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I really dislike deceptive advertising, especially when it plays on silly political correctness like "vegan leather."  Call it what it is: "fake leather" or "pvc imitation leather." Eliminate the trickery.  It's the same with pricing like $999.99.  And to think, companies will always say, "all for less than $1,000"!!  Just call it a round figure like $1,000 and stop trying to deceive consumers with a penny.  Ditto for stupid gas station pricing.  Enough already!

But even if your iPhone case was Full Grain (the real deal), it still won't be thick enough to be robust over time. Sure, it will look beautiful the first few days or possibly weeks of use.  But at some point, you'll drop it on a corner, and then the thin leather will slightly rip out, get frayed, and look bad.  A normal thick piece of Full Grain Leather on something like a book or bag will age gracefully (patina) simply because they are designed differently, thicker, and fall to the ground differently than an iPhone.  

That is why I spent weeks checking leather cases for my brand new iPhone 15 Pro Max when I first bought it, hoping to find a Full Grain leather case for it that would last.  I couldn't because they don't exist, at any price.  (I'm talking about a lightweight CASE, not a slip cover or bag, mind you.)  So what I ultimately ended up with was a non-leather more durable case from Torras. No, it's not an ad for them.  It's just what I ultimately bought after weeks of research.  And to this day, it remains pristine.  I couldn't say the same for leather.

I mention all that to say that people have complained about FineWoven due to it being largely the same as leather (Full Grain or Vegan).  It's not built to last.  So a Vegan replacement won't be built to last either.  Maybe it will hide scratches better. Sure. But as I said, one drop to a corner, and you've got a bad looking "leather" case.  A drop on my Torras case doesn't result in that at all because it's not leather or trying to pretend to be leather.

Don't get me wrong.  I have purchased Apple's leather protectors in the past and loved them, such as the magnetically attached iPad covers, the first of which I bought back in 2012.  It looks great even today. But you don't carry an iPad with you wherever you do, and you often don't drop them on the corner of the device as a result.  The iPad covers are display covers only and not full device covers.  That matters.

So before people get all excited about Apple replacing FineWoven, you need to consider just how long your case will last and look nice during the time it lasts.  Anything leather, real or fake, on an iPhone really isn't something built to endure hard drops at the corners. And yes, I really do think that matters, even if some of you chime in with positive experiences about real leather iPhone cases.  Some people are lucky or blessed.

Marvin said:

Apple is pretty influential these days...

Well, not nearly as influential as the killing off of the floppy drive was back in the day, let me tell you.  As I said previously, I judge that influence by the peripherals I see commonly sold in the marketplace.  And while there are more USB-C gizmos than when USB-C first came out, the fact remains that Apple didn't make nearly as big a splash as many thought it would with the USB-C introduction.

Marvin said:

There's also the Kingston USB-C drive, which will give mostly the same real-world speed:
https://www.amazon.com/Kingston-DataTraveler-256GB-USB-C-Performance/dp/B09DVPH8NQ

Believe me, I know.  I've spent every day of the past two weeks comparing all data I could find on that and the drive I ultimately purchased.  

Why buy the Hynix T31 over the competition?  Because it offers better cooling and therefore better sustained performance which matters a lot.  It doesn't matter to me what the speed is for the first 60 seconds or so.  I want to know if I'll get sustained performance before thermal throttling takes over.  

And, as mentioned in AnandTech's comprehensive review, only the Hynix T31 offers a a DRAM cache for FTL (Flash Transition Layer), which has a net positive impact on performance.  

The Hynix brand itself also has a good reputation, and the P31 SSD is the top pick among users who have replaced their Mac's internal SSD in this monolithic 485 page thread (where I myself have posted).  All said, I chose the Hynix T31 for good reason, and it just so happens to come in USB-A only.  

And for those wondering, yes I do have my reasons for picking the T31 thumbdrive version over the Hynix Beetle, which offers a different form factor but the same performance.  The T31 I bought is smaller overall and I don't need to worry about losing cables as I would with the Beetle.  I also don't mind something sticking out of my notebooks, but I dislike things that dangle down and off.  Can't tell you how many times I accidentally disconnected my SanDisk Extreme Portable 1TB drive! And no, it's not as portable as the T31, plus it has that cable I dislike too!


As to your mention of ThunderBolt, I will only repeat my call for a TB thumbdrive.  Small. Compact. No cables!  But hopefully well cooled and with a DRAM cache too.

Marvin said:

Once you own a USB-C-only computer, you will gradually move all the peripherals to USB-C connectors/cables and the exceptions will eventually drop to one or two products. 

Your use of the word "you" is not referring to "me" because I've owned my M1 Max MBP 16" since the day it came out, and I assure you that wasn't yesterday.  And yet, I still have numerous USB-A devices and continue to buy more to this very day.  The existing of those C ports on my favorite Mac hasn't caused me to gradually move all peripherals to USB-C.  It hasn't.  Not in the least, really.  And the fact I exist indicates others like me exist as well.

