Apple's FineWoven case and Apple Watch band lineup may have been cut short

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone edited April 21

A new rumor claims that Apple has shut down the FineWoven production lines for good, possibly spelling the doom of the controversial accessory material.

Apple's FineWoven case
Apple's FineWoven iPhone case



Apple put a big marketing push behind its leather alternative FineWoven. The material debuted during the iPhone 15 event, and looked good -- when brand new.

It just never lived up to the hype. And now, Apple appears to be done with the material.

In a post on X, accessory curator Kosutami posits that the lines have been shut down.

FineWoven has gone.
Since its durability were bad.
All the production line was stopped and removed.
Apple would move to another material-- Again, not the leather.

So see ya'll in leather hell.
(Recycling Company) pic.twitter.com/KVaBZC6z6S

-- Kosutami (@Kosutami_Ito)



The provenance of the data is not clear, and there's no way to verify the report, though. In our experience with the material, it is an awful material for durability and stain resistance on an iPhone case.

However, Apple Watch bands have held up much better. Presumably the difference is in how much surface area is exposed to large patches of damage.

Apple will likely continue the hunt for a leather replacement. It has in recent days re-emphasized that it has eradicated leather from its product lines.

Rumor Score: Likely

Read on AppleInsider

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 38
    nubusnubus Posts: 462member
    Found a research paper on it. FineWoven is 100% petrol based, and the abrasion test (as measured in Martindale) is a disaster.
    The longevity of the Apple series 14 leather cover is at least 100x higher making FineWoven a terrible product for customers and the planet. 
    https://unic.it/storage/iPhone15ProMax_FineWoven_VS_LEATHER.pdf

    The concept isn't even original. In 2020 Samsung created covers from used plastic bottles. Quality is on the level of leather. Samsung asked the fabric experts at Kvadrat to design and deliver the upcycled material. Would be nice to see Apple work with experts and test. FineWoven should never have shipped.
    VictorMortimerwonkothesanebaconstanggatorguyelijahgdewme40domi
  • Reply 2 of 38
    NYC362NYC362 Posts: 89member
    Never understood FineWoven.  It feels okay on the surface, but the cases themselves feel as thin as a sheet of paper.   Beyond that, there are so many plant based "leathers" that Apple could've used instead.  In fact, you can even find that material in the Satechi wallet/stands they sell in the Apple Store.

    No one will miss FineWoven... especially Apple retail sales teams who know how awful the product really is. 
    VictorMortimerAlex1N9secondkox240domi
  • Reply 3 of 38
    sbdudesbdude Posts: 275member
    With a tweet like that, how can it not be true?
  • Reply 4 of 38
    VictorMortimerVictorMortimer Posts: 175member
    Meh.

    3rd party leather cases are cheaper and better.  And Apple doesn't even make a belt case, which makes no sense.
    grandact739secondkox240domi
  • Reply 5 of 38
    tyler82tyler82 Posts: 1,105member
    Love my Apple leather case with MagSafe for my iPhone 14 Pro Max. It looks great now that it has aged (brown leather against purple iPhone) and feels really good, especially after a cleaning and conditioning. I’m gonna keep for as long as I have the phone. 
    baconstangdewme9secondkox240domimike1
  • Reply 6 of 38
    mikethemartianmikethemartian Posts: 1,417member
    NYC362 said:
    Never understood FineWoven.  It feels okay on the surface, but the cases themselves feel as thin as a sheet of paper.   Beyond that, there are so many plant based "leathers" that Apple could've used instead.  In fact, you can even find that material in the Satechi wallet/stands they sell in the Apple Store.

    No one will miss FineWoven... especially Apple retail sales teams who know how awful the product really is. 
    Probably higher margins than using alternatives.
    elijahg40domi
  • Reply 7 of 38
    maggot777maggot777 Posts: 35member
    My burgundy Finewoven case has reversed stained… it put a burgundy ring stain around the white MagSafe disk of my Belkin charger stand. How does Apple get cases so wrong?
    dewmeAlex1Ngrandact739secondkox240domi
  • Reply 8 of 38
    M68000M68000 Posts: 773member
    VictorMortimer said:
    Meh.

    3rd party leather cases are cheaper and better.  And Apple doesn't even make a belt case, which makes no sense.
    There is a school of thought that says cellphones should kept away from the body as much as possible.  I limit pocket time with my phone and don’t think i’d want a belt case for that reason and others.
  • Reply 9 of 38
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,965member

    It just never lived up to the hype. 

    It seems the only people hyping up the fine woven cases was Apple. Apart from them, it’s rare to see a product that was so universally panned. Apple can add this along with the butterfly keyboard to the file on how not to do things.
    edited April 21 elijahgAlex1N9secondkox2
  • Reply 10 of 38
    baconstangbaconstang Posts: 1,120member
    I got an Apple leather case for my 12mini the day I bought it. Has protected against drops, feels great and looks better every day. I atone by NEVER eating hamburders!
    Alex1N40domityler82
  • Reply 11 of 38
    Stabitha_ChristieStabitha_Christie Posts: 492member
    I posted this elsewhere but I'll do it again here since it is relevant. 

