Apple Says 'Goodbye Leather' in New iPhone Ad Following Controversial Switch to 'FineWoven' Material

Apple today shared a new iPhone ad called "Goodbye Leather" on its YouTube channel in the U.K., months after the company controversially switched from leather to a much-criticized "FineWoven" fabric material for accessories.


Apple discontinuing leather accessories for environmental benefits was a noble aspiration, but FineWoven accessories have been very poorly received. Just days after the first FineWoven cases were released for the iPhone, some customers and media outlets complained about the fabric exterior being prone to scratches and stains. A photo of a FineWoven case with a misaligned USB-C port cutout also surfaced.

The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern said her FineWoven case was "browning like a rotten banana" after five months of usage.

finewoven case sternImage Credit: Joanna Stern/The Wall Street Journal

"The edges are peeling, the fabric is scratched up like an old CD and it's browning like a rotten banana," she wrote, in her Tech Things newsletter. "I've been waiting for the CDC to show up at my house to declare it a biomedical concern."

Apple has yet to comment on FineWoven criticism, and it remains to be seen if the company discontinues the line or improves the material in any way.

Thanks, Dylan McDonald!

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Top Rated Comments

RandomTox Avatar
13 months ago
If you naively believe that Apple is doing it out of love for nature and environment I pity you. Higher profit margins with substitutes.
Score: 88 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dino12 Avatar
13 months ago
I bet that Tim Cooks car has leather interior.
Score: 77 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Blackstick Avatar
13 months ago
Goodbye leather is fine, when the replacement is superior. FineWoven is not.

No chance Apple ships iPhone 16 cases in "FineWoven". It'll quietly disappear. Or be a silicone-only year.
Score: 74 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Minato1990 Avatar
13 months ago
Disgusting.
PETA can go to hell, and Apple is wrong.
Finewoven is crap. Yet Apple will charge the same or might charge us more for sub par quality.
Score: 58 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vertsix Avatar
13 months ago
The Finewoven case is the worst accessory Apple has ever made.
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unggoy Murderer Avatar
13 months ago
Not sure how these are being viewed as more environmentally friendly.

An iPhone X leather folio case for £99 in 2017 lasted the whole ownership period to end of 2023 when my mum upgraded to an iPhone 14. Easily the highest quality case I've owned for a smartphone.

These Finewoven cases haven't been out for a year and they already look ten years old. So a new case in a few months' time?

All the CO2 in manufacturing and shipping duplicated multiple times to replace. How very environmentally conscious.
Score: 53 Votes (Like | Disagree)