- Apple’s iPhone Pocket has received a lot of criticism since its launch
- At first glance, this may seem like a strange product for Apple to sell.
- But there are several reasons why Apple released this fabric phone holder
Apple has a way of polarizing people that few other tech companies can match. When it announced the iPhone Pocket earlier this week, for example, a flood of enraged commenters was quick to go online and alternately berate or defend the tech giant.
But whatever you think of the iPhone Pocket, there are reasons why Apple decided to go ahead and launch the fabric phone holder – the company didn’t just pull the idea out of its pocket.
The first reason for the green light for the iPhone Pocket is linked to the co-founder of Apple Steve Jobs. The irascible maverick who founded Apple was a big fan of Japanese designer Issey Miyake, and he even asked the fashion guru to create his iconic black turtleneck sweater.
Although Miyake himself passed away in 2022, his company retained his name – and it is this company that is behind the iPhone Pocket. Whether Jobs would actually have approved the iPhone Pocket is another matter.
Second, while you may not have heard of Issey Miyake (the man or the company), the name is pretty. big problem in Asia especially.
It has long been popular with older generations, but has recently found its way into the wardrobes of younger customers. The Asian market plays a major role in Apple’s revenue, so attracting customers from the continent makes sense from Apple’s perspective.
This is also reflected in the fact that Asia also plays an important role in the availability of the iPhone Pocket.
You can buy it online at Apple online stores in China, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea, as well as in France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. But as for the Apple Stores, 60% of the 10 physical locations where the iPhone Pocket is sold they are found in Asia. This says a lot about Apple’s reasoning behind the product.
Although the service seems confusing, there are a few other reasons why Apple launched the iPhone Pocket. On the one hand, phone carrying accessories have become a trend that is gaining popularity in recent years, both as a way to carry a device when your clothes don’t have deep pockets and you don’t want the weight of a bag, and as a fashion item in its own right.
After all, it hasn’t been long since Apple launched the shoulder strap for the iPhone 17 to match Bandolier – clearly Apple knows there’s a demand for products like this, and the iPhone Pocket is just the latest iteration.
How much?
Finally, we come to the price. You might think that a starting price of $149.95 / £139.95 is an outrageous price to pay for a woven iPhone holder – and that comes out to $229.95 / £219.95 for a long strap. In many ways it is, but it’s not a device intended for mass consumption.
Like the Hermès bracelets included with each Apple Watch launch, the iPhone Pocket is intended to be a high-end fashion statement much more than a practical everyday object. Apple is positioning its fabric iPhone accessory as something aspirational, something that plays on the combined weight of the Apple and Issey Miyake names, and as such it was never intended for regular consumers.
Apple certainly didn’t help itself when it launched the iPhone Pocket by saying it had a “3D knitted design” and was inspired by “a piece of fabric.” Some might say it was almost headline-grabbing and attention-grabbing. But Apple also clearly had its reasons for launching this high-end accessory – and as usual, it was willing to take some short-term mockery for its big fashion project.
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