Alongside the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro, Apple introduced a new case material called “FineWoven” as an alternative to leather, and unfortunately, it has not proven popular with some customers.
Image of FineWoven case under microscope from iFixit
Given the criticism of the FineWoven case, teardown site iFixit obtained one of the accessories and decided to take it apart to get a closer look.
Using a digital microscope, iFixit viewed the FineWoven fabric at 52x and 490x magnification, confirming that it is indeed made up of bundles of tightly woven fibers. Each fiber is much smaller than a strand of hair, measuring in at about six microns thick.
Groups of the individual fibers make up threads that are around 150 microns thick, and iFixit says the microtwill material that Apple is using is not too far off from high-end jackets from companies like Patagonia and Arc’teryx.
When the FineWoven fabric is scratched, the fibers don’t break, but the scratch does cause the affected fibers to reflect light irregularly, which means there’s a visual mark. The softness of the material also means that items in the pocket with the case can leave an indentation.
Because the FineWoven case is made from fabric, it did stain when exposed to hot sauce and oil, though it was able to resist coffee. When exposed to certain foods or liquids, FineWoven case owners can expect to see the case become stained, and iFixit wasn’t able to get the oil or the hot sauce stain out.
iFixit cut the case open to see how it was assembled. The FineWoven fabric is on the outside, with a gray foam inside. Beyond the gray foam, there’s a rigid plastic sheet, the MagSafe hardware, white foam, another rigid plastic sheet, and an inner layer of FineWoven fabric. All of the layers are thin, and the FineWoven fabric itself is about 0.17mm.
The sides of the case feature the same FineWoven fabric that appears to have been coated in a resin-like material, producing a hard, non-porous surface.
iFixit suggests that those with FineWoven cases protect it with a Durable Water Repellent spray to make the case more resistant to staining and liquid.
