You know, this kind of reminds me of how microsoft uses cloth on their keyboards on the palm rest. I have a surface pro, and the cloth is becoming un-glued from the plastic housing. Really annoying. I prefer a more durable material that isn't as organic as cloth.
Apple today shared a new iPhone ad called "Goodbye Leather" on its YouTube channel in the U.K., months after the company controversially switched from leather to a much-criticized "FineWoven" fabric material for accessories.
Apple discontinuing leather accessories for environmental benefits was a noble aspiration, but FineWoven accessories have been very poorly received. Just days after the first FineWoven cases were released for the iPhone, some customers and media outlets complained about the fabric exterior being prone to scratches and stains. A photo also surfaced of a FineWoven case with a misaligned USB-C port cutout.
The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern said her FineWoven case was "browning like a rotten banana" after five months of usage.
Image Credit: Joanna Stern/The Wall Street Journal
"The edges are peeling, the fabric is scratched up like an old CD and it's browning like a rotten banana," she wrote, in her Tech Things newsletter. "I've been waiting for the CDC to show up at my house to declare it a biomedical concern."
Apple has yet to comment on FineWoven criticism, and it remains to be seen if the company discontinues the line or improves the material in any way.
Thanks, Dylan McDonald!
Article Link: Apple Says 'Goodbye Leather' in New iPhone Ad Following Controversial Switch to 'FineWoven' Material
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Says 'Goodbye Leather' in New iPhone Ad Following Controversial Switch to 'FineWoven' Material
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I’m really glad they’ve gotten rid of the leather, but from what I’ve seen and heard of the woven material, it’s a very poor replacement. They have plenty of money and smart people to figure this out, so they need to figure out his suitable replacement. Otherwise, people are going to go to other manufacturers for leather products, defeating the whole purpose.
And to that I say... goodbye Apple iPhone cases. And hello, 3rd party leather cases.
Yeah, that is the ultimate issue here. I personally don’t support the use of leather for anything. However, the alternatives are generally bad for the environment. From almost 10 years now, I’ve been wearing / buying boots that are made from recycled tires. They last. just as long as the leather boots I used to wear, but supposedly much better for the environment. I guess I can’t ever really know for sure, though.
As a former Michigan farm boy, I’m appalled by Apple’s decision. The cattle overpopulation problem, already pushing cow containment to the limit, will balloon. How many of those hooved beasts formerly destined for fine apparel will instead go on to breed? And where does it stop? No more leather belts? Leather thongs? Millions of cows will become billions, then trillions. They’ll be coming for our food, our jobs, our homes, and finally, when all other food sources are exhausted, they will come for us and our families. To us, it’s the ultimate horror. To them, it‘s merely poetic justice.
How many innocent human lives will Apple sacrifice on the blood-soaked alter of bovine preservation?
How many innocent human lives will Apple sacrifice on the blood-soaked alter of bovine preservation?
The tanning process extremely toxic and expensive. Skins are used for more than leather. Throwing away the skins better than tanning for the environment. Most tanning done overseas. Apple says they care about the world.
They’re releasing ads when they should be burying this disaster and slowly reintroducing leather? Ugh
I imagine that Apple saying goodbye to leather has gotten countless people to say hello to third-party leather case makers. 
The small slaughterhouse businesses hate Apple for this decision. Hopefully it doesn't catch on.
have to find some other leather case for 16 Pro Max. to hell with apple for discontinuing Leather cases.
Nothing protects the Apple iPhone like the leather case formerly made by Apple.
True story.
Shortly after I got my iPhone 6S Plus it flew out of the center pocket of my Adidas hoodie in the middle of the track during a kart race. Once I noticed it missing after the race was over, I went to the coordinators. They delayed the next race as I made a scene walking out on to the track looking for my iPhone, accompanied by one of the staff.
I thought I had just poured a thousand bucks down the Apple Inc black hole, but much to my happiness and surprise short of a few serious scuffs on the Apple leather case, the phone was completely unscathed. I didn't even have to change the screen protector.
Part of it was just luck that the iPhone landed back side down, but I swore by Apple leather cases since then. The case was beat up enough to warrant a replacement. It did it's job.
Each case lasted for years protecting my Apple phones from the multiple inevitable 2-3 times a year hard drops, either from a front pocket while bending forward or just being clumsy.
I have since replaced around half a dozen Apple leather cases and my trusty old iPhone 6S Plus survived unscathed until I was attacked in the street by a violent thug and the iPhone landed screen down on the ground. Still, I was a lot worse off than my phone.
The Apple silicone cases don't even last until the first impact. The impact which is inevitable due to the silicone cases being less grippy and more slippery than the Apple leather cases. The Apple silicone cases start falling apart from regular wear. The outer layer is not secured to the inner hard plastic. It feels like plastidip.
