Apple today shared a new iPhone ad called “Goodbye Leather” on its YouTube channel in the U.K., months after the company controversially switched from leather to a much-criticized “FineWoven” fabric material for accessories.
Apple discontinuing leather accessories for environmental benefits was a noble aspiration, but FineWoven accessories have been very poorly received. Just days after the first FineWoven cases were released for the iPhone, some customers and media outlets complained about the fabric exterior being prone to scratches and stains. A photo also surfaced of a FineWoven case with a misaligned USB-C port cutout.
The Wall Street Journal‘s Joanna Stern said her FineWoven case was “browning like a rotten banana” after five months of usage.
“The edges are peeling, the fabric is scratched up like an old CD and it’s browning like a rotten banana,” she wrote, in her Tech Things newsletter. “I’ve been waiting for the CDC to show up at my house to declare it a biomedical concern.”
Apple has yet to comment on FineWoven criticism, and it remains to be seen if the company discontinues the line or improves the material in any way.
Thanks, Dylan McDonald!
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