'Categorically Terrible,' and Other Early Reactions to Apple's New FineWoven Accessories

[Royksöpp]

It's been a while since Apple has had a major flop. At least it's something small like cases and not a full on product disaster. My bet is that they release a faux leather replacement in the spring. If this reaction continues, it's lights out for FineWoven.

 

[goobot]

The cost of apple cases was never worth it regardless of the material, will always buy a 10$ Amazon case that does the same thing

 

[lyngo]

I didn’t watch the keynote and I am pretty uninformed about some of the environmental elements. I’m also not trying to be divisive, but only learn. Can someone tell me how going FineWoven is more friendly on the environment than the use of leather? Is it because of the manufacturing process? Or is it because of the biodegradability of it? Please help me understand more.

 

[AgeOfSpiracles]

In Apple marketing pictures, sure.

In real world pictures, it looks hideous:

I mean, I had a leather case years ago... it was a scratched up mess too.

 

[tomtad]

Apple's new FineWoven iPhone 15 MagSafe cases are already discounted

Many of Apple's own iPhone cases and accessories are on sale just before the iPhone 15 lineup arrives. Some iPhone cases have ditched leather for a new, more sustainable material called FineWoven.

www.engadget.com

I read this a discontinued but surely it can’t be long. Are Apple really going to go a full year selling this crap without some major revision to the material?

 

[tomtad]

I mean, I had a leather case years ago... it was a scratched up mess too.

This image was on the first day

 

[jarman92]

Right, are you sure? I happen to know that certain Titanium alloys are softer than certain stainless steel alloys. As a result, some Titanium alloys are much easier to machine, surface, etc. So there could be manufacturing cost savings among other savings depending on the manufacturing specifics.

So do you have some specific manufacturing knowledge to back up this statement?

Titanium is ~30x more expensive than stainless steel ("[P]rices depend on the specific type and titanium grade but can be as high as $35–$50 per kilogram. Stainless steel can cost $1–$1.50 for the same amount." Source.) There's absolutely no way that any manufacturing savings could make up for that disparity.

But wait, there's more! "Titanium has a machining cost factor 30x greater compared to most steel alloys." (Source.)

So you're doubly wrong.

 

[srbNYC]

It's "patina."

 

[callen_v1]

I didn’t watch the keynote and I am pretty uninformed about some of the environmental elements. I’m also not trying to be divisive, but only learn. Can someone tell me how going FineWoven is more friendly on the environment than the use of leather? Is it because of the manufacturing process? Or is it because of the biodegradability of it? Please help me understand more.

It's not. It's all optics and profit rooted. I have a long post on page 17 talking about all the toxicity of polyester and how recycling can make that worse. Either way, it's just plastic. Apple moved from Leather to plastic. Worse for the environment and more toxic. Takes 200 years to biodegrade. Not only that it's a far inferior product, cheap to produce, yet they maintain the same price point.

 

[Rogifan]

if it’s THAT easy, then there’s truth to the rumors

If what‘s that easy? If I take my car keys and run it across the side of my car it’s going to scratch. Does that mean my car is defective or poorly designed? These cases may be crap. I don’t know, don’t own one and haven’t seen one in person. But I don’t think we can make that determination based on a Verge reviewer who was intentionally scratching the back with their finger nails and obviously needed something to get page views on the website. And sure enough it worked as the article had nearly 300 comments last time I checked.

 

[cjgrif]

This image was on the first day

**intentionally scratches up thing** "Look at how scratched up this is! It's junk!"

 

[Mudodonbond]

Finewoven is fine. I used a wet cloth and wiped the scratches away.

 

[Rogifan]

View attachment 2272679

Def not worth what they are charging and they indeed scratch easily. Going back.

Are those your cases? What did you use the phone case for since the phones aren’t available yet? Or are you saying it had marks like that out of the box?

 

[Chopper9]

Cheap, overpriced garbage with an Apple logo on it.

Is anyone really surprised?

 

[MacOH21]

I am confused how a naturally made product, like leather, is worse than a synthetically man made product.

If anything, we should be moving back to highly recycle metals, wood, and animal products. There was a reason stuff was built better “back in the day”. Not as technically advanced, but built to last.

 

[Zachari]

Bring back the Leather, Apple. This product is garbage.

 

[Zachari]

What’s wrong with leather anyway?! It’s a byproduct of the tonnes of beef we all eat. I’d rather leather continue to be made than it go to waste… we’re still eating beef and the cattle are dying in any case. Bring back leather!

They're virtue signaling — to increase their bottom line. It was never about the environment.

 

[AlexJaye]

Apple is really turning into a very terrible company.

 

[dampfnudel]

Apple made a bad decision releasing this and will probably discontinue it next year.

 

[Churchman]

You workshopping new material? Keep working!

Yeah. I felt I pulled something with that one.

But it was fun. Got to laugh at some of this stuff!

 

[developer13245]

By all accounts? Can you find any accounts? I'm just pulling the first few accounts I can find that look like they'd come from pro-vegan sources:

What Is Vegan Leather? Is It Really Better for the Environment?

Vegan leather is a popular substitute for animal-based leather. It can be made from synthetic, plastic-based materials or plant matter such as cork.

www.treehugger.com

"Vegan leather does not last as long as real leather; it has only one-third of the life expectancy, so keep that in mind when choosing a product to buy."​

What is vegan leather? All you need to know in 2024 - The Vegan Review

Vegan leather has gone a long way in the last few decades, such that well-made vegan-leather products are often mistaken for the real thing.

theveganreview.com

"Vegan leather is far less durable than real leather."​

​

Leaving aside the novelty of pineapple clothes, most "vegan leather" is really PVC wrap which seems like a poor choice over a discarded animal hide.

Wow, vegan leather can be made from cork. I'm really surprised Apple didn't just do that, Tim cook likes cork.

 

[Fat_Guy]

I wonder if this move away from leather is being done to appeal to the India market.

Most won’t know about the cow being sacred in India. Oh, yes, India also has over a billion citizens - nice future iPhone market. Nope, all about the vegan…

 

[tillsbury]

How many people posting here have actually got one of these in their hands? I have the blue case and the blue magnetic wallet and they're pretty nice.

 

[Fat_Guy]

How many people posting here have actually got one of these in their hands? I have the blue case and the blue magnetic wallet and they're pretty nice.

One plus is that wallet won’t fall off! You scored on the one “killer” feature!

 

[developer13245]

It's also funny Apple recruited Angela Ahrendts to be the SVP of Apple retail. Apple hired Ahrendts away from a company that sells $4000 calf leather handbags.
This is classic Apple. They needed Ahrendts' luxury leather goods industry "Street Cred" to sell overpriced leather watch bands and portray Apple as a luxury watch brand.
I remember Apple's marketing photo showing Ahrendts sitting in a boutique setting (probably her office) inspecting Apple's new leather watch bands. She was wearing clothing and fashion accessories that cost well over six figures.
Now that Apple has an established luxury market position they eschew the very things that got them there.
Does anyone think Ahrendts would have taken the job if Apple told her she couldn't develop leather watch bands?