Following up on recent rumors saying Apple won’t make leather cases for the iPhone 15 lineup, newer rumors suggest Apple will replace them with a new woven material, according to leakers.
Leather iPhone 15 cases may give way to new woven material
Earlier in August, rumors suggested Apple would not make any leather cases for iPhone 15 series handsets. Now leakers are showing a purported replacement textured woven material in alleged versions of new Apple cases, as reported by 9to5 Mac and others.
Well-known leakers Majin Bu and DuanRui posted images on X (formerly Twitter) carried over from Chinese site Weibo, where a user known as UnclePan also posted about them.
The Apple-branded examples in the images feature a soft lining and a MagSafe ring, making them look like the real thing, although commenters showed skepticism.
The new iPhone 15 simil leather case should have a different texture pic.twitter.com/7nA6HHVcl1
— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) August 27, 2023
But the examples in the photos are apparently not made by Apple, as Majin Bu noted in a comment in a response to doubts. “As I said in the other post, these are not made by Apple but should be based on the original models,” they noted.
They described the material as “MagSafe environmental protection cloth leather case.”
And while leaker DuanRui seemed unsure about colors shown, they said “the exterior style should be 90% reliable” in a comment.
The cases appear to be woven from materials that might create a faux-leather look and feel. The materials are likely to be more eco-friendly than the cow leather Apple has used in iPhone cases and other products, like Apple Watch bands and AirTag loops.
And eco-friendliness and sustainability would be likely reasons for Apple to do this, if it is, in fact, doing this.
The updated schematics of the iPhone 15 simil leather cases show the same colors. I have no information yet on the material used but it also seems that they are presented as "Magsafe environmental protection cloth leather case"
This is what they might look like pic.twitter.com/7GdJisMfvg
— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) August 27, 2023
David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.
With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.
Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.
Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.
