Apple has largely stopped selling its controversial sustainability material “Finnwoven”, also called “Finnwoven” in English, with yesterday’s iPhone keynote. This material is no longer used to make iPhone cases, which were heavily criticized. It is currently only available in the form A MagSafe wallet for credit cards, an AirTag keychain as well as Apple Watch bracelets from the “Modern Clasp” seriesWhich is available only in 42mm size.
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Little CO₂, but a lot of waste
This fine fabric was intended to be an alternative to Apple’s leather to reduce its carbon footprint. However, it quickly became apparent that the plastic material could degrade after a short time. First it developed scratches, then ugly partial warping of the cases, especially on the edges. Wall Street Journal tech journalist Joanna Stern summarized it in a memorable sentence last spring: “The edges are peeling, the fabric is scratched like an old CD, and it’s turning brown like a rotten banana.”
To date, Apple has not commented on the problems with “Finewoven”, but the company is said to be accommodating angry customers and then arranging returns. The fact that the material cannot continue is now evident in its deletion from the portfolio. There has been speculation about this before – recently stocks of fine fabric cases in Apple Stores dropped sharply.
The replacement comes from Beats
Interestingly, a somewhat finer fabric replacement is already available: in the Apple online store, there are now various new cases listed to match the iPhone 16, coming from Apple subsidiary Beats, which is entering the iPhone case business for the first time. These are offered in For all four iPhone 16 modelsThe price is 59 euros each.
One of four colors (“Night Black”, “Gipfelstein”, “Flood Blue” and “Sunset Purple”) and is a combination of polycarbonate (hardshell) and flexible side areas. A microfiber material is used inside. These cases are compatible with Apple’s new camera button (“Camera Control”).
(B.Sc.)
