The second-generation Apple Watch Ultra will reportedly launch later this year and feature 3D-printed mechanical parts.

According to the latest survey by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the tech giant is actively adopting 3D printing technology.

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“My latest survey indicates that Apple is actively adopting 3D printing technology, and it’s expected that some of the titanium mechanical parts of the 2H23 new Apple Watch Ultra will be made by 3D printing,” Kuo said in a post published on Medium.

“Although currently the mechanical parts made by 3D printing still have to go through the CNC process for back-end processes, it can still improve the production time and reduce the production cost,” he added.

Moreover, he stated that US-based IPG Photonics is the exclusive supplier of laser components for 3D printers used to produce mechanical parts for the Apple Watch Ultra, and Farsoon Technologies and Bright Laser Technologies are printer suppliers.

If shipments go well, Kuo believes that more Apple products will use 3D printing technology, which will help improve production costs and ESG performance in Apple’s supply chain.

Meanwhile, Apple’s upcoming AR (augmented reality) headset Vision Pro will reportedly feature a new type of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) that has been custom designed to support Apple’s R1 input processing chip.

Apple Vision Pro is powered by a pair of chips, including an M2 chip and an R1 chip.