Apple silicone cases start peeling around the corners within a month or two of normal use. I had to replace those cases at a rate 3 times higher than the Apple leather cases producing not only financial waste for my family, but environmental waste as well. The last Apple silicone case I bought was the last one. I switched to aftermarket.
The Apple Finewoven product also looks like a scam to me. Hard pass. One look at the Apple Inc people in the sky finger snapping video from last year is enough for me understand that Apple Inc out of touch execs are virtue signaling to consumers who are out of touch with reality.
Apple Inc does not love the environment. Apple Inc loves money. Lower quality cases only mean one thing: more broken cases, more broken phones. Would a respectable individual continue to use a Finewoven case after it starts looking like something found in the dumpster? No.
That's what Apple Inc wants, becasue it means more potential profits under the guise of green agenda. I refuse to believe that Apple Inc execs don't already understand this themselves. They tell you they're out to protect cows, becasue they think their customers are as smart as sheep.
I switched to an aftermarket leather case for my iPhone 15 Pro Max. It has machined metal protection for the iPhone lenses which also serve as an attachment point for aftermarket photographic lenses from the same company.
True story.
Shortly after I got my iPhone 6S Plus it flew out of the center pocket of my Adidas hoodie in the middle of the track during a kart race. Once I noticed it missing after the race was over, I went to the coordinators. They delayed the next race as I made a scene walking out on to the track looking for my iPhone, accompanied by one of the staff.
I thought I had just poured a thousand bucks down the Apple Inc black hole, but much to my happiness and surprise short of a few serious scuffs on the Apple leather case, the phone was completely unscathed. I didn't even have to change the screen protector.
Part of it was just luck that the iPhone landed back side down, but I swore by Apple leather cases since then. The case was beat up enough to warrant a replacement. It did it's job.
Each case lasted for years protecting my Apple phones from the multiple inevitable 2-3 times a year hard drops, either from a front pocket while bending forward or just being clumsy.
I have since replaced around half a dozen Apple leather cases and my trusty old iPhone 6S Plus survived unscathed until I was attacked in the street by a violent thug and the iPhone landed screen down on the ground. Still, I was a lot worse off than my phone.
The Apple silicone cases don't even last until the first impact. The impact which is inevitable due to the silicone cases being less grippy and more slippery than the Apple leather cases. The Apple silicone cases start falling apart from regular wear. The outer layer is not secured to the inner hard plastic. It feels like plastidip.
Apple silicone cases start peeling around the corners within a month or two of normal use. I had to replace those cases at a rate 3 times higher than the Apple leather cases producing not only financial waste for my family, but environmental waste as well. The last Apple silicone case I bought was the last one. I switched to aftermarket.
The Apple Finewoven product also looks like a scam to me. Hard pass. One look at the Apple Inc people in the sky finger snapping video from last year is enough for me understand that Apple Inc out of touch execs are virtue signaling to consumers who are out of touch with reality.
Apple Inc does not love the environment. Apple Inc loves money. Lower quality cases only mean one thing: more broken cases, more broken phones. Would a respectable individual continue to use a Finewoven case after it starts looking like something found in the dumpster? No.
That's what Apple Inc wants, becasue it means more potential profits under the guise of green agenda. I refuse to believe that Apple Inc execs don't already understand this themselves. They tell you they're out to protect cows, becasue they think their customers are as smart as sheep.
I switched to an aftermarket leather case for my iPhone 15 Pro Max. It has machined metal protection for the iPhone lenses which also serve as an attachment point for aftermarket photographic lenses from the same company.
Yes. I’ll also make a wild guess here that third party supply chains are significantly less efficient and produce more carbon emissions than Apple leather cases did, since that is what Apple seems to care about.I imagine that Apple saying goodbye to leather has gotten countless people to say hello to third-party leather case makers.
I wholeheartedly agree. Except, animals are going to die regardless due to the demand for meat. So why not use the same animals for producing leather as well? Isn’t it better to utilize more of the animal and not less?
Apple could have said they will only source their leather from ethical farms that treat animals humanely (and not factory farms).
A company like Apple choosing to only deal with ethical farms would send a powerful message. They could use the opportunity to shine light on how horrific factory farming is and how important it is that we only support farms that treat animals humanely. That marketing alone would have a far greater impact than producing these cheap plastic fine woven cases.
totally useless. Nothing wrong with Leather, we eat the cows anyway , may as well use the leather!!
Just means I won't be buying my cases from Apple anymore. Their leather cases were always worth the small premium over their silicone cases since they had a better in hand feel, didn't pick up pocket lint like their silicone cases and they aged well. I feel like Apple could've came up with a vegan leather case that would've been more durable than finewoven.
Just go with another brand that carries leather cases. It’s ridiculous not to sell leather. Perhaps when people stop eating beef, then it would be inhuman to kill cattle.
