Sometimes Apple gets its product absolutely right and the unit stays in amazing shape for a long time.
Other times it’s poorly manufactured and “winds up “browning like a rotten banana,” just five months after its release, according to the Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern.
According to Stern’s latest tech newsletter, Apple’s $59 FineWoven cases for iPhone 15 took heavy flak when they were released last September for being subpar compared to the leather Apple cases they replaced, are something that should be avoided entirely.
From Stern’s newsletter:
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.”
Other tech sites, such as The Verge, have complained about scratches in the fabric. Over on online retail sites, customers complain about peeling edges, scratches, and the proclivity of the FineWover case to get dirty.
An Apple spokesman said that the company’s cases are engineered at the highest standard to protect iPhones and that the FineWoven case’s durable microtwill will protect an iPhone for years. The company has also released a support document offering advice about cleaning the FineWoven cases, albeit the document’s small print admits that “The material may look different and show wear over time as the fibers get compressed with normal use” and that “some scratches may diminish over time.”
Despite the continued bad publicity almost six months on from the cases’ debut, Apple still appears unwilling to admit that its leather alternative material is a letdown. Still, the case remains controversial, and if you’re in the market for a new iPhone 15 case, it might behoove you to look for a better-quality product.
Via MacRumors, The Wall Street Journal, and The Verge