The change isn’t cosmetic. Instead of carving watch cases out of large titanium blocks and discarding most of the material, Apple is printing them layer by layer using recycled aerospace-grade titanium powder. By its own estimates, this cuts raw material use by about 50% compared with previous models.
The deep dive outlines the engineering work behind the transition: each case takes roughly 20 hours to print and involves more than 900 layers, built by six lasers operating inside industrial printers. Even the titanium powder had to be adjusted, with lower oxygen levels to withstand the heat during printing. After printing, the cases go through depowdering, cutting, and automated optical inspection before final finishing.
3D printing also lets Apple shape areas that were previously constrained by forging, such as micro-textures and internal patterns around the antenna housing changes that improve waterproofing and bonding between metal and plastic.
While Apple links the shift to its 2030 carbon-neutral plan, the technical implications run wider. Moving structural components to additive manufacturing opens up designs that were too complex or inefficient for traditional machining. Apple even suggests the approach influenced the titanium USB-C housing on the new iPhone Air.
In September, we had a detailed discussion around Apple 2030 with Lisa Jackson, VP, Environment, Policy & Social Initiatives. The watches may look familiar, but the production method represents a significant pivot — one that could shape how more of Apple’s hardware, and the broader industry, is built in the years ahead.
