Charles Martin
Following a negative consumer reaction to its FineWoven cases for iPhone, Apple is likely to be replacing the lineup with cases that could be made from a new and unnamed material such as "vegan leather," according to a regular leaker.
Hit-or-miss leaker Majin Bu has again taken to social media to reveal images of the alleged new cases, which use the same colors as the FineWoven cases but are made of a new material. Black, blue, dark purple, green, and taupe colors have been retained from the previous FineWoven line, with a new light gray edition joining the lineup.
Bu posted a second image showing what they initially claimed was the packaging for the new cases. However, they later backtracked and admitted that the image was a picture of existing Chinese knockoff cases.
The FineWoven micro twill cases Apple has promoted as a replacement for leather for the past two years had a good feel, but were easily scratched by fingernails, did not resist staining, and had a tendency to snag inside pockets.
Bu's track record has been very mixed over time, sometimes reprinting rumors from other sources without credit. Some leaks from Bu have turned out to be accurate — they corrected predicted the camera move to the long side of the 10-generation iPad, for example.
Other reports, such as their claim that the iPhone 15 would have two front-facing selfie cameras, have turned out to be false.
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
20 Comments
Vegan leather=plastic.
Environmentally friendlier than actual plastic, but yes.
I always buy purses made out of vegan leather. It's actually made from mushroom skin. It's treated the same as animal skin and turned into leather. It's as good if not better than animal leather.
Samsung used the fabric "Revive 1" by Kvadrat upcycled from PET bottles. Same designer worked with VW and Volvo.
Revive 1 hits 60,000 Martindale (abrasion testing cycles), the leather cases scored around 50,000, while FineWoven took a paltry 1,600 Martindale before disintegrating.
FineWoven 2 should at least hit 50k and Apple should report the number.