If you were hoping that all your cultish rituals and stuck voodoo dolls would make the iPhone FineWoven cases meet an untimely end, then you don’t know Apple. After one Apple tipster asserted that the maligned iPhone cases would soon be as dead as the Dodo, we may instead be looking at a whole new slate of case colors for the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, and iPhone 15 Pro as one last hurrah. Still, none of that means we won’t see a whole new case design for the upcoming iPhone 16.
The leaker and prototype hoarder who goes by Kosutami online first claimed Sunday on Twitter that “FineWoven has gone” and that it was no longer in production. However, the rumormonger claimed we could have at least one more season of FineWoven sales on Tuesday. Even if Apple eventually plans to eliminate the microtwill design, the company may release a new set of colors. Perhaps we might finally get something a bit more vibrant than the matte, subdued taupe, mulberry, and evergreen.
Gizmodo contacted Apple for comment, but we did not immediately hear back. Kosutami should get some credit since they first correctly identified Apple’s plans to move away from leather, though there’s still very little to go on with these rumors alone.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t speculate for a bit. FineWoven was supposed to be Apple’s big new case design to replace the older, far less environmentally friendly leather. Since their release, the case has been marred by detractors who hate the feel, the look, and the scratch-prone microfiber material. In February, The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern showed pictures of her case “browning like a rotten banana.” However, Gizmodo’s own Florence Ion tested the cases and found they were just fine and that some of the hubbubs were a little overblown, considering other cases cost just as much, if not more.
Though perpetually messy, consumers were still concerned that their not-leather premium case could get marred by food, liquid, or scratches. Still, if you thought Apple wouldn’t try to get a little more out of its new design, you probably don’t know Apple’s usual “keep calm and carry on” in the face of user derision. Think of how long it took the company to move on from the much-derided butterfly keyboard, even though that was decidedly a worse product design than these latest iPhone cases.
Considering that iPhone sales are lagging behind the likes of Samsung, Apple would want to release as many new products as possible to build up hype before the inevitable iPhone 16 release. According to a report from Counterpoint Research, iPhone sales in China are significantly lagging. The analysts said iPhone sales in the country are down a little more than 19% yearly. We suspect that if Apple would wind down on this generation of FineWoven, it would only be to support a new kind of FineWoven 2.0 that can still help the company’s eco-friendly claims while mollifying all those iPhone customers who are still angry about their $60 cases.