iFixit Gets Closer Look at Apple's Maligned FineWoven iPhone 15 Case With Teardown

[Greenmeenie]

Leather is a waste product of the meat industry. People are still going to want the meat, so all that's going to happen by phasing out leather is that the leather will go to rot - releasing carbon into the atmosphere.

They've also replaced the leather products with 100% plastic products that scratch easily so people will dispose of them sooner than a leather case, and they cannot be recycled in normal household waste - so they're all going to landfill.

Apple isn't walking their talk. They're completely full of BS and this is pure green-washing. This is worse for the environment.

Nice try. But wrong.

 

[EDS66]

That case is pretty awful feeling though. Feels like cardboard

I picked up my iPhone today and felt it. At first glance the case feels fine, but the fibers snag on just about every sharp object. Fingernails leave deep tracks on the surface, anything sharper and harder, e.g., keys, will leave permanent damage. This material is garbage. Nobody benefits from this case. How does it help the environment, when half of these cases will be returned and trashed by apple? This will be studied as a case of ideology trumping common sense.

 

[EDS66]

So people are going into Apple Stores and intentionally scratching the back of these cases?

The cat's out of the bag. Several influencers have done it on Youtube. These cases will be discontinued within a couple of months.

 

[MacTiki]

I think the apple community has gone collectively insane.

It was all part of Steve’s plan, remember he wanted everyone he “Think Different.”

Come to think of it insanity would explain why some would drop $1600.00 on a phone + the cost of AppleCare.

 

[EDS66]

Do you have evidence that it's low quality (other than random people's comments) and has low durability? iFixit's report suggests it has good initial quality, just prone to scuffing. It's just being released now so how can you say how long it will last? Just because it might get scuffed up doesn't mean it somehow stops functioning as a case.

It might be overpriced and not to your taste but durability and quality are separate issues.

This doesn't mean I'll buy one of these cases. I'm not interested at the price and I'm not getting an iPhone 15 so I really don't care, I simply am not a fan of people jumping to conclusions based on such limited data.

Somebody on YouTube actually scratched one of the cases with a key (granted with a considerable amount of force) and the fibers were actually lifted off the surface. The action did not merely leave a mark on the case but actually caused visible, permanent, and structural damage.

 

[random person]

Somebody on YouTube actually scratched one of the cases with a key (granted with a considerable amount of force) and the fibers were actually lifted off the surface. The action did not merely leave a mark on the case but actually caused visible, permanent, and structural damage.

I think that would damage a leather case as well. Still not sure why the hoopla. No reason to go in store and scratch them up. Just don’t buy it! Vote with your (probably leather) wallet!

 

[EDS66]

This is getting truly weird. The leather cases scratched too. All cases scratch if you set out to do it. It boggles the mind that people are going in store and deliberately scratching the cases. Why? They are cases, that’s it. As for quality well you can pay at least three times the price for vaja and find out it a few months that the premium Argentinian leather is microns thick and once it is scraped or dropped you can see the plastic underneath. But no one complains and they certainly don’t set out to deliberately expose the hard plastic shell. I think the apple community has gone collectively insane.

Yes, leather cases scratched. But leather scratches are essentially self-healing. They get filled in with hand oils. Over time this creates a pleasing patina. That's the beauty of leather. As it ages, it looks better. This new material is absolute trash.

 

[MacTiki]

I'm going to use the water repellant as suggested in the article.

You might want to reconsider. The majority of those water proofing sprays contain a myriad of carcinogens and other forever toxins.

 

[EDS66]

this level of scrutiny is silly...

What's silly is charging 60 bucks for absolute fecal matter and doing it in the name of preserving the environment.

 

[EDS66]

I think that would damage a leather case as well. Still not sure why the hoopla. No reason to go in store and scratch them up. Just don’t buy it! Vote with your (probably leather) wallet!

I agree. But I think customers are not even trying to scratch them. They are just running their fingernails over the surface without applying much force. It's ridiculous how susceptible to scratching this material is. But you are right, I think people will vote with their wallets and these SKUs will be gone in short order.

 

[Macalway]

I'm wondering why the discontinued the excellent leather cases, and substituted them with this.

I'd like an explanation.

 

[EDS66]

It was all part of Steve’s plan, remember he wanted everyone he “Think Different.”

Come to think of it insanity would explain why some would drop $1600.00 on a phone + the cost of AppleCare.

Consider me insane )

 

[Macalway]

I'm thinking this case is properly maligned.

 

[EDS66]

Funny. My phone is water repellant, incased in a sponge.

Ah...but is it a real sponge (sea creature) or synthetic sponge? )

 

[Someyoungguy]

I'm sorry but I think you are missing two big points here...

