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.

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 18

Apple Announces iOS 18.2 Launching Today With These New Features

Wednesday December 11, 2024 5:23 am PST by
Apple has announced that iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 will be released today following more than six weeks of beta testing. For the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, the update introduces additional Apple Intelligence features, including Genmoji for creating custom emoji, Image Playground and Image Wand for generating images, and ChatGPT integration for Siri. There is also ...
Generic iOS 18

Apple Seeds Second Release Candidate Versions of iOS 18.2 and More With Genmoji, Image Playground and ChatGPT Integration

Monday December 9, 2024 10:06 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2 updates to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, a week after releasing the first RCs. The first iOS 18.2 RC had a build number of 22C150, while the second RC's build number is 22C151. Release candidates represent the final version of beta software that's expected to see a ...
iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb 3

iPhone SE 4 Said to Feature 48MP Rear Lens, 12MP TrueDepth Camera

Monday December 9, 2024 4:48 am PST by
Apple's forthcoming iPhone SE 4 will feature a single 48-megapixel rear camera and a 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera on the front, according to details revealed in a new Korean supply chain report. ET News reports that Korea-based LG Innotek is the main supplier of the front and rear camera modules for the more budget-friendly ~$400 device, which is expected to launch in the first quarter of...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

MacBook Pros With OLED Displays Won't Have a Notch, Roadmap Shows

Monday December 9, 2024 7:36 am PST by
Apple plans to remove the notch from the MacBook Pro in a few years from now, according to a roadmap shared by research firm Omdia. The roadmap shows that 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models released in 2026 will have a hole-punch camera at the top of the display, instead of a notch. It is unclear if there would simply be a pinhole in the display, or if Apple would expand the iPhone's...
vipps nfc tap to pay iphone

World's First Apple Pay Alternative for iPhone Launches in Norway

Monday December 9, 2024 1:28 am PST by
Norwegian payment service Vipps has become the world's first company to launch a competing tap-to-pay solution to Apple Pay on iPhone, following Apple's agreement with European regulators to open up its NFC technology to third parties. Starting December 9, Vipps users in Norway can make contactless payments in stores using their iPhones. The service initially supports customers of SpareBank...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Friday December 6, 2024 4:42 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls...
Apple Watch Series 10 lineup 240909 feature

Apple Watch Could Get Blood Pressure Monitoring in 2025

Tuesday December 10, 2024 11:51 am PST by
Apple is ramping up work on a blood pressure monitoring feature for the Apple Watch and it could be ready as soon as 2025, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Blood pressure monitoring is a health addition that Apple has been working on for the last several years, and based on rumors, Apple wanted to debut it in 2024. The feature would not provide exact systolic and diastolic blood pressure...
macOS Sequoia Night Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.2 With New Apple Intelligence Features

Wednesday December 11, 2024 10:02 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.2, the second update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that was released in September. macOS Sequoia 15.2 comes over a month after the release of macOS Sequoia 15.1. Mac users can download the ‌macOS Sequoia‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Sequoia 15.2 adds Image Playground, an app that lets you create...

Top Rated Comments

Martius Avatar
14 weeks 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
14 weeks ago
Just kill it, it is crap
Score: 47 Votes (Like | Disagree)
breenmask Avatar
14 weeks ago
pull it.

now.
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
desslr Avatar
14 weeks 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
14 weeks 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
14 weeks 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)