Apple Could Still Pull the Plug on Its Much-Maligned FineWoven Cases

[bice]

I think Apple has evolved quite a bit here.

Apple is the innovator when it comes to simplifying stuff. Like, the explanation of what cuses an issue. It used to be "You are holding it wrong!" and now it has been simplified to "You are holding it!"

I look forward to next iteration!

 

[turbineseaplane]

Socks! I had something similar for my iPod back then with jeans fabric.

Look at all those fun colors….I love it!

 

[macjaffa]

While I much prefer real leather, I think Apple should have opted to use vegan leather in their products over fine woven.

I have to imagine there were many internal folks who said the case isn’t durable and looks awful after a few weeks of real-world testing

> vegan leather

No such thing exists

 

[victorvictoria]

The question should not be "why is Apple pulling the plug on FineWoven?" It answers itself, with another question:
Why would anyone pay $59 plus tax for a fake leather iPhone case when he/she could get a real leather one for less?

 

[turbineseaplane]

The problem many have is that using leather in this case isn't the real problem for the environment. Getting a new phone every year or two is going to be much worse for the environment

^ this

Of course, Apple would never wanna encourage us to not buy new phones every year

 

[chineseguy38]

It's a disgrace for Tim Apple to charge so much for this crap product.

 

[Hopefully Smarter]

I thought it was gone already.

Apple foregoing leather in its products does not make it more environmentally friendly.

 

[AppleWarMachine]

Not a fan of fine woven, would love leather to return. Apple can make it vegan leather if it makes them feel better.

 

[Snake111]

Bring back leather. It's far better.

 

[Stecki]

Pull the plug on the fine-woven crap. Seriously. Leather was great and I miss it every day.

By the way: The most eco friendly approach would be not to change form factor/dimensions on every new phone generation—thus enabling further use of cases.

 

[bookcase]

One year later, I still love my FineWoven case. The only fault is how overpriced it was. But to each their own.

 

[fenderbass146]

Bring back leather...don't give me the climate bs. Leather is a byproduct of the beef industry.

 

[MistrSynistr]

Finewoven is plastic. 'Vegan leather' is plastic. There is no improvement going from one to another. Plastic degrades, and is just as disposable and non-recyclable when glued to other plastics, regardless of how 'vegan' it is. Calling plastic 'vegan leather' is the attempt to re-brand disposable, non-recyclable, degradable plastic I've encountered.

Just use leather. The animals are getting killed for their meat anyway, might as use all of their parts. It's much more environmentally friendly. Apple absolutely has the resources to dictate what tanning chemicals and procedures occur, and how any potential waste is managed.

I love how no one understands this.

 

[spazzcat]

> vegan leather

No such thing exists

Not sure if you are trying to be funny or not, and I have never used so I can't speak to how it holds up to the real thing but https://www.carlfriedrik.com/magazine/what-is-vegan-leather-made-out-of

 

[Jim Lahey]

Apple ruined their latter leather cases anyway. Inexplicably sprayed in some kind of anti-patina coating from iPhone 12 onwards IIRC. Felt like rubber and didn't age properly. People were using sandpaper to rub the coating off for goodness sake 🤦‍♂️

Bullstrap is 100% FTW. Past, present and future. Go leather or go home.

 

[Colpeas]

And my beautiful leather case on my iPhone SE still looks great after 4 years. Just a little bit of patina. So who's more eco-friendly?

I'm still wondering, wouldn't it be eco-friendly if cases could be reused between multiple generations of the same device? It certainly wouldn't be necessary to resize the camera bump every year. I mean, it's actually best not to buy a new phone every year because each successive generation adds less and less value.

All this eco-marketing pisses me off. Very hypocritical...

I think we all realize that all this eco-friendliness is just a front. It’s always business first. Why would Apple sell you a good leather case that will outlast 3 generations of iphones, when they can easily sell you a finewoven case that is cheaper to produce and will fall apart in the span of 6 months, for the same price?
I’ve made the mistake of buying one when they first came out and after 2 months, the rubberized finish on the edges already started to peel off. When I raised a claim to Apple, they essentially told me to go spit and that it’s ‘just normal wear’.

May Tim Cook shove the entire remaining stock where the sun don’t shine.

 

[Iconoclysm]

FineWoven is up there as one of their worst ever products, but won't be surprised if they roll out a Gen 2

They also made a massive mistake pricing it the same as leather when the product is incomparable. Greed

If costs were the same, prices were probably the same. I've run through the material prices a couple of times and it looks like FineWoven costs even more than leather did.

 

[Iconoclysm]

There is an irony with FineWoven; that although it is partly made from recycled materials, its lifespan is shorter than the leather version and thus the Co2 emissions from the product’s journey increases environmental damage - before it has reached landfill.

In short, it’s a pathetic PR stunt. Animals are slaughtered regardless of how morally correct it is to create leather.

How is FineWoven's lifespan shorter? It's a plastic case, the back of mine still looks the same as it did on day 1.

 

[Iconoclysm]

> vegan leather

No such thing exists

Leather made from pine tree oil. It doesn't contain eggs or dairy.

 

[Iconoclysm]

I love how no one understands this.

There are no safe tanning chemicals...

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

I like my fine woven case and feel good no animals were harmed in the making. Don’t give a hoot about the c02.

So, you're saying that your agenda is more important than another persons? Right.

 

[Martius]

I think we all realize that all this eco-friendliness is just a front. It’s always business first. Why would Apple sell you a good leather case that will outlast 3 generations of iphones, when they can easily sell you a finewoven case that is cheaper to produce and will fall apart in the span of 6 months, for the same price?
I’ve made the mistake of buying one when they first came out and after 2 months, the rubberized finish on the edges already started to peel off. When I raised a claim to Apple, they essentially told me to go spit and that it’s ‘just normal wear’.

May Tim Cook shove the entire remaining stock where the sun don’t shine.

That's what's so disgusting about this eco-hypocrisy. That it's so transparent that it's obvious to everyone what's going on. And the whole moralizing people that you should buy this, you'll help the world. The most eco-friendly product is the one that lasts as long as possible.

 

[Marzzz]

How about making the iPhone itself strong enough to withstand scratches and drops, so that you don’t need a case?

 

[boombashi]

I went with a LEATHER Bull strap case. It's been great. Huge crunchy hippie mistake of Apple to get rid of natural leather cases. Nothing synthetic compares.

 

[Sowelu]

The FineWoven cases were awful regardless of the price, but even more awful at the price Apple set them at.

Some very expensive German cars have beautiful, durable high-quality leather alternatives as their default (and even upgraded) packaged seating trim options, so I am sure Apple can find a similar material for their cases if they don't want to go back to leather.