Apple's FineWoven Cases for iPhone 15 Continue to Be Heavily Criticized

[NagasakiGG]

Unfortunately, even if it's worse than Aliexpress stuff, lemmings will still buy it for 49/59$ RRP and justify it to themselves. That's just sad.

@outlawarth It's just to hop on the woke/vegan/climatefriendly train for more profits. Nothing else. But people are falling for that. Like a company such as Apple cares about climate...No, they care about (your/my) money. But unfortunately people get fooled by that. New Apple Watch presentation was 90% about cLiMaTe NeUtRaL

 

[Japan Ricardo]

This will go down as a case study in marketing folklore of how a lofty principal wrongly governed product development. Fixing stuff that's not broken often ends badly. Butterfly keyboards, anyone?

Absolutely incredible that this material wasn't properly tested.

Apple need to get a grip. Their software's declining too. Not just the stupid bugs like the Watch OS weather problem mentioned on this site today, and new phones which won't transfer data, but functionality like removing background images from photos, a translator that actually works and AI that can do slightly complex things when you ask it - Google is ahead here. And Cook knows it.

 

[Ifti]

Stuck with silicon, and even then its because I got it 20% off
Saw the finewoven in store and instantly didnt like it.

 

[muchmore44]

If they really are that bad, Apple may have been better off just canceling their leather cases and not replacing them with garbage. Their other cases are ok (I guess)… but I have always found better and less expensive cases with third parties.

 

[Davelfc]

Someone “Why don’t we rip the fools off by ditching leather and persuading people to part with about the same amount of cash for a much cheaper inferior product?”
Tim “Are some of our customers that stupid?”
Someone ”Polishing cloth”
Tim “Pick the cheapest stuff we can find, wrap it in some ideology and throw it out there”
Someone “That’s what we do with everything?”

I picked up a cheap silicon cover from aliexpress, as always. Why spend a fortune on basically the same case with a logo on? Never had any damage to any of my phones ever! This move from apple will just encourage more people to buy third party much cheaper leather cases, some might even wake up to the accessory rip off.

 

[JapanApple]

Um........they take the garage.......They reprocess this recycled garbage into a new filament spin it into a fiber, and then call it FINE WOVEN. Well, it's still what goes into its GARBAGE. $$$$$ this much so the result is less than people expect. It isn't good.

 

[Oreon]

Quite like mine, wallet is ok as well, very secure as well.

Had since release and not a single mark, also picked up hardly any pocket powder.

 

[JapanApple]

This guy has been featured in the past I believe on MacRumors and he’s independent and not sponsored.

His review of Fine Woven like many of his reviews really shows you if something is worth the price.

Edit: This guy has been around for over ten years and frequently does drop tests in different cases to show real world results.

I don’t always go with his top picks but I do always stay away from the bad products he identifies.

No TY! I rather not watch another YT run amuck. There are more than enough of these guys on YT these days. TY anyways. My opinion.

 

[1278701]

I picked up a cheap silicon cover from aliexpress, as always. Why spend a fortune on basically the same case with a logo on? Never had any damage to any of my phones ever! This move from apple will just encourage more people to buy third party much cheaper leather cases, some might even wake up to the accessory rip off.

I don't find Apples silicon cases particularly durable, compared to some cheaper alternatives. I bought one with my iPhone 13 Pro a while back and the edges starting to fall apart. Bought an 11.99 replacement off Amazon and it's lasted twice as long so far. It's not officially a MagSafe case, but MagSafe accessories seems to work just fine.

 

[MrMiyagi1]

Apple should just take the hit which I am sure it’s a drop in the ocean for them, and recall all these Fine Scratched cases and watch bands and go back to leather, and admit they got it wrong.

 

[Scottsoapbox]

It’s almost like we made things out of leather for years for a reason...

 

[stylinexpat]

When I buy a new item I don’t want used recycled garbage or I would be looking for used products myself

 

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

69 euros? Get the **** outta here ...

 

[mectojic]

People don't want to know actual numbers, they just want to feel good. Apple is one of the absolute worst companies when it comes to anything environmental - largely because of their planned obsolescence strategies and lack of repairability. I don't really care that much about it, but I absolutely care that they pretend the exact opposite is true.

Uh, I don't think this is really true.
Their repairability sucks for people wanting to do their own repairs, but Apple offers in-house repairs for devices up to 7 years old!
As for planned obsolescence, sure there is some involved, but Apple is by far ahead of the curve when it comes to balancing security and compatibility, at least in the smartphone world. Try finding a single Android phone that gets 7 years of OS updates and security support.
We can always demand better, but honestly they are so far ahead of the competition.
Besides, Apple has basically eliminated as much wasteful material as they can; compare recyclable aluminium to the plastic junk the PC world is using, not to mention the power-hungry Intel processors they use and their beefy power supplies.
People criticised the M1 iMac for being pointlessly thin, but it serves a major advantage by 1. reducing volume, and 3. recycling.

Net zero is a myth. It always takes energy to do the things you claim are going to reduce emissions. Those environmental costs and emissions are just hidden in the mining/processing/transport/manufacturing processes for the Solar/wind/EV/tree planting/whatever you're trying to do - particularly around end of life for all of those things.

You cannot consume your way to 'net zero'. The most environmentally friendly solution is always to make what you have last as long as possible.

