goods, but I always felt like the leather Apple used to produce iPhone cases was, at best,

OK. In particular I don’t think it weathered well, and I have never been a heavy user of
iPhone cases, generally carrying mine un-cased. Put all the ethical issues aside and
pretend that Apple were still selling leather iPhone cases alongside these new FineWoven
ones, and I’d rather buy a FineWoven one. I’m not entirely sold on the FineWoven Apple
Watch straps based on my hands-on experience, but at worst, they seem pretty nice.
(Apple’s leather watch straps were less expensive than the Hermès ones, but also very
clearly not as nice.)

Pre-orders for the new cases have already begun arriving, and reactions to the new
material are mixed. I’m curious how it’s going to weather over time, especially the watch
straps, but my first impression is that this is a quality upgrade over Apple’s leather
products, not just an ethical one. I don’t think the FineWoven material is nicer than fine
leather, but I do think it’s nicer than the leather iPhone cases Apple made, and perhaps
on par with their own previous leather watch straps. And one thing that it’s not is faux
leather. As Jony Ive might describe it if he were still at Apple, it’s unapologetically fabric.

THE REGULAR IPHONES 15

It seems like the iPhones 15 — non-pro — are exactly what we could have hoped for:
effectively, the iPhone 14 Pro without the telephoto third camera.

That leaves me to carp about the colors, which strike me as bland and washed out, with
the exception of black, which, as usual, is a very deep black indeed. Color trends change
seasonally, and I should probably trust Apple’s designers more than myself to stay on top
of trends, but man, this lineup looks bland. Maybe pale hues are “in” this year, but I highly
doubt that down the road anyone is ever going to say “Remember how great the iPhone
15 colors were?” Compare and contrast with the universal affection we all seem to share
regarding the original iMacs.

New this year: the regular iPhones 15 have frosted glass backs; heretofore the non-pro
models had been glossy, and the Pro models frosted/matte. For the first time, the Pro
and non-pro iPhones feel very much alike in hand: brushed metal sides, frosted glass
backs, very similar sizes, and finally, similar weights.

The iPhone 15 displays are brighter, with the same contrast ratio and maximum
brightness as the displays in the 15 Pro models. Missing from the non-pro iPhone 15
models, though: ProMotion dynamic refresh rates, and the always-on display mode. In
turn, the lack of an always-on display means that the new StandBy feature in iOS 17 is
much more useful with the Pro models. With the non-pro iPhones 15, StandBy will only
show until the display times out and goes to sleep; with the iPhones Pro (including last
year’s 14 Pro models), StandBy is always on.

IPHONES 15 PRO

The color selection for the Pro models fits recent trends: black (which is really more of a
very dark gray), white, and a color of the year. Last year with the iPhones 14 Pro, that
color was purple. This year it’s blue, and it’s a nice but quite dark blue. Intriguingly — and
adding more grist to the argument that Apple just doesn’t have much fun with colors of