Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
There are more chemicals…which are also more dangerous, in producing synthetic products than are used in leather tanning.
If Apple’s political position is to “save the animals”…as many others have stated, those same animals are going to the slaughter whether Apple uses leather or not.
And if Apple’s political position is “save the environment”…like many other “green” fallacies in the world, synthetic bands and cases are far worse for the environment.
 
Customers in what market exactly are offended by leather?
Billions of (potential iPhone owning) people all over the world avoid cow or pig leather for religious reasons. There’s no point winding up potential customers when you can just outsource any potential reputational risk to third party case manufacturers.
 
Future generations will be horrified that primitive humans used the skin of murdered beasts as a fashion accessory.

Nothing says 'dumb' and 'brainwashed' more than people who are horrified by fur - but cool with leather.

They're the exact same thing.
Not at all the same thing.

Since you are obviously a city-dweller who has no idea the real world works (cities being a totally artificial environment) I'll point out that killing an animal solely for its skin is vastly different than killing an animal to eat it, then finding uses of the rest of the carcass. There is an old saying about pigs, that you can use every part but the squeal. That is green ethics.

And yes I have killed a great many animals in my time, mostly by crushing whether by hand and with a flyswatter. I just had to take down two colonies of wasps with a vile poison. Those did not get eaten, it was a matter of self defense. What, you don't think wasps count as animals? Only mammals count? Phylumist!
 
Billions of (potential iPhone owning) people all over the world avoid cow or pig leather for religious reasons. There’s no point winding up potential customers when you can just outsource any potential reputational risk to third party case manufacturers.
Not sure what a leather watch band has to do with „Billions of (potential iPhone owning) people all over the world“ buying or not buying iPhones.

Btw: You don‘t have to buy a leather band or case, plenty of alternative options are already available.
 
Not sure what a leather watch band has to do with „Billions of (potential iPhone owning) people all over the world“ buying or not buying iPhones.

Btw: You don‘t have to buy a leather band or case, plenty of alternative options are already available.

Rumors are that Apple is ditching the leather case for iPhone as well.

BTW..you don't have to buy a leather strap or case from Apple, plenty of alternative options are already available.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Four oF NINE
Gurman is losing it.

Guys, Apple does this every year. Employees have access to a discount portal, I think it's called qpromo? All of the old season's excess accessories get thrown there for deep discounts, and Hermes bands aren't an exception. I got my Bambou Single Tour off a former employee who bought it for I believe $90 through this portal. I've heard of $49 Sport Bands being offered for single digits.

There's nothing new going on here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: boswald
What the actual ****? Fine, I guess I am buying my cases and watch straps from somewhere else now. I want real leather. Not plant based industrial science projects. Real leather. With a natural patina. Why is this so difficult for Apple to understand?

They suddenly just drop leather? Did they suddenly become vegan despite consuming the planet's resources like a fat hog gobbles all the corn in a pace that will only deplete the planet and contribute to mass waste.

They're still gonna have the FineWoven in boxes to be shipped. They're not saving anything. This is a calculated political move to disguise their real objective (reduction of cost in the pipeline). They will save billions by going to a science experiment plant based alternative, because leather requires extra steps to create as it is a naturally occurring, earthly product.

Fine, third party vendors now stand to make billions more in increased customer interest since Apple has decided to give their customers two choices: Leather from a third party, or no leather.
 
FineWoven 🤣

What's sad is that Apple's branding has gotten so poor in the past few years that I have no doubt the "FineWoven" leak is accurate.
 
  • Like
Reactions: throAU
This drives me crazy - I’m a leather technician and if people understood leather is made from taking a byproduct (waste, if you like) of the meat industry, and reusing it as a sustainable, long lasting material. What do we think happens if we don’t use these hides for leather - they go to landfill 🤷‍♂️ I’m all for apple creating different bands/using different materials, but don’t tell me something synthetic, bound by acrylics, is going to be more sustainable and better for the environment. The move by apple for sure is to appear ‘greener’ to certain consumers, but in reality will come down to cost savings.

I see people commenting that they are all for saving animals - but animals typically used for leather (Bovine) are never killed for the hides - they are killed for the meat.

These animals will be slaughtered if apple makes leather bands or not.
I’m giving this a heart because there’s more truth here than very well likely to be in the PR angle evident around launch
 
I stopped buying apple leather products years ago, not because of any sort of belief or political view, but the leather cases for the iPhone were very sub par for the price in my opinion. The edges rubbed thru and revealed some sort of plastic or composite material in the middle, and it was just this very thin layer of leather on top seemingly. I'm not sure of the specifics but I just didn't think that the leather products they make were worth the money after that.
 
Very sad day. I think it is pathetic if Apple gets rid of their leather watch bands and cases. Let the customers chose what to buy. Don’t make the decision for them.
There will be companies offering cases and watch bands made of leather (cheap toxic ones from China, high priced ones from eg Hermes), so customers have a choice.
Let's face it, Apple is serious about reducing the environmental impact of its products, and this is one of the initiatives.
 
I fail to see how synthetic materials, which needs chemicals and energy to produce, aren't durable, and need thousands of year to be degraded, are better for the environment than animal skin... 🤔
That's because you probably don't know how leather is made.
It is not just the animal's skin. A lot of quite toxic chemicals are used to turn animal skin into the leather we know. It's not a natural product, and depending on the production process, it's also rather bad for the environment.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TtotheA
No need to end the partnership!

Apple Watch Hermès Edition with new Nylon Bands reimagined 👀 🫠

1693928295789.png

1693928305733.png

1693928325133.png

1693928358108.png

Credit: Parker Ortolani
 
Please let us leather fans alone. Why are there always some radical groups that want to force the decisions of others. Like there is only one right answer. I for example prefer eco friendly tanned leather that is disposable. I fully understand vegans and would never try to change their beliefs or would try to convince them to use natural products. Every vegan I know is like a preacher -.-
Do you think Apple is a radical vegan group preaching to you not to use leather?
 
Etsy has much better leather bands than the apple offerings, at least, in my opinion.
 
In what world do you think that these are the same thing? It is baffling. Before you start using the words ‘dumb’ & ‘brainwashed’, I strongly urge you to do some research.
Please explain why the skin of one animal is OK to use as clothing/accessory and that of another animal is not?
 
because leather requires extra steps to create as it is a naturally occurring, earthly product.
Actually, leather is not "naturally occurring", but it is produced from a natural resource (animal skin), mostly using quite toxic chemicals to stop the "earthly product" from decay.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TtotheA
Not for the animals/environment. Not sure why it’s taken Apple so long to do this across their range to be honest.
The animals are already being eaten. Might as well use the hide as to not waste. However, if this cuts down waste, then so be it.
 
This argument is absurd. Whether meat is a byproduct of leather or the opposite is just a matter of money and perspective. The companies that produce and kill these animals make a profit off of these abused animals, and the profit comes from different sources: meat, hair, skin, bones, etc...

These all make these industries viable and allow for more animals to be abused and our environment to be destroyed.

To think that cows would not be (or are not) killed solely for their leather is also very naive when you look at what people are doing for fur and other types of leather / skin.
It’s literally a professional telling you what happens, and you’re arguing with them. 🤦‍♂️

I have lived on ranches. Bovine are primarily used for meat and milk production. The hide is just extra. If demand for hide dropped to near zero, not a single cow will have been saved, just more waste created.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.