined by a new titanium alternative. Both options were discontinued for the Apple Watch Series 6 in 2020 and the ceramic finish has not been seen in Apple’s line-up since then, making it much sought after by collectors on the resale market.
In addition to the anticipated return of ceramic, the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 are expected to continue Apple’s recent pattern of evolutionary updates rather than revolutionary changes. Among the most significant updates will be a notable boost in performance, most likely from the adoption of a new processor, following two generations that shared the same S10 chip, an iteration virtually identical to the S9 released in 2023.
Apple also plans to offer a broader range of colour and strap choices for the upcoming Apple Watch models, as well as introduce a collection of new health and fitness features. The Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 are set to be announced next month alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and the company’s first foldable iPhone.