Apple’s much-maligned range of FineWoven accessories, made of an imitation-leather material for environmental reasons, has now been completely killed off, according to a new report. The same source indicates that the company intends to replace FineWoven with another leather-replacement material, but hopefully one which suffers from fewer problems.
Twitter/X user Kosutami, a tech leaker who has posted some accurate rumors in the past, posted Sunday that “FineWoven has gone… Since its durability were bad,” and that production of the cases has now ceased.
If anything, Kosutami is underselling the difficulties Apple experienced with FineWoven’s durability. Despite being marketed and priced as premium accessories, the iPhone cases stained and scuffed far more easily than leather; within days or even hours of being opened, in fact. Even the USB-C port hole was poorly designed, being too small for many third-party cables and in some cases misaligned. The whole thing was a bit of a disaster.
So it’s scarcely surprising that Apple would call a halt to the line ahead of its all-important 2024 iPhone refresh: following all the negative PR it was a case of either redesigning them completely or killing them off. The question was what the company would do next. It can surrender completely by going back to leather and silicone; it can retreat by offering a new vegan leather alternative alongside leather; or it can double down and replace FineWoven while still refusing to sell leather accessories.
It sounds like the third course is the one that Cupertino has chosen–which makes sense, given how high the stakes are. Let’s just hope that Apple gets it right this time.
It’s worth noting that at the time of writing, FineWoven products are still available on Apple’s website and for pickup at Apple’s stores. Presumably, the end of the line won’t be officially announced until either the iPhone 16 launch or most of the remaining units have been sold off, which could be the same time. Even if production has stopped, it’s likely that Apple has enough stock on hand to get through the next several months of iPhone 15 sales.