Apple replaces FineWoven junk with TechWoven iPhone cases
FineWoven cases were a micro-twill, suede-like textile material developed by Apple and used in a range of products, including iPhone cases and MagSafe wallets starting in 2023 to replace leather, ostensibly for “environmental reasons.” The material was made from a blend of recycled polyester fibers and a Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) frame, but it received significant user criticism for its tendency to pick up dirt, fray, and develop scratches, leading to its discontinuation by the company last year.
FineWoven cases were a micro-twill, suede-like textile material developed by Apple and used in a range of products, including iPhone cases and MagSafe wallets starting in 2023 to replace leather, ostensibly for “environmental reasons.” The material was made from a blend of recycled polyester fibers and a Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) frame, but it received significant user criticism for its tendency to pick up dirt, fray, and develop scratches, leading to its discontinuation by the company last year. Now, Apple has debuted TechWoven cases as a replacement.
The minute I decided Apple’s much-hated FineWoven iPhone case was a lamentable piece of crap was the minute that I popped one onto my brand-new iPhone 15 Pro back in 2023.
Apple had discontinued its leather iPhone cases and shoved the textile FineWoven case at us across the metaphorical table like a drunk shoving change across the bar for a lousy tip. “Here, take this. It’s good enough for ya.”
Only it wasn’t good. The FineWoven cases had all the durability of cardboard shoes. Birds sang, and heavenly rays shone down on the day Apple discontinued them. Now with the introduction of another iPhone, the iPhone 17, Apple is releasing another new case, the TechWoven case, and at least this time, it promises it’ll hold up to normal use.
Apple says TechWoven’s fabric is made of “multiple colored yarns (that) are woven together on a Jacquard loom, creating a dimensional texture with a rich depth of color.” Whew. That sounds more like the product tags on an expensive jacket in Nordstrom than a phone case.
TechWoven is available in blue, purple, sienna, black, and green. Since it’s only been out for a few weeks, we’ve yet to be able to tell if the TechWoven will hold up to normal wear and tear, much less to abuse, than the FineWoven cases, although I’ll be watching and waiting for a follow-up in a few months.
Steve Jobs famously said in 2007 of Apple, “There’s some stuff in our industry that we wouldn’t be proud to ship. That we wouldn’t be proud to recommend to our family and friends. And we can’t do it. We just can’t ship junk.” Tim Cook was sitting there next to Jobs, but obviously didn’t hear him.
Cut to today’s virtue-signaling Apple, where it seems very likely that Tim Cook’s ear got bent by some global warming charlatan…
Al Gore
…who told him how bad-bad–BAD! he was for shipping leather cases that last for YEARS and should instead replace them with junky cases that last for months. Customers rapidly replacing Apple’s junk, of course, causes much more environmental damage than leather, a byproduct of the cattle farming industry that is simply wasted when big companies like Apple are lead by the easily duped who immediately bend a knee to the perpetually aggrieved / con men, instead of simply running the business properly.
Or maybe this was a masterstroke by Tim Cook’s Apple to sell a new iPhone case to users every 5 months? But, there’s a flaw in that logic as most customers are of the fool-me-once persuasion, would never buy another piece of overpriced junk from Apple, and would instead purchase a real long-lasting leather case from a smart third-party case maker.
Apple’s “FineWoven” cases are woven alright, but they’re certainly not fine.
Photo illustration: Rachel Mendelson, Joanna Stern / The Wall Street Journal
Apple’s FineWoven junk does not reduce impact on the planet, it increases impact on the planet. As usual, we correctly predicted that eschewing leather for cheap crap was a bad idea from day one.
There is no leather farming industry. (Cattle hides typically represent less than 2% of the total value of a U.S. beef animal.) Beef farming will continue regardless of demand for leather. In the U.S. alone, there are some 33 million cattle hides left over from cattle farming every year. Left over cattle hides not recycled for leather instead go to landfill or are otherwise destroyed as waste. Ending the use of leather use would significantly increase landfill and greenhouse gas emissions. The burning or disposal in U.S. landfills of 33 million unused hides would generate more than 750,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions every year – and fill all current U.S. landfill sites within four years. Globally, some 300 million hides would be wasted with 6.6 million tons of surplus emissions every year.
If we used iPhone cases (we don’t), they would be leather. We’d simply switch from Apple to a quality third-party case make who still offers real leather.
If you’re going to hide your new iPhone in a case in order to try to get $20-$40 extra by minimizing scratches for trade-in or resale, get a real leather case from a third-party maker.
A lesson Apple seems to have missed in this, er, case: If it ain’t broke, don’t “fix” it… [S]omeone should ask CEO Tim Cook how much this “FineWoven” virtue-signaling debacle cost the company in iPhone accessory sales vs. previous years when the company sold real leather cases. — MacDailyNews, September 25, 2023
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