I give up too. I just got Bullstrap and the newest Andar and still no replacement to the Apple leather cases. Just will go naked and use Apple’s fine woven case when needed. Just is too bad no Apple leather case. Nothing comes close, at least to me.
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Leather alternatives to FineWoven cases
- Thread starter uuee6543
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I feel the same way. I've been through 4 different cases (Mujjo, Decoded, Lonli, Ryan London), none of which strike the right balance. Decoded was closest but couldn't find the tan leather in stock on Amazon (didn't want to deal with international shipping/returns), Ryan London has great leather quality but is significantly bulkier than the Apple Leather case. Most likely settling on the Finewoven
Its by far the thinnest and lightest case of all the ones I tried. The fine woven weighs like 0.5 grams less.
So far I’ve tried….
Alto - thinnest/lightest with great buttons but leather didn’t feel great and the speaker cutouts were terrible
Andar aspen - great leather but too thick/heavy. Didn’t have action button when I got mine
Keyway - by far my favorite leather case I’ve tried for the 15pro. Slightly thicker than apples and about 6 grams heavier than the 13pro Apple leather case that I have but leather is better and it’s starting to develop a great patina. Don’t love the X on the back
Lonli classic - trash!
Ymw “Nappa” - great buttons but not really leather and smells like chemicals
Dbrand leather skin - didn’t love the feel of the leather at first but it’s getting better after a couple weeks. I love that it’s like being caseless but the leather gives the phone a little more grip. The negative is my MagSafe wallet falls off easier
Bare skin haven’t received it yet
The Keyway is not the perfect leather case but I think it’s a huge step up over the fine woven. I think finding a leather case that looks and feels exactly like apples is just not going to happen. The bare skin case will probably be the last one I try. I may just keep the dbrand skin on and go caseless.
How do you know the YMW Nappa is not real leather? I think it is, probably just has a thick coating on it so it doesn't change colors.
Alrighty, so I finally got me a Bullstrap case. As I mentioned earlier, I've had a Mujjo case for my iPhone 15 Pro since day 1 and have been disappointed principally with the MagSafe strength, but also felt that the leather felt a little... no a lot. A lot stiff. This was in stark contrast to the Mujjo case on my Xr, which had a great feel to it. I've also come to dislike the metal ring around the camera. Looked great at first. Now it has a bunch of dings in it that you just can't unsee.
This Bullstrap feels much nicer... like actual leather (which it is, of course), and I have no doubt it will feel better over time. But the MagSafe strength is the real deal here... it is MUCH stronger than the Mujjo. I mean it's not even a contest. I have a Forté weighted stand for my iPhone at bedside using the Apple MagSafe puck and the Mujjo just barely hangs on to it. If you so much as look at it the wrong way, it may slip off. I just tried my iPhone on it with the Bullstrap case. I was actually able to lift the stand off the nightstand by the iPhone in the case.
This Bullstrap feels much nicer... like actual leather (which it is, of course), and I have no doubt it will feel better over time. But the MagSafe strength is the real deal here... it is MUCH stronger than the Mujjo. I mean it's not even a contest. I have a Forté weighted stand for my iPhone at bedside using the Apple MagSafe puck and the Mujjo just barely hangs on to it. If you so much as look at it the wrong way, it may slip off. I just tried my iPhone on it with the Bullstrap case. I was actually able to lift the stand off the nightstand by the iPhone in the case.
It could possibly be real leather but the chemical smell overpowers any leather smell. It also doesn’t have real leather grain structure so possibly sanded down and perforated for consistency. If you’re looking for an apple leather replacement this is not it in my opinion. It doesn’t feel nearly as good the apple leather, Andar or Keyway cases.
Nappa leather feels different, softer and smoother, because it's chromed tanned rather than vegetable tanned. I think YMW uses Nappa leather that may also have been sanded down or finished in some way to remove any visible grain.
I have a Nappa leather wrist rest from Turbulent Labs and it is quite different from the leather YMW uses. It's significantly nicer but it also cost almost three times as much. YMW is likely using a much thinner lower tier of leather which contributes to how they're able to sell it so cheaply. Both leathers smell very similar i.e. like leather.
Even if it is fake leather I'm not particularly concerned because of how nice it feels to hold. I like it far far better than the Keyway case. I'm happy it doesn't feel like the Apple case I had for my 12 mini. I replaced that with Decoded and BlackBrook cases because of how cheap and unleather-like it felt.
