Unveiling Apple’s Most Anticipated iPhone Accessory of the Year: A Surprise Release

So, Glowtime, the name Apple gave to this year’s September keynote, promised a lot, but delivered something entirely different. I was hoping they’d finally fix those awful FineWoven cases, but it seems they’re abandoning ship instead.

Remember FineWoven? It was launched alongside the iPhone 15, touted as a “luxurious and durable microtwill.” Yeah, about that. It wasn’t durable at all, with users reporting significant scuffing after light use. A year on, it looks like Apple is all but done with FineWoven, leaving only the MagSafe Wallet and a key ring made from the material.

But don’t worry, Apple fans! They did bring something new to the table: a hardshell polycarbonate iPhone 16 case under the Beats brand. It’s available in four colors – Midnight Black, Summit Stone, Riptide Blue, and Sunset Purple – and retails for $49, the same price as Apple’s other in-house cases.

On the surface, this new case seems pretty unremarkable – Apple already makes a hard polycarbonate case, after all. But the release raises some interesting questions about Beats, which Apple acquired in 2014 for a whopping $3 billion.