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Apple may have already ditched its unloved leather replacement

In This Article

In This Article

A new rumour claims Apple has halted production of its largely panned FineWoven case material, which replaced leather accessories when theiPhone 15range arrived last year.

The environmentally-friendly alternative, which also replaced leather forApple Watchbands, was the subject of widespread derision from early adopters due to concerns over durability.

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The cases and bands were liable to pick up far more scratches, scuffs and dirt than the leather counterparts, according to anecdotal reports.

And now Apple may have given up on its FineWoven accessories, which the company says was crafted from a durable microtwill and constructed from 68% post consumer recycled content.

The Twitter leaker Kosutami reckons “FineWoven has gone” and believes Apple is planning to switch to another leather alternative.

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

Perhaps the FineWoven case, with its ‘suede-like’ finish wasn’t all that bad though? A month after the range was announced,Trusted Reviewseditor Max Parkerput the case through its paces.

He wrote: “While Apple calls the finish ‘suede-like’, I would say it feels more like a car seatbelt. It feels nice in the hand, but the rubbery sides add only a little extra grip. It doesn’t feel anywhere as nice as the leather case, but I have no qualms with the feel and I also have no issues with how the case is holding up.

“I’ve been slipping it in and out of my pocket, putting it in a bag and trying to treat it as I would have done with the leather cases and it still looks fine a few weeks on. The fact I have the darkest colour option probably helps, as I am sure the lighter hues will show marks a lot more.”

Hopefully Apple will come up with an alternative, because there’s really no need to wrap your phone in the hide of an animal.

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Chris Smith is a freelance technology journalist for a host of UK tech publications, including Trusted Reviews. He’s based in South Florida, USA.  …

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Why trust our journalism?

Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.

Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.

Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.

We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.