Apple Discontinues FineWoven Cases, Offers Silicone and Plastic for iPhone 16 Models

[aaronhead14]

Just bring back leather, Apple. We want nice cases. Nobody believes your "environmentally friendly" nonsense.

But maybe we'll believe it when you stop creating so much e-waste with your disposable Macs that have 256GB non-upgradable storage and 8GB non-upgradable RAM.

 

[bigjnyc]

My 15PM natural is still in pristine condition after almost a year of usage with no case.... *knocks on wood* nothing compelling with the 16 so I plan to keep it another year.

Also I thought for sure Apple would come out with an environmentally friendly vegan leather option. I've seen some vegan leather options that look amazing these days. It's come a long way.

 

[Apleeseed84]

We already had silicone before. So, the “not-perfect-but-still-more-sustainable” replacement for leather is… plastic?

I hate both, silicon is slippery and the plastic is worse. I need a textured grip like the old leather or fine woven but where’s the love

 

[MNWildFan]

Ha!

Could see this coming from a mile away

 

[Naraxus]

Finewoven was absolute garbage from the get-go but environmental virtue signaling is the name of the game at Apple these days...

 

[mdnz]

This was a great presentation for the environment. Anyone who owns an iPhone 12 Pro or newer doesn't have to upgrade as there's nothing new to offer. No need to create phones or ship them! Love Apple 🍀

 

[nutriousmitten]

Apple cases, for phones especially, are for the lazy, seniors worried about compatibility and don't trust 3rd party, those who don't have an Amazon account, or those who got Apple gift cards and need to spend it on something more than the phone in-store.

Trying to be too cute in creating FineWoven, probably from those same out of touch people at Apple who refused to go back into the office when madated to do so.

 

[MNWildFan]

My 15PM natural is still in pristine condition after almost a year of usage with no case.... *knocks on wood* nothing compelling with the 16 so I plan to keep it another year.

Yeah, same here with my 15

Though I am a bit bummed that I don't get Apple Intelligence as it's only on the 15 Pro or any of the 16s for the iPhones, at least I'll get the AI experience on the macOS side of things with the M2 MacBook Air I have

 

[mansplains]

Too bad there’s no CoarseWoven to replace it. More grip for those who drop their phones!

 

[bluespark]

But the new watch bands are still FineWoven, and they released a new FineWoven wallet lol. Probably meant to release them during the spring, but because of the negative press they held off and now they're clearing inventory.

Surely that's the case. I'd buy a FineWoven phone case before a FineWoven watch band. No one wants their personal accessories to scream cheap, bad materials.

 

[thermal]

It's a bit surprising that Apple doesn't offer an elegant case for its phones.

 

[Cirillo Gherardo]

People make too big a deal out of the cases that Apple themselves offer. There is an entire industry dedicated to making every kind of imaginable case. If you want leather, no one does it better than Nomad. You should be buying them already anyway.

 

[Ken Linger]

Too bad there’s no CoarseWoven to replace it. More grip for those who drop their phones!

BurlapMax™ case ($99) was pushed 2025

 

[wilhoitm]

FailWoven.

A more official name is Pleather! Which means Plastic Leather. It has been around since the 1970s believe it or not! It has never been as good as real Leather!

 

[RedTheReader]

I hate both, silicon is slippery and the plastic is worse. I need a textured grip like the old leather or fine woven but where’s the love

Another relevant SpongeBob scene:

 

[ctyrider]

Forget cases altogether. I have been using Apple MagSafe wallet (leather edition) with naked iPhone, and never looked back.

 

[ryan102]

Apple today discontinued its ill-received FineWoven material, introducing no new cases that use the leather replacement. The company has also removed existing FineWoven iPhone cases for older devices from its website, though FineWoven versions of the MagSafe Wallet and AirTag Key Ring continue to be available.

FineWoven has been heavily criticized for its poor performance in comparison to the former leather cases that Apple used to offer. Apple replaced leather last year in order to be more environmentally friendly, but people quickly found that the FineWoven cases are quick to get dirty and begin to fray.

There is no replacement for the FineWoven material, and Apple does not have leather cases or any kind of equivalent for purchase. For the iPhone 16 lineup, customers can choose a Silicone Case or a Clear Case.

Silicone Cases are available in several new colors like fuchsia, ultramarine, star fruit, and lake green, in sizes that fit each of the new iPhone models.

Apple's Beats brand has also introduced a series of new cases for the iPhone 16 lineup, marking the first time that we've seen iPhone accessories from Beats in some time.

Article Link: Apple Discontinues FineWoven Cases, Offers Silicone and Plastic for iPhone 16 Models

Why, did something happen?

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

RIP.

Glad I splurged and got a full Pacific Blue set when I did.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Staying with my 15Pro so I won’t need a new case. Apple is getting so boring.

Fortunately for Apple, out of the over 8 billion people in the world, roughly 70 million won’t think it’s boring. That’s .875%, not a high number to hit.

 

[Haiku_Oezu]

The headline feels disingenuous trying to frame plastic as a replacement to finewoven/leather when clear cases have always been offered

You can argue it’s just trying to be factual but I’ve seen at least one person in this thread mocking Apple for “replacing leather with plastic”

 

[nickelro]

Are there any good leather cases in the market similar to the ones made by Apple 2 years ago?

 

[timborama]

I was really expecting FineWoven 2.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

See internet, what happens when you vote with your voice and wallets?

If only the internet could also stop buying iPhones that don’t do what they want them to do! People will choose cases that meet their needs, but not choose much higher cost smartphones that do what they need. Odd.

 

[jake.au]

Mother Nature been rolling in her grave after hearing the “P” word

 

[gk_brown]

The silicone cases are bad too. They peel very quickly.

Seriously. But no one ever seems to complain about this...