The news doesn’t get any better for FineWoven cases. After being solidly panned by 9to5Mac readers, editors, and major retail chains, a series of polls on social media sites saw the majority of owners describe them as “junk.”
Update: The combined results of three social media polls show that 53% describe the case as “a piece of junk,” while only 21% considered it has held up well …
The polls follow a tweet by WSJ columnist Joanna Stern, who said about own iPhone 15 Pro FineWoven case: “The edges are peeling, the fabric is scratched up like an old CD, and it’s browning like a rotten banana.”
Stern said there was nothing fine about the case.
There it is, everyone. My iPhone 15 Pro Max’s FineWoven case after five months of use. The edges are peeling, the fabric is scratched up like an old CD and it’s browning like a rotten banana. I’ve been waiting for the CDC to show up at my house to declare it a biomedical concern.
Some of you will say: “JOANNA! How gross are you?” Others—those who bought this case for $59 when it came out in September—will likely say: “Yep. Same issues here.”
Apple made a big eco-friendly deal about the FineWoven case when it was announced alongside the iPhone 15 models in the fall. Replacing the company’s leather cases, Apple said this FineWoven material was “an elegant and durable new textile” and that it was made from 68% “post-consumer recycled content.” Admirable. Except nothing has been fine about the FineWoven case.
She said it’s not just her, and pointed to reviews on Best Buy and Amazon, with comments about it being the worst product Apple has ever made.
This seems to be born out by polls created by John Gruber on three different social media sites. The majority in each case went for the ‘it’s a piece of junk’ option.
The same was true on Threads and Mastodon, with many sharing photos of the state of theirs.
Top comment by Xtreme
Despite being made from 68% “post-consumer recycled content,” their short lifespan means FineWoven cases are less environmentally friendly than the leather cases they replaced.
Gruber concluded that the results speak for themselves.
It really does seem, five months in, that FineWoven is a failure, durability-wise, compared to Apple’s previous leather cases.
As for 9to5Mac readers, you’d already reached the same conclusion not long after launch, with 70% of you stating that the cases simply don’t meet the standards expected of Apple. Our own Chance Miller also didn’t pull any punches in his own verdict:
Apple’s new FineWoven cases for iPhone 15 are a huge swing and miss. They suck. Apple should remove them from sale and refund everyone who’s already bought one.
Both Best Buy, Target, and Walmart all stopped keeping FineWoven cases in stock as of November of last year. Vox Media’s Parker Ortolani said that the reason for this was apparent literally within one day of the cases going on display in Apple Stores.
Main photo: Parker Ortolani
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