Apple FineWoven Case Gate
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There’s a lot of rumblings going on around the wear and tear of Apple’s FineWoven iPhone cases since Joanna Stern’s thread on X and newsletter.
Personally, I am quite happy with mine. I chose the Mulberry option for my iPhone 15 Pro and was surprised by how nice looking and soft to the touch it is.
I also got the impressions the edges were thinner than the silicone or leather cases I previously owned, making it more compact. It holds well in my hand and doesn’t get caught in my jeans pockets.
Stains aren’t patina
Now, it does mark. A MagSafe ring shadow started to appear towards the end of last year, and the middle of the long side edges show some wear. Nothing I can’t live with.
On the other hand, if it gets in contact with minute drops of humidity, the stains seem to remain. The issue is that those stains don’t look like patina or natural wear. They can look gross and dirty depending on their spread and intensity. The colour of the case might accentuate the problem too.
I haven’t tried to clean it. That might be a solution to explore.
Another reported issue is that the plastic edges are peeling. Mine doesn’t suffer from that. On the other hand, my daughter’s iPhone 15 Silicone case is peeling after only 5 months of use, while I know of numerous iPhone 13 owners who’s silicone cases have peeled and threaded to bits.
I guess designing eco-friendly materials is hard — we were warned…
Thankfully, there are many alternate choices out there, at every price point, shape and colour, including going caseless.
Living without a case
I decided to give the caseless life style again a try again, and have been living without one since the beginning of the year. Something I haven’t done since the iPhone 5, and it feels and looks so good. I did briefly try back in September, but wasn’t convinced. Today, the titanium sides feel less slippery than the stainless steel ones of previous models. It might be a question of season and temperature, or my imagination. Time will tell.
The case to get
I did buy the Redwood Peak Design everyday case for those times when I need a case, typically in the warmer seasons when I wear lighter clothing and spend more time outside. It adds some bulk to the phone, but in an intelligent manner, and the new colour is fantastic.
The revised v2 edition that came out in fits the phone perfectly, in contrary to their initial release which didn’t feel quite right, with a recessed action button hard to use. Like I’ve previously written, it is a design hard to beat.
Recommended.