By Staff Writer: Dominick Sanchez
The release of the iPhone is typically one of the most exciting times of the year regarding technology and all things Apple. However, this year’s release has been a particularly strange one. New products and accessories are seldom released without a hiccup or two, for the iPhone 15 Pro, let’s just say hiccup may be a word to kind to fully describe this year’s release.
Let’s start with the most minor offender being the Fine Woven case. Apple made a pledge to go eco-friendly by 2027. A major change to reach that goal would be to eliminate all leather products from the lineup. While not entirely harmful for the environment, at Apple’s scale leather production is simply unfeasible to be carbon neutral in the long run. To combat that, Apple created a brand-new case constructed of a synthetic fabric called Fine Woven that is touted as more eco-friendly.
Apple claims that “Fine Woven,” is made of 68 percent post-consumer content and is overall more environmentally friendly compared to the company’s previous line of leather accessories. As for the feel of the material it is described as a “durable micro-twill” with a “soft, suede-like feel.” The reaction to the case had veered towards the negative with the tech website “The Verge” declaring it as “Categorically Terrible.” Outrage about FineWoven cases reached a fever pitch in late September.
Reports of scratched cases on the floor being replaced daily by Apple employees to return rates, misaligned ports, and permanent scratches quickly sullied the reputation of these cases in the eyes of many Apple followers in the tech community. The noise surrounding these cases got so loud that one could wonder if “it did more harm for Apple to release this case rather than release the silicone cases alone and continue exploring more durable material options?” From the outside looking in, it felt like a bad look for
Apple’s most important product to be embroiled in such a controversy because of its optional case. Other companies have made innovative strides by creating leather alternatives out of natural materials such as mushrooms, pineapples, and ironically even apples. The second issue that has plagued the iPhone 15 Pro has been a case of overheating. Many users have reported that the handset gets uncomfortably warm while performing the most mundane tasks like browsing Instagram.
Apple believes that Apps have not been properly optimized to run on the new A17 Pro Chip that was introduced with the 15 Pro, thus they don’t run properly. After weeks of complaints, a software update was finally released on Oct 25th. Regardless, the thought of an overheating phone is not something a potential customer should ever need to think about. Thankfully online reception to the update has been positive. While companies don’t always get it right at launch, there are those that take the effort to fix their mistakes as quickly as possible. We can certainly live without experimental accessories, but we cannot live with a device that doubles as a hand warmer.