I have a Nappa leather wrist rest from Turbulent Labs and it is quite different from the leather YMW uses. It's significantly nicer but it also cost almost three times as much. YMW is likely using a much thinner lower tier of leather which contributes to how they're able to sell it so cheaply. Both leathers smell very similar i.e. like leather.
Even if it is fake leather I'm not particularly concerned because of how nice it feels to hold. I like it far far better than the Keyway case. I'm happy it doesn't feel like the Apple case I had for my 12 mini. I replaced that with Decoded and BlackBrook cases because of how cheap and unleather-like it felt.
I would not recommend Bullstrap. I am trying to return the one I bought and so far it has taken 3 days and still no RA. I had to actually take a picture of the case and send it to them to get approval to return. Never, ever seen one company ask for that on a return before. It should be easy return through their website. Don’t like being negative, but their cases are not cheap and should be easier to return.
I would not buy any of these cases anymore if not on Amazon and not on Amazon Prime with free returns to Amazon. Waste of time and money.
I had Sena a few years ago make me cut the case in half and send a photo before they refunded.
Had a 11 pro max symmetry turn up in a 13 max box from amazon today, they refunded straight away with no proof needed, and no return wanted. And so they should lol
It does. But the buttons are my one beef with my Bullstrap case. They are small and “barely” protrude, which makes them hard to use. The lock button on the side is the worst. When I need to double click it for Apple Pay, as an example, it often fails to register as such and I get a long press instead. It’s rather frustrating. I very much like the case otherwise.
I just received my Andar Aspen case the other day and I love it. the quality is far better than Apple’s previous leather case and it just feels premium. Highly recommend it as an alternative to Fine Woven.
Received a Keyway Full Leather Case whiskey a few weeks ago here in Germany. I think it's really the best alternative to the original Apple leather case we used to have the last years!
Anyways, I don't like the whiskey color, so I'm selling it. PM me if interested.
Anyways, I don't like the whiskey color, so I'm selling it. PM me if interested.
First time posting in this thread.
I'm looking at leather cases, first time in years as always had other materials.
So far I'm considering:
Are there any other decent ones I should look at?
Ideally I want a blue/navy one, and my 2 biggest 'annoyances' which I want to avoid are sharp bottom cutouts (they hurt my pinky) and cases where the top right corner slips off easily (this seems to happen to me all the time after having the phone in my pocket whilst getting in/out my car which I do a lot!).
I'm looking at leather cases, first time in years as always had other materials.
So far I'm considering:
- Andar (received this today and liking it so far).
- Bare Skin Case.
- Bellroy (don't like the TPU sides).
- Benks (read a few reviews that say this is not great).
- Bullstrap (not sure I like the look of the camera surround being leather).
- Decoded (thinking of ordering this).
- Flolab (no blue option).
- Lonli (read a few reviews that say this is not great).
- Mujjo (read a few reviews that say this is not great).
- Moft (actually tried this and cutouts were too sharp for me).
- Nomad (don't like the TPU sides, no blue).
- Ryan London (not sure I like the look of the camera surround being leather).
Are there any other decent ones I should look at?
Ideally I want a blue/navy one, and my 2 biggest 'annoyances' which I want to avoid are sharp bottom cutouts (they hurt my pinky) and cases where the top right corner slips off easily (this seems to happen to me all the time after having the phone in my pocket whilst getting in/out my car which I do a lot!).
Andar - Great choice.
Bare - Shipping is often slow.
Benks- Think this is vegan leather.
Bullstrap - Great choice if you want open bottom.
Decoded - Good cases if bought using a discount voucher.
Mujjo - Good fit, but not the best leather quality as it’s painted.
Moft- Vegan leather.
Nomad - good choice but the TPU isn’t for everyone.
Ryan London - Order their closed bottom version if you go for this one.
I’ve tried alto, andar, bullstrap, bare, lonli edition, Keyway and ymw nappa. Of those, the 2 I use are the Keyway and the bare. Both have a good leather feel and nice clicky buttons. I can feel the usb cutout a little more on the bare than the Keyway but neither is uncomfortable like the lip on the bullstrap. Bare is pretty slow on their shipping, Keyway was less than a week.