Apple has trouble admitting when it’s wrong. The company’s marketing has always been about excellence, and admitting that something isn’t right seems to be out of the question for Apple. For us customers, this means having to deal with problematic products for longer than we’d like. Yes, I’m talking about FineWoven – but Apple has had other FineWovens in its past, and it should’ve learned that it’s okay to admit you’re wrong sometimes.
Apple’s FineWoven accessories are bad
With the launch of the iPhone 15 last September, Apple announced that it would no longer use leather in its products as part of its efforts to zero carbon emissions by 2030. It’s a good thing for the environment, for sure, but it came with a catch. Instead of focusing just on silicone cases and watch bands, Apple has introduced a new material called FineWoven.
Apple says FineWoven is a “durable microtwill.” FineWoven does indeed feel good and has a soft touch. But as people have used these accessories, they’ve realized that the quality is not that good and the durability is really bad. It’s super easy to permanently scratch and stain a FineWoven accessory, which makes them look awful after a few weeks – or even days.
I myself tried to use a FineWoven case with my iPhone 15 Pro Max and ended up returning it to Apple after two weeks. And that seems to be the reality for the vast majority of customers who have bought one of these accessories.
In a poll we conducted with our readers in September, 70% voted that FineWoven cases just don’t meet Apple’s standards. A few months later, stores like Best Buy and Target were no longer restocking FineWoven cases because everyone was returning them. The cases are so bad that Amazon had to add a “frequently returned item” alert on its website.
I do believe that Apple is wrong about FineWoven. So what is Apple doing about it? Nothing so far.
Apple has a hard time admitting it’s wrong
And that’s where the part about not admitting you’re wrong comes in. When I say that Apple has had other FineWovens in its past, it’s because the company has introduced some really controversial products and it took ages to fix them.
Who remembers the Butterfly Keyboard? It was first introduced with the 2015 MacBook as a solution to make the computer even thinner. However, after it was put on the market, many customers were frustrated as the Butterfly Keyboard had many malfunctions, such as keys repeating unintentionally or even keys that stopped working.
Even with all these problems, Apple expanded the Butterfly Keyboard to the entire lineup of MacBooks, including the MacBook Pro and then the MacBook Air. In 2018, Apple finally announced a repair program that allowed owners of affected MacBooks to replace the keyboard for free if needed.
It took almost five years before Apple brought back the classic keyboard, now called the Magic Keyboard, to the MacBook. A series of class action lawsuits were filed in a number of US states, alleging that Apple knew from internal testing that the keyboard design was faulty. Apple tried and failed to have the lawsuits dismissed.
Just imagine the amount of junk resulting from the many MacBook top cases with a malfunctioning keyboard.
And while I’m on the subject of MacBooks, let’s not forget that many users were upset when the company decided to kill off pretty much every port with the promise that USB-C was the future. While I’m a fan of USB-C, I’ve always hated losing things like HDMI and MagSafe. And Apple knew that users hated it, but it took the company years to bring the ports back.
Apple was wrong about these things. Would it be so hard to acknowledge that users simply didn’t like the change back then?
It’s okay to go back on some decisions
There’s nothing wrong with admitting you’re wrong. Steve Jobs kind of did it after the Antennagate scandal with the iPhone 4. Although he and Apple were reluctant to say that there was indeed a massive issue with the iPhone, the company gave free Bumper cases to every iPhone 4 owner and refunded those who had already bought one.
A year later, the company changed the position of the antennas with the iPhone 4s to fix Antennagate once and for all.
But what about FineWoven?
A leaker recently reported that the company knows that the durability of the products is poor and has almost put an end to their production. However, according to the same leaker, the FineWoven accessories will be around for another season, which means that Apple might keep them around for another year after the launch of the iPhone 16.
So why not admit right now that FineWoven is bad? Why not be honest with customers?
I wasn’t against the idea of putting an end to leather products, but Apple shouldn’t have tried to replace it with something worse that would make a lot of people throw their cases in the trash after weeks. That’s what’s bad for the environment.
I really hope FineWoven goes away soon, and that Apple knows it’s okay to admit it was wrong about it. But what about you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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