My intent in saying all this isn't to praise USB-A.  I hate it like you!  I love plugging in USB-C cables and not needing to worry the cable won't connect because the stupid connector is 180° the wrong way!  I love the speed and features!  I love everything about it, except perhaps for the fact cables slip out easier than USB-A.  But as I've repeatedly said, I have lots of USB-A stuff and still have need to purchase other stuff which, regardless of reason, has USB-A.  And I hate dongles and adapters about as much as I hate the bad things about USB-A.

So as long as I have most of my stuff with USB-A ports, I will find use of USB-A ports on a computer, and that is why I said I could live with a new M4 Mac Mini that lacked USB-A, but I would be MUCH HAPPIER, if space on the Mini allows, to have at least one USB-A port.  The existence of that USB-A port not moving the world forward to USB-C really doesn't matter to me.  Let the world move as it likes, but if I can get a USB-A port on a new computer even now in 2024, I'm very happy.  Some of you couldn't care less, and that's fine.  I'm not trying to poop on your parties.  In like manner, please don't poop on mine.

We Mac lovers are a diverse group.  We don't all think the same.  And I tend to especially Think Different from my peers and take a lot of flack for it in forums like this.  But in the eyes of Apple, my diverse way of thinking is technically viewed as "genius":
https://www.thecrazyones.it/spot-en.html

Stay Hungry.  Stay FOOLISH!

Marvin said:

Keeping support for it on computers is what keeps manufacturers making the products with USB-A. 

You and I and everybody else in this thread are mainly talking about Apple here, not the PC world.  And even when we talk about PCs, we're talking to eachother — Apple users.  Since the world is dominated by Windoze (proper spelling) PCs, what goes on in that dark and silly world impacts us in the Mac world.  For that reason (and despite the silly remarks of Chasm), USB-A really is here to stay, whether we like it or not.  And even though you did say "All computer manufacturers should start dropping USB-A," what we say in this forum doesn't dictate what the Pee See (correct spelling) world will do, nor will a decision by Apple to drop all USB-A ports on the Mac Mini dictate what the Windoze PC world will do.  And so, if only Apple is dropping USB-A, and if we still are blasted with USB-A devices for years to come, the need for a USB-A port to avoid another STUPID DONGLE is key.

By the way, I just bought the single best 1TB Thumbdrive SSD today on Amazon only 1 hour ago, and guess what?  The connector only comes in USB-A.  Check it out too, because it beats any other thumb drive out there.  Pretty incredible.  And yeah, I'll need to use a STUPID DONGLE with it on my 16" M1 Max MBP, although my 2015 5K iMac at the office can accept USB-A without dongles.  I may buy a Mac Mini in the near future, so all this talk has meaning for me.  I would buy an M4 Mini with or without a USB-A port, but I would be FAR HAPPIER with it.  And honestly, it doesn't matter to me of the rest of you feel differently.  I buy things for my own satisfaction, not any of yours.

And there you have it.

If there is physical no space for USB-A, I think a move to all USB-C is fine.  But if there is space for at least one USB-A port, it makes no sense to not offer that. Despite what the vocal "USB-C ONLY" crowd preaches, USB-A is still ubiquitous (unlike USB-C) and Apple going to all USB-C on a new Mac Mini won't change that fact in the least.  For better or for worse, USB-A is here to stay, and I suspect it will continue to be used 10 or 15 years hence.  Look at how long USB-C has been out and how little progress it has made in "replacing" USB-A.

So for practical reasons of eliminating stupid dongles (which not only add cost but weaken connections too, not to mention look bad), having USB-A connectors even now in 2024 still makes logical sense, when space on a given device allows.

Personally, what I would like to see are more devices that push connectivity forward, such as a THUNDERBOLT thumb drive.  Yeah, I'm sick and tired of the USB 3.0, 3.1 and 3.2 performance limitations compared to Thunderbolt 3 or 4.  For crying out loud, give us super fast thumb drives with the fastest connection possible.  You're still going to need the same USB-C connector anyway! And because Thunderbolt doesn’t use USB-A connectors, innovations like that could drive more adoption of USB-C over USB-A.  In other words, give us more devices that require a USB-C shaped plug so more people are forced to use USB-C and we can then replace USB-A, once and for all.

As long as new devices continue to ship with USB-A ports, people will still find the ports useful to have on a modern computer.  And because we are all Apple Mac fans here, each one of us know full well that aesthetics matter.  Dongles aren't desirable.  At. All.

What's most amusing is the fact that I've often heard people use "Hey, Einstein!" in a derogatory fashion to insult a person by calling them brilliant when they obviously are not.  And now we have a so-named person who fits that definition perfectly!

Note the circular logo in the upper right on her Linkedin Page, which shows the hair of Albert Einstein, which seems to be telling the world she has an association with his brilliance:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmaraeinstein/

It's no wonder people criticize institutions of "higher learning."  You often have a band of PhD-wielding idiots teaching our kids.