I’m fairly firmly convinced that people who don’t keep their iPhone in a case are from an entirely different species to me. While I don’t make a habit of dropping mine, I don’t think there has been a year in which I haven’t dropped or knocked it against something at least once.
For me, then, an iPhone case falls into the category of a necessity rather than a luxury – but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a luxurious look and feel …
Apple’s decision to abandon leather
For a great many years, Apple had a large selection of leather products, including iPhone cases and sleeves for iPads and MacBooks. For many of us, myself included, a leather case was an automatic add-on when buying a new iPhone.
It was last year when the company announced its decision to abandon the use of leather.
To further reduce impact on the planet, Apple is ending the use of leather across all of its product lines, including iPhone accessories and Apple Watch bands.
Apple sought to replace leather with FineWoven.
The company will replace leather with a new textile called FineWoven, an elegant and durable twill made from 68 percent post-consumer recycled content. FineWoven offers a subtle luster and a soft, suedelike feel, and is available on iPhone MagSafe cases and wallets as well as the Magnetic Link and Modern Buckle Apple Watch bands.
And we all know how that turned out.
Perhaps Apple should have talked to WaveCase – I tried one of the company’s cases made from wheat straw, and I have to say it does a decent job of emulating leather and wasn’t showing any signs of wear after a month or so of use.
But with both leather and FineWoven now history, the only Apple-branded iPhone cases remaining are silicone ones. Beats ones are polycarbonate. The company also sells OtterBox cases, which don’t even list the material used, but also appears to be some kind of plastic.
The decision may be right – but not for me
Leather has been in use for around 7,000 years, and with good reason. It offers a high degree of protection, looks good, feels good, and ages well. It’s one of the very few materials where scuffs and scratches aren’t a concern. Most leather fans like the patina that develops over time, but if you don’t like visible marks then it’s often a rather trivial task to polish them out.
In modern times, Apple devices and leather have long seemed like perfect bedfellows. Both are luxury products aimed at a demographic willing to pay a premium for things which combine good looks with durability and functionality.
Apple’s decision may turn out to be the right one. Perhaps, in time, leather will go the way of fur. But one year in, I have to say the decision still seems to be ‘courageous.’ My feeling is that a great many Apple fans will be choosing leather cases for quite some time to come, myself very much among them.
If you previously used Apple leather iPhone cases, what are you using now? Please take our poll, and share your thoughts in the comments.
Image: 9to5Mac collages of images from Otterbox and Alexander Grey on Unsplash
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