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

[Haiku_Oezu]

So it’s just as good as their leather cases then

I dropped mine exactly once and it got absolutely SHREDDED
It’s silicone all the way for me

 

[t0rqx]

What did you expect? Apple openly admits they take back your old returned materials like watchbands, put them in the shredder and resells it back to you. Recycled material is never that strong as its original form. Apple is basically reselling you your old S. Genius move. iSheep waking up now?

 

[cwwilson]

There's no doubt the "FineWoven" case was an idea from Tim Cook or another highly placed executive at Apple and when the heads roll over how bad these products are, it won't be the bosses that take the fall, it'll be the hard working people beneath them that pay the price.

At least their silicone cases are still nice, albeit overpriced.

 

[DJTaurus]

Does Apple sell their zero carbon footprint case in the same price as their old leather ones ? I hope so….. we must all embrace environment first when going forward. Now shut up and pay your taxes!

 

[longofest]

This is the Tim Cook Apple that we know... Find some way to claim a change is under the Apple ethos, but really it is all about saving or making a $. In this case, they took a more expensive case to make and changed it out with a cheap case, and said "we're being more environmentally friendly."

 

[Madonepro]

FineWoven Gate? Don't think they can state, that a software update will resolve any issues.

 

[t0rqx]

Did they not test these for durability or worse, how did they still go ahead with it 😵‍💫

It is by design. If people paid attention during the keynote. They basically recycle their old junk and resell them to you. Recycled material is always weaker then its original form. Some materials wont show that easy, in this case it does.

Apple is clearly moving away from quality and is looking to stand on or beyond the borders of low quality high profit. They basically doing the same S what got Scott Forstall fired. "Just release S, people will buy it anyways cause its Apple."

 

[crsh1976]

Did they not test these for durability or worse, how did they still go ahead with it 😵‍💫

Accessories are all marketing and brand, even the leather cases were subpar quality for the price. These official accessories will sell anyway, they don't care about durability.

The whole point of phasing out leather and showcasing FineWoven is to tie into the greenwashing "mother nature" PR clip, that's it.

 

[cgs1xx]

Whatever it is, it couldn’t possibly be as ugly as leather 😵‍💫

 

[Populus]

I was expecting this since the first video online with someone scratching the case by simply using their nails.

I’m not against turning to more sustainable materials, or even new materials at all, but at least ensure a minimum of quality and durability. Especially if you charge 60 bucks for it.

 

[ECHLN]

Has anyone bought the finewoven Apple Watch straps? I’m seeing any videos on them and I’m considering getting the brown version

 

[t0rqx]

Thankfully, there are numerous third-party case makers, and most of their cases cost much less than Apple's. With that said, I'm glad Apple got rid of leather products. It's rare when I commend Tim Cook for anything, but this is one of those rare occasions. Although I eat meat and do wear leather shoes, I don't think it's right for a computer company like Apple to be selling animal products. It's just another sensitive political issue that is best for the company not to deal with. Selling leather is taking a stand on a potentially political issue, and that can isolate people.

You should take a deep dive into material harvesting and assembly of their products.

 

[4odomi]

Did they not test these for durability or worse, how did they still go ahead with it 😵‍💫

Fake optics, seem to be more important to Apple than quality, it's something that's becoming more evident!
The fact is, this material is cheaper, therefore more profit, nothing to do with saving the planet 😡
Animals still reared & slaughtered for food, therefore if everybody goes the same route, the leather from these animals will just get thrown away, therefore the price of food will go up even further.
I will certainly not be buying this rubbish!

 

[BuffaloTF]

I quite like mine. It hasn’t seen a phone in there or any real usage other than me taking it out and feeling the texture. But coupled with the matching wallet, the magnets plus fabric friction really have that thing attached. We’ll see how it wears. The description of it being “like suede” should’ve been a signal flare to anyone shocked by it - suede is delicate. The phone is not delicate, this is merely a cosmetic choice for you to make.

 

[StuBeck]

So it’s just as good as their leather cases then

I dropped mine exactly once and it got absolutely SHREDDED
It’s silicone all the way for me

Which version was it? My iPhone 11 leather case was pretty terrible, but my 13 has been pretty good. There are specks where the extremely thin leather has worn away, but overall its still in decent shape after a little over a year.

Responding to the overall theme, its easy to put this into two camps, one where we gleefully kill a cow for their skin, and the other where we are ensuring we use all of an animal after it has died. Apple isn't doing themselves any favors with their comments about saving the environment while not going all in either. I should have an option to get an Apple watch without a band if they really cared about the environment. They don't. If they cared about the environment, they'd also talk about all the features we are getting with the new OS on older phones, and give more options for trade ins on phones. My 13 Pro Max shouldn't be worthless to them if there is a scratch on the screen, but that's what Apples trade in page says.

Whats occurred here is an attempt to explain away a financial decision while not decreasing prices, and they've been caught using an inferior product. If they decreased the cost on a product which probably cost them tens of cents before, and now costs cents, people wouldn't be as annoyed.

