Apple could abandon FineWoven cases and return to leather-like material

Unreliable leaker Majin Bu has once again posted images on social media of the supposedly new cases, which use the same colors as the FineWoven cases but are made of a new material. The black, blue, dark purple, green, and taupe colors have been carried over from the previous FineWoven line, and a new light gray edition has been added.

Bu claims that Apple will keep the same color palette for the iPhone 16 “leather” cases.

Bu posted a second image that allegedly showed the packaging of the new cases, but they later backtracked and admitted that the image was an image of existing Chinese knockoffs.

Chinese replicas of cases and packaging are said to resemble those that Apple will release.

The FineWoven micro-twill cases that Apple has been touting as a replacement for leather for two years felt good, but scratched easily with fingernails, were not stain-resistant, and tended to get caught in interior pockets.

Bu’s track record has been very mixed over time, sometimes reprinting rumors from other sources without attribution. Some of Bu’s leaks have proven to be accurate – for example, correcting the prediction that the camera on the 10th generation iPad would be moved to the long side.

Other reports, such as the claim that the iPhone 15 will have two front-facing selfie cameras, turned out to be false.