Metal Additive Manufacturing comes of age in Apple’s flagship products
On September 9, 2025, Apple announced that it is using parts produced by metal Additive Manufacturing in three of its new products: Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and the new iPhone Air. This is the first time that Apple has officially confirmed its use of metal Additive Manufacturing.
The company stated that the titanium cases of both watch series, as well as the titanium USB-C port housing in the new iPhone Air, are produced using AM.
Apple’s public highlighting of Additive Manufacturing at its launch event marks a significant milestone for the industry and can be interpreted as an acknowledgement of the technology’s ability to deliver high volumes of extremely complex components. It also reflects Apple’s confidence in a supply chain of equipment, materials, and component manufacturers with the expertise, capacity, and flexibility to meet significant demand.
While the specific metal Additive Manufacturing processes used have yet to be confirmed, Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) and Binder Jetting (BJT) are considered to be the most likely candidates. However, several other metal AM processes are capable of manufacturing these components.
The iPhone Air USB-C port
Apple stated that its new AM titanium USB-C housing for the iPhone Air is thinner and stronger than previous versions, while using 33% less material than alternative production processes.
A teardown report by iFixit of the iPhone Air shows the metal additively manufactured USB-C connector housing (Fig. 2, top), which, according to the report, weighs less than 2 g. Microscopy images of the surface (top down), before and after polishing can be seen in Fig. 3. Apple has significant experience in manufacturing small, precision charging port components using metal powder-based processes, with its Lightning connector, in production from 2012 to 2024, being manufactured by Metal Injection Moulding (MIM). Over this period, hundreds of millions of MIM parts were manufactured.
Metal AM titanium watch cases
Apple announced that the additively manufactured titanium cases for the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple watch Ultra 3 are made entirely from recycled material. A preliminary teardown video by iFixit of the Ultra Watch 3 shows internal details of the watch case (Fig. 5).
By reducing machining steps, production now requires only half the raw material compared to previous generations. Production is powered by 100% renewable electricity across the supply chain.
Apple’s multi-technology approach
Job postings are valuable indicators of a company’s AM strategy. A recent Apple posting, for an Additive Manufacturing Design Engineer in the US, confirmed that sinter-based AM is one of the classes of technologies being adopted for high-volume aesthetic products. The job description states that the role entails optimising “Additive Manufacturing processes for Apple cosmetic, dimensional quality, reliability, and throughput requirements, develop methods to model and characterise key performance indicators in Additive Manufacturing,” and “Support product design in development of metal alloys for Additive Manufacturing utilising knowledge of 3D printing systems, powdered metallurgy, binding systems, and debind-sinter-HIP [Hot Isostatic Pressing] processes.” The HIP process is widely used in MIM and sinter-based AM processes such as Binder Jetting to eliminate residual porosity and thereby enable polishing to a mirror finish with reduced risk of flaws.
Another job posting, for an Additive Manufacturing Subject Matter Expert in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, leans more towards the PBF-LB process. It requires “First-hand experience in laser powder bed fusion process development, including use of material characterisation tools to aid in process DOE,” and “Knowledge of secondary operations, including powder handling and recycling, automation, heat treatment and stress relief processes.”
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The critical role of post-processing
As-built metal AM parts typically lack the surface finish required for visible consumer electronics applications – specifically those with complex internal structures and polished surfaces. As with MIM, components must undergo significant post-processing, from CNC machining to surface treatments, polishing and coating in order to obtain the desired finish. An integrated post-processing workflow is essential for scaling production of consumer-grade components such as watch cases.
Why Apple is leveraging metal Additive Manufacturing
Compared to conventional production methods, building parts layer by layer, as in the Additive Manufacturing process, reduces reliance on costly machining processes and minimises material waste, making it more sustainable and cost-efficient. The technology provides unprecedented design freedom, enabling the creation of complex internal geometries and lightweight structures that are difficult or impossible to achieve with conventional manufacturing. These benefits allow Apple to optimise performance, streamline production, and bring innovative product designs to market faster.
Importantly, the technology also supports Apple’s broader environmental commitments. The company’s Apple 2030 plan aims to achieve carbon neutrality across its entire footprint by the end of the decade.
The road ahead
As Apple scales metal Additive Manufacturing as a high-volume production process, achieving uniform mechanical properties and surface finish across millions of components will be a central focus. Related to this, delivering parts with the required precision while striving to improve yield pushes at the boundaries of current process capability.
With product assembly locations spreading beyond China, supply-chain reproducibility is also expected to be an area of focus. While AM is noted for its potential to decentralise manufacturing, each process must be replicable and tightly qualified across multiple sites and vendors.
Apple’s integration of metal AM across its product lines signals the technology’s transition to industrial-scale production – a shift that may redefine manufacturing across consumer electronics.
