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

Last September, Apple stopped selling genuine leather accessories in favor of a more environmentally friendly "FineWoven" material, but it did not go down well with customers, and dwindling stock leading up to Apple's iPhone 16 event on September 9 has many people wondering if Apple is about to pull the plug on FineWoven for good.

iPhone 15 Pro FineWoven feature
The company describes FineWoven as "luxurious and durable microtwill," and sells FineWoven iPhone cases at $59, MagSafe Wallets at $59, AirTag holders at $35, and Apple Watch bands at $99. However, many customers consider FineWoven products to be subpar compared to the leather Apple cases they replaced, with various claims that the fabric is prone to scratches, stains, and discoloration.

Back in April, Apple leaker and prototype collector Kosutami claimed that Apple had decided to halt production of FiveWoven accessories over durability concerns, although the leaker did not discount the possibility of one more round of FineWoven products, possibly in a season of new colors. However, FineWoven accessories in new color options were absent from Apple's spring refresh.

Notably, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, stock of iPhone cases and Apple Watch bands in the material is now at an all-time low. That generally means that Apple is either getting ready to kill off FineWoven or plans to update the lineup with different colors and support for new iPhone and Apple Watch models. Will you miss Apple's FineWoven accessories if Apple does discontinue them? Let us know in the comments.

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Top Rated Comments

Martius Avatar
8 months ago
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...
Score: 56 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CChrisG Avatar
8 months ago
Just kill it, it is crap
Score: 47 Votes (Like | Disagree)
breenmask Avatar
8 months ago
pull it.

now.
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
2540497 Avatar
8 months ago
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
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Deine Mudda Avatar
8 months ago
Yes please, these are absolutely horrible and an absolute disgrace compared to the full price and that leather accessories costed the same.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wikiverse Avatar
8 months ago
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 dumbest 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.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)