They could have tried synthetic leather, or something else; but FineWoven… a total failure. It’s ugly, and doesn’t last much.
I needed a clear case for my 15 Pro Max, found the best case at Amazon, made by Spigen.
I respect when a company can admit a mistake, and I’ll extend forgiveness if the mistake is acknowledged and corrected. The longer Apple keeps silent about their failure with the Finewoven cases, the more goodwill they destroy. Apple needs to be wiser about their public relations because they are turning a longtime Apple fan like me into a scorned consumer. I’m kinda happy the FTC has been going after them, and I hope Apple faces consequences for keeping a defective product on the market. Greenwashing with “Goodbye Leather” is pretty transparent marketing, not genuine environmentalism.
Leather was excellent and if a cow gets slaughtered, the skin can be used excellently and it’s sustainable.
Apple today shared a new iPhone ad called "Goodbye Leather" on its YouTube channel in the U.K., months after the company controversially switched from leather to a much-criticized "FineWoven" fabric material for accessories.
Apple discontinuing leather accessories for environmental benefits was a noble aspiration, but FineWoven accessories have been very poorly received. Just days after the first FineWoven cases were released for the iPhone, some customers and media outlets complained about the fabric exterior being prone to scratches and stains. A photo also surfaced of a FineWoven case with a misaligned USB-C port cutout.
The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern said her FineWoven case was "browning like a rotten banana" after five months of usage.
Image Credit: Joanna Stern/The Wall Street Journal
"The edges are peeling, the fabric is scratched up like an old CD and it's browning like a rotten banana," she wrote, in her Tech Things newsletter. "I've been waiting for the CDC to show up at my house to declare it a biomedical concern."
Apple has yet to comment on FineWoven criticism, and it remains to be seen if the company discontinues the line or improves the material in any way.
Thanks, Dylan McDonald!
Article Link: Apple Says 'Goodbye Leather' in New iPhone Ad Following Controversial Switch to 'FineWoven' Material
Fine Woven is cheap plastic sh*t for the same(!!!) amount of money.
One of the few very bad and dumb moves from Apple.
I haven't bought an Apple case since 2017. BullStrap has received my business for quite a few leather products and wouldn't go back to Apple even if they did a 180 and brought leather cases back..
More like goodbye me buying any future Apple accessories.
Apple today shared a new iPhone ad called "Goodbye Leather" on its YouTube channel in the U.K., months after the company controversially switched from leather to a much-criticized "FineWoven" fabric material for accessories.
Apple discontinuing leather accessories for environmental benefits was a noble aspiration, but FineWoven accessories have been very poorly received. Just days after the first FineWoven cases were released for the iPhone, some customers and media outlets complained about the fabric exterior being prone to scratches and stains. A photo also surfaced of a FineWoven case with a misaligned USB-C port cutout.
The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern said her FineWoven case was "browning like a rotten banana" after five months of usage.
Image Credit: Joanna Stern/The Wall Street Journal
"The edges are peeling, the fabric is scratched up like an old CD and it's browning like a rotten banana," she wrote, in her Tech Things newsletter. "I've been waiting for the CDC to show up at my house to declare it a biomedical concern."
Apple has yet to comment on FineWoven criticism, and it remains to be seen if the company discontinues the line or improves the material in any way.
Thanks, Dylan McDonald!
Article Link: Apple Says 'Goodbye Leather' in New iPhone Ad Following Controversial Switch to 'FineWoven' Material
Thankfully there are a lot of other companies out there still making leather products and not engaging in this climate scam nonsense.
Both the silicone and FineWoven cases don't seem to be created with longevity and product life in mind. I'd expect FineWoven to stick around even though it's not as good as leather.
Apple today shared a new iPhone ad called "Goodbye Leather" on its YouTube channel in the U.K., months after the company controversially switched from leather to a much-criticized "FineWoven" fabric material for accessories.
Apple discontinuing leather accessories for environmental benefits was a noble aspiration, but FineWoven accessories have been very poorly received. Just days after the first FineWoven cases were released for the iPhone, some customers and media outlets complained about the fabric exterior being prone to scratches and stains. A photo also surfaced of a FineWoven case with a misaligned USB-C port cutout.
The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern said her FineWoven case was "browning like a rotten banana" after five months of usage.
Image Credit: Joanna Stern/The Wall Street Journal
"The edges are peeling, the fabric is scratched up like an old CD and it's browning like a rotten banana," she wrote, in her Tech Things newsletter. "I've been waiting for the CDC to show up at my house to declare it a biomedical concern."
Apple has yet to comment on FineWoven criticism, and it remains to be seen if the company discontinues the line or improves the material in any way.
Thanks, Dylan McDonald!
Article Link: Apple Says 'Goodbye Leather' in New iPhone Ad Following Controversial Switch to 'FineWoven' Material