    I am seem to be one of the few people that got a FineWoven case that isn't a problem. Got it with the phone in September and it seems to be gong strong. 
    Alex_VStrangeDays
  • Reply 12 of 38
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,984member
    I posted this elsewhere but I'll do it again here since it is relevant. 

    I am seem to be one of the few people that got a FineWoven case that isn't a problem. Got it with the phone in September and it seems to be gong strong. 
    Ditto. No problems with mine either. As lovely as leather? No. But we’ve got to reduce the impact bovine agriculture has on the planet in every way possible. Either that, or reduce human population by about half. Good luck with that. Perhaps use human leather? /shudder/
    edited April 21 baconstang9secondkox2Alex_Vtyler82StrangeDays
  • Reply 13 of 38
    Graeme000Graeme000 Posts: 39member
    robin huber said:
    I posted this elsewhere but I'll do it again here since it is relevant. 

    I am seem to be one of the few people that got a FineWoven case that isn't a problem. Got it with the phone in September and it seems to be gong strong. 
    Ditto. No problems with mine either. As lovely as leather? No. But we’ve got to reduce the impact bovine agriculture has on the planet in every way possible. Either that, or reduce human population by about half. Good luck with that. Perhaps use human leather? /shudder/
    Yeah mine seems ok too. Agreed that it isn’t as good as the leather case that was on my Xs, but good enough. 
    Alex_VStrangeDays
  • Reply 14 of 38
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,500member
    Apple obviously has the upper hand when it comes to their hardware and software. When it comes to peripherals, accessories, and discretionary attachments and add-ons, Apple seems to provide just enough to allow their customers to put together an Apple-based turnkey solution that is high enough quality. Whether it's intentional or not is debatable, but Apple seems very content to leave the door open for third parties to join in with their own offerings that usually end up straddling what Apple has to offer. Some are better than Apple's offerings and some are worse. I believe that it is entirely intentional and by-design. This is exactly the right thing to do when you want to promote, maintain, and grow your ecosystem. Apple's ecosystem would not exist if their were no third party contributions.
    Alex1NAlex_V40domi
  • Reply 15 of 38
    longfanglongfang Posts: 484member
    robin huber said:
    I posted this elsewhere but I'll do it again here since it is relevant. 

    I am seem to be one of the few people that got a FineWoven case that isn't a problem. Got it with the phone in September and it seems to be gong strong. 
    Ditto. No problems with mine either. As lovely as leather? No. But we’ve got to reduce the impact bovine agriculture has on the planet in every way possible. Either that, or reduce human population by about half. Good luck with that. Perhaps use human leather? /shudder/
    You need a third world war for that to happen. Meanwhile I’ll just go with c’est la vie
  • Reply 16 of 38
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 2,862member
    Great! Fiewoven is a scam. Give us leather. 
    MplsP
  • Reply 17 of 38
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 2,862member
    robin huber said:
    I posted this elsewhere but I'll do it again here since it is relevant. 

    I am seem to be one of the few people that got a FineWoven case that isn't a problem. Got it with the phone in September and it seems to be gong strong. 
    Ditto. No problems with mine either. As lovely as leather? No. But we’ve got to reduce the impact bovine agriculture has on the planet in every way possible. Either that, or reduce human population by about half. Good luck with that. Perhaps use human leather? /shudder/
    As long as there is beef, there is leather. Beef isn’t going anywhere, so better to utilize what would otherwise go to waste. It’s more efficient use of resources, more respectful to the sacrifice of the animal, and results in better quality products. 
    wonkothesanebaconstang40domiibilltyler82MplsP
  • Reply 18 of 38
    mac'em xmac'em x Posts: 111member
    M68000 said:
    There is a school of thought that says cellphones should kept away from the body as much as possible. 
    True. And there are "schools of thought" that say vaccines contain 5G chips, and government leaders have been replaced by reptile people, and the Denver International Airport is the headquarters of the Illuminati.
    wonkothesanebaconstangM68000tyler82MplsPSpitbath
  • Reply 19 of 38
    Alex_VAlex_V Posts: 225member
    As long as there is beef, there is leather. Beef isn’t going anywhere, so better to utilize what would otherwise go to waste. It’s more efficient use of resources, more respectful to the sacrifice of the animal, and results in better quality products. 

    I see that there is an industry-sponsored website that argues your exact point. What a coincidence! The website wants to convince us not to trouble our little heads on the subject leather. Still, leather is not merely a by-product of the beef industry. It is an integral part of the business. A significant proportion of the world’s population is vegetarian. I live in a place that is substantially vegetarian with a significant proportion of veganism (no dairy, no eggs etc.). Every bakery has eggless items on sale here. Vegetarianism and veganism are on the rise in the West, driven by health, environmental, and ethical reasons. On the other hand, meat eating increases as populations get better off, notably in China.
    Graeme000robin hubertyler829secondkox2
  • Reply 20 of 38
    mattinozmattinoz Posts: 2,373member
    There is a reason Leather goods are known as "durable goods"
    baconstangmike1MplsP
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