 

[jimbobb24]

This is what happens when corporations chase vague moral missions instead of trying to make great products. I can finally say...with 100% confidence Steve Jobs never would have allowed this. He would not let Apples name be put on something he knew was trash just because it made him feel like he was "saving the environment". Cooks moral vision exceeds his product vision and as more corporations succumb to this way of thinking US quality will decline. Thankfully many Asian companies just want to make great products at a reasonable price.

 

[4odomi]

Thankfully, there are numerous third-party case makers, and most of their cases cost much less than Apple's. With that said, I'm glad Apple got rid of leather products. It's rare when I commend Tim Cook for anything, but this is one of those rare occasions. Although I eat meat and do wear leather shoes, I don't think it's right for a computer company like Apple to be selling animal products. It's just another sensitive political issue that is best for the company not to deal with. Selling leather is taking a stand on a potentially political issue, and that can isolate people.

Short sighted and ill informed 😒

 

[George Bailey]

Why would people want to buy a case with an Apple logo on it anyway? One of the main reasons for a case besides protecting the phone is hiding the logo. If Apple wants to use MY phone as an advertising space, it should pay for it.

Do you hide the branding from other things? Appliances, cars, etc.?

 

[Rychiar]

I still can’t believe anyone would buy apple cases. theyre soooo overpriced and always Look cheap to me. Buy a spigen for $10 it will last ya the life of your phone and look better doing it…

 

[LedRush]

Thankfully, there are numerous third-party case makers, and most of their cases cost much less than Apple's. With that said, I'm glad Apple got rid of leather products. It's rare when I commend Tim Cook for anything, but this is one of those rare occasions. Although I eat meat and do wear leather shoes, I don't think it's right for a computer company like Apple to be selling animal products. It's just another sensitive political issue that is best for the company not to deal with. Selling leather is taking a stand on a potentially political issue, and that can isolate people.

Leather products were already being sold. Doing nothing would have been not taking a position on a sensitive political issue. Changing is taking a position.

 

[jimbobb24]

Like very slave, they cannot choose what to do, live, we make them born, torture them, kill them. Simple.

I think it's pretty insensitive to compare my ancestors who were slaves and felt the cognitive weight of their restrictions and suffering to animals with no sense of being.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

I still can’t believe anyone would buy apple cases. theyre soooo overpriced and always Look cheap to me. Buy a spigen for $10 it will last ya the life of your phone and look better doing it…

I have a silicone case and I can assure you before the FineWoven showed up the Apple cases were not cheap. Despite their appearances they were quite durable. In the two years I've had my 13 Pro I've accidently dropped it onto hard tile five times, and the silicone case took it all while the phone itself didn't get a single scratch. Hell one tech reviewer on Youtube did a drop test of the case from 50 feet, and the silicone case still kept the iPhone from having a single scratch.

The FineWoven cases though, ain't it. They do not have anywhere close to the same level of quality the leather and silicone cases had.

 

[jimbobb24]

Eco-warriors ruin customer experience yet again.

They make great movie and story villains because they have all the right attributes...they have a moral vision and as part of it your life must be made worse or destroyed and they pursue ruining others lives with fanaticism because they believe they are doing something virtuous.

 

[IIGS User]

Well, I never bought Apple cases for my phones, I always thought they were overpriced and of inferior quality for what the offered.

I usually go with Raptic Shield or Encased. The Raptic Shield cases were a bit hard to find pre order this year for the 15 PM. So, I got an Encased with a belt clip off Amazon (I use the belt clip at work a lot, and it's kinda a necessity) and then found the Raptic on their web site.

Both together were less money than an Apple case.

I got an Otter Box last year and I was disappointed with the quality of the belt clip. I had 2 of the outer cases with the belt clip break on the first drop and had to pay for shipping to get it replaced. I won't buy those again.

As far as leather the market will dictate what sells and what doesn't. Apple can stop making all the leather cases they want and someone will make them and buy them.

I'm not militant about the issue either way. I have friends who are vegan, and I most certainly am not. I belong to the "VIP" club of a casual dining steak house chain because well, I like steak. A lot. I enjoy it. I like chicken and ribs as well. I don't have a problem with this. Some people do. That's great if it works for them.

This case kinda looks like it's crap. I never bought Apple cases because I thought the silicone cases were crap, so I went in another direction.

Maybe it comes with a cloth, IDK.

 

[Steve121178]

I still can’t believe anyone would buy apple cases. theyre soooo overpriced and always Look cheap to me. Buy a spigen for $10 it will last ya the life of your phone and look better doing it…

Apple's leather cases were exceptional and well worth the money. I have some years old and still look as good as new, plus leather ages really well.

Of course people who mistreat their devices and put leather objects in their pockets with things like car keys will moan that their case looks like something the dog chewed up, but that's their own fault.