Techwoven: Apple’s new functional fabric under the magnifying glass

Finewoven aka Feinbissen was a fiasco for Apple: the material for iPhone covers and other accessories decomposed itself after a surprisingly short time, was susceptible to scratches and quickly looked very ugly-despite high prices. Apple finally pulled the ripcord and set the fabric (almost). With the iPhone-17 models, the successor has now appeared: he is called Techwoven, which Apple calls a little cumbersome in German functional fabric. The main question is: Is this material – also made of plastic – material more durable than Finewoven? The answer shows one First more precise examination by the repair specialist ifixit.

The good news

It examined the material both under the microscope and edited with a knife. It was also checked how well it can handle spots and how abrasion -resistant it is. First the good news: The comparatively scratchy material, which is built from a pattern of different threads of different colors, is generally more resistant than Finewoven. However, this is not only due to the structure, but because Apple uses a chemical coating.

This ensures that drops cannot penetrate so easily into the material. Even coffee stains could be removed-a little 90 percent isopropyl alcohol helped. Funnily enough, however, the coffee fawn did not go away (immediately). Even oil spots did not penetrate the tissue at first and could be wipe away – if necessary with the cleaning alcohol.

Expensive shell

However, the coating does not last forever. She resists coins or keys because it is quite slippery. But if you scratch them with a knife, a penetration is possible – and even cutting the threads. After that, liquid can also penetrate and dye the material permanently. How quickly the coating dissolves in everyday life is unclear. Also bad: the interior of the Techwoven cover-i.e. the area in which you insert the iPhone-does not have a coating, according to iFixit. If something runs into it here, you don’t see it at first, but it is still unsightly. The areas between the shell and the edges also seem to be less protected.

All in all, it can be said that Apple Techwoven has made it much more durable than Finewoven – but it is not a “leather replacement” like the latter material. The prices per case are also salted: 69 euros each Costs a case, whether for the iPhone 17 Pro or 17 per max.