Apple’s FineWoven iPhone Cases Just Aren’t That Good

A lot of folks’ initial impressions of Apple’s new FineWoven iPhone cases have been pretty bad. The new fabric back doesn’t feel premium enough for the price Apple is charging, and is already failing to hold up to real-world use, as Federico Viticci has discovered.

I immediately discovered that the hole cut out in the bottom of the case isn’t big enough to accommodate any of my third-party USB-C cables. Upon closer inspection, I realized one reason why:

FineWoven case with misaligned port

The cutout for the USB-C port on my $60 iPhone case isn’t centered. As you can see, the tiny screw to one side of the port is partially visible, while on the other side, it is completely covered. Likewise, the openings for the speakers and microphones are also misaligned.

It’s one thing for these cases to be a letdown in terms of material, but this is a level of sloppiness that genuinely surprises me from Apple. I know not every example out there is as bad as mine, but the vibes around this case aren’t good.