1. Reduce
2. Reuse
3. Recycle

Yeah, but it's kind of ridiculous to demand a company to stop manufacturing entirely. Unless Apple found a way to make its business 99% services, keeping their hardware identical for years and only doing software enhancements, they cannot be net zero, sure. But even then, software is actually extremely harmful to the environment too, through the electricity usage of data centers.

 

[Davelfc]

I think the fools that used to say “You pay $1000 for a phone and put it into a $10 case” are starting to wake up to the fact that their $50 case actually is basically a $10 case with idiot tax.

 

[Millah]

Please. It's an Apple product -- negative feedback is par for the course. I think most people are upset that it's not leather and/or moan about Apple being "woke." In the end, I like my FW case and that's all that matters.

I'm an Apple "fanboy, apologist" etc. but even I can admit this Finewoven material is a big swing and a miss. Considering how much thought Apple puts into products, I'm honestly shocked this material made it out onto shelves. They should have anticipated this happening. With this material being sold as a replacement to their beloved leather options, they should have known these would be under the microscope. It doesn't even take a microscope level of analysis to notice the immediate flaws with this material.

A case is designed to protect the iPhone, and yet the case material is more fragile and delicate than the phone. It just doesn't meet the bare minimum level of critique.

Putting this material on their wallet and watch bands...what were they thinking? Who in their right mind thought a fake suede without any protective coating would make for a suitable wallet/watchband material? Let alone a protective case.

To me that's akin to making a screen protector out of velvet. Lol.

 

[redAPPLE]

This must be the biggest piece of hot garbage that Apple has yet released. I would be really interested in knowing what the thought process was here.

imo, they do not want to anger the vegetarians and vegans of the world...

 

[Pro_the_legend]

Trash in, trash out. Should be 29 bucks.

Even 29 is a bit much, imo. We’re helping the environment, after all.

 

[circatee]

Wondering if Apple realised that those who purchased leather cases, merely purchased one, and that was it! I know I certainly did, and mine often got used for 2-3 years.

Now, with the likes of FineWoven, they, Apple, have the opportunity to make repeated money from consumers.
So far, my FineWoven is okay. Once it starts to deteriorate, I will look for an alternative...

 

[DCIFRTHS]

I had to swap out a few leather cases for my 14 Pro because the cut outs were not properly aligned. The lightning cable wouldn't even plug in on two of them.

The cut out issue is not exclusive to the FineWoven cases…

 

[sambwker]

Did they not try it before launching it. Seems now and then they don't try certain things, which is strange?

 

[NvidiaIntelPC]

It’s just awful.
Feels super cheap,looks ugly and the material is really poor quality not durable at all.

I always had Apple leather cases,so disappointed that they’re discontinued.

Why didn’t Apple made ALCANTARA case instead of this garbage?
they feel luxurious and look beautiful and are durable.(Samsung used to make them its the soft suede like material used in luxury sports car interiors etc)

 

[Wanted797]

Leather cases were $89 here in Australia.

The new FineWoven are $99.

I have no idea how they think these can be marketed as premium and charge more than the already high price.

Check out the iPhone 15 Bellroy ones if you’re in the market.

 

[Abazigal]

This must be the biggest piece of hot garbage that Apple has yet released. I would be really interested in knowing what the thought process was here.

My guess is sustainability. You can probably create an insane number of finewoven cases for the carbon footprint of a single leather case. Looking at the reviews, I suppose a case can be made that the case should be cheaper and more durable. Just shows how hard it is to be both profitable and environmentally conscious.

 

[jp1261987]

Apple's new FineWoven cases for iPhone 15 models have been heavily criticized since they were released earlier this month, with some customers and media outlets complaining about the fabric exterior being prone to scratches and stains. We recapped some of the negative feedback last week, and complaints have continued to surface.

In a 512 Pixels blog post on Sunday, Relay FM co-founder Stephen Hackett shared a photo of his FineWoven case with a misaligned USB-C port cutout, resulting in the pentalobe screw on the right side of the USB-C port being partially exposed.

"It's one thing for these cases to be a letdown in terms of material, but this is a level of sloppiness that genuinely surprises me from Apple," he wrote. "I know not every example out there is as bad as mine, but the vibes around this case aren't good."

Photo: Stephen Hackett​

On social media, some users claimed that the USB-C cutout only appears to be misaligned because of the angle that the photo was taken at, but other users responded with straight-on photos of the FineWoven case with the same issue. Not all of the cases have this issue, but multiple customers appear to be affected.

In addition, Parker Ortolani and MacRumors editor Hartley Charlton shared photos of FineWoven cases with visible damage on display at Apple Stores. An anonymous, alleged Apple Store employee mentioned likewise in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1705377239850951047

Apple describes FineWoven as a "durable micro-twill" material made from 68% post-consumer recycled polyester, and said the material has a significantly lower carbon footprint than leather. Earlier this month, Apple announced that it would no longer use leather in any new products or accessories, as part of its environmental responsibility efforts.

It's hard to measure exactly how much negative feedback there is for the new FineWoven cases, but the material certainly appears to be proving quite unpopular so far. We've reached out to Apple for comment, and we'll update this story if we hear back.

Article Link: Apple's FineWoven Cases for iPhone 15 Continue to Be Heavily Criticized

Is it just me or are these casss extremely slippery? Coming from older cases I could easily hold and type with one hand and with this I feel like it’s always about to slip away