Apple appears to quietly admit defeat over a controversial iPhone accessory that's vanished from its website
Apple
- Apple appears to have quietly discontinued FineWoven iPhone cases.
- They came out a year ago with the iPhone 15 launch but were criticized as having quality issues.
- FineWoven wallets and key rings are still available on Apple's website.
Apple seems to have thrown in the towel on its heavily criticized FineWoven iPhone cases.
Introduced last year with the iPhone 15 launch, the FineWoven cases were Apple's eco-friendlier alternative to leather cases.
However, Apple seems to have stopped selling FineWoven cases for the iPhone 15 and hasn't introduced them for the iPhone 16, announced Monday. On Tuesday, a search for FineWoven cases on Apple's website didn't return results for iPhone cases, though FineWoven wallets and AirTag key rings were still listed for sale.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shortly after the cases debuted last year, criticism began rolling in. People said the suede-like cases, made from micro twill, scratched too easily and permanently, collected a lot of dust, looked washed out, and retained circular indents from MagSafe charging.
For the iPhone 16, the Apple subsidiary Beats introduced cases designed to support MagSafe charging and Apple's new Camera Control feature.
It's somewhat rare for Apple to discontinue a product so quickly. But the company has made some notable changes to its offerings in the past — even going so far as to scrap an unreleased product it had already teased.
In September 2017, the company announced an AirPower wireless charging mat, which was intended to charge an iPhone, an Apple Watch, and AirPods at the same time. Apple said it would launch in 2018, but it was never released. In March 2019, the company officially canceled it, saying the accessory would "not achieve our high standards."
Apple's butterfly keyboards, introduced in 2015 and widely criticized by tech reviewers and users who said keys would get stuck, were phased out by May 2020 — one $50 million class-action lawsuit later.