1) leather cases absolutely scratch but unless they really get CUT the minor scratches that look bad initially can be buffed out with finger rubbing in a few seconds or just by waiting for natural use for a few days. The scratches just disappear, at least all but the truly worst (like dropping leather to concrete and cutting the leather etc.) What these initial tests show is a scratch that LOOKS like a leather case scratches but then never buffs out. That is very different.

2) leather can be stained with natural hand oils, food etc. but in general you can usually get out the mark if you clean the leather right away and the natural build up these marks creates the natural patina that leather is known, and loved for. this is cloth and it stains very differently... and apparently because of the fabrics tight nature it doesn't clean particularly well either so a momentary mistep with some ketchup on a table or something will result in something unsightly... forever.

look, I am giving it a try but these reports make me feel like these won't be my forever cases this generation. here is my wife's and my new iPhones today in fine woven, the purple is fairly accurate in this photo but the brown in real life is darker and more rich in color... photo was taken by my old iPhone 14 Pro. View attachment 2276928

Oh, I finally get it - they’re going for suede. I didn’t realize it until I saw your picture. Suede is a terrible choice for a phone case (I once had a suede jacket that was awesome until it rained).

 

[CordovaLark]

Um… because Apple constantly brags about how green they are. But selling leather products goes against all that. Factory farming is one of the biggest contributors to man made climate change. So yeah, I‘m happy that Apple is finally walking their talk. 😉 👍🏼

Well adding a cheap and easily destroyed plastic protective cases does not help. Not to mention selling charging cords etc, and cases separate does not help either.

 

[o9p0]

Oh no... the thing designed to prevent your device from taking on and showing the lasting effects of scratching and undue pressure, itself takes and shows scratches and pressure. I think I need a case for my case. And then a case for my case case. And a case for my head. And a case for my head case (e.g. mental institution).

 

[madrigal77]

Um… because Apple constantly brags about how green they are. But selling leather products goes against all that. Factory farming is one of the biggest contributors to man made climate change. So yeah, I‘m happy that Apple is finally walking their talk. 😉 👍🏼

Who cares?!?! If a few leather cases are going to tip the scales so much that it will end the world, we have no hope anyway. I feel like buying 2 3rd party leather cases this year just out of spite.

 

[xantufrog]

Who cares?!?! If a few leather cases are going to tip the scales so much that it will end the world, we have no hope anyway. I feel like buying 2 3rd party leather cases this year just out of spite.

Lol, what? You spend money on things you don’t need to “spite” megacorporations?

 

[wikiverse]

Nice try. But wrong.

Which part do you think is wrong?

These cases are objectively worse for the environment than leather.

 

[Someirishguy]

I’m using the blue FineWoven case right now with my Natural Titanium iPhone 15 Pro. I like it, I think it looks and feels good, and it does have a premium air about it. I prefer it to the silicon and leather cases out of the box. Not sure how it’s going to age mind you… but I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt and enjoy it until it goes manky (if it goes manky - maybe it cleans up ok). My wife feels similarly about the mulberry FineWoven case for her white titanium 15 pro

 

[sviato]

Um… because Apple constantly brags about how green they are. But selling leather products goes against all that. Factory farming is one of the biggest contributors to man made climate change. So yeah, I‘m happy that Apple is finally walking their talk. 😉 👍🏼

What about the emissions from mining and processing all product materials?

 

[MarkIII]

So cheap. Yet they charge leather prices. Weird.

The ironic part is they did this to be “environmental conscious”. However these will be thrown out much more often than the leather cases bc they are not durable. And once in the landfill they do not break down naturally over time bc they are made of plastic crap and not natural materials! This is pure corporate greed and greenwashing at its worst!!!

 

[xantufrog]

Which part do you think is wrong?

These cases are objectively worse for the environment than leather.

You should prove that with statistics. I’ve seen you post a few times now about how green leather is and how them not using leather means it goes to waste. I think you should back that up. What’s the carbon footprint of one of these vs the leather case? What about the notoriously terrible chemical waste of the leather industry vs the chemicals here in these plastics? How’s it stack up? I think you‘ll find Apple‘s leather cases and these are both gross from an environmental perspective. But my money is the leather is worse, given how abysmal the stats on large scale farming are surrounding the meat and leather industry

 

[Siliconguy]

This is one of the worst products Apple made in recent times. Overpriced, low quality, low durability, bad looking, cheap looking

Yep. And all plastic. Non-biodegradable, multilayered and therefore non-recyclable plastic. Apple really screwed this one up.

Is this the result of too many 'shrooms or the long term effects of a Vegan diet?