When Apple replaced its leather cases with FineWoven fabric in late 2023, I bought one for my iPhone 15 Pro Max. And while it was nice looking out of the box, one thing we didn't know at the time was whether it'd endure. We know know that it doesn't – and it seems that Apple has decided to stop using the material completely.
A new report by leaker Kosutami on X says that Apple has stopped production of all FineWoven accessories because of "poor durability". And that tracks with my own experience: when I got my FineWoven case I said that the one thing we didn't know was whether it would be any more durable than the leather cases it was replacing. Their leather was extremely thin and in my stress tests of occasionally putting my phone in my pocket, the leather came off alarmingly quickly. It turned out that after a few months the FineWoven case did the same.
What's wrong with FineWoven?
Apple stopped selling leather cases because it wanted to be more environmentally friendly, and I'm sure there were some cost benefits too. But the writing appeared to be on the wall this Spring when Apple didn't launch its usual new colour range for its FineWoven cases.
In the last few months there have been lots of complaints about FineWoven: not just the thinness that affected mine but dust magnet properties and for some colours, a tendency to leave some of the colour behind on things like chargers. Even light scratches would remain visible.
Fair play to Apple for trying to be more environmentally and ethically sound. But FineWoven appears to have been a failed experiment, and the fact that Apple charged the same for these cases as it did for its leather ones – and talked specifically about how durable they would be – suggests that something's very wrong with the quality testing around Apple's accessories.
Today I'm rocking a silicone iPhone case. It's not as pretty as the FineWoven one out of the box, but it can cope with jeans pockets for a fraction of the price. If Apple is indeed killing off FineWoven you can expect some serious discounting as retailers clear their stock, but I think that's one iPhone deal that you'd be best to steer clear of.
