Leather, silicon and stainless steel bands on their way out?
Apple is expected to make sustainability a big focus of its iPhone 15 event on September 12 – and a major part of that will be a significant refresh of its Apple Watch straps and iPhone cases.
We’re expecting to see an Apple Watch 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 announced at the Apple September event tomorrow, and there are signs that Apple is planning to move away from its leather, silicone and even stainless steel watch bands.
Apple’s long-time Watch partner Hermès recently removed its ‘Apple Watch Hermès’ page and all other mentions of Apple-related accessories from its site. That either suggests an entirely new range of straps is en route, or that Apple’s partnership with the brand is over.
We’ll find out for sure during the September 12 keynote, but an extra hint that Apple is planning to move away from leather entirely was the recent revelation from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman that Apple has been offering Hermès leather accessories to its employees with a 90% discount.
What might take the place of leather straps? Separate leaks from Apple collector @KosutamiSan on X (formerly Twitter) suggest that Apple is planning to introduce a new woven-style “eco-fiber” material called FineWoven for its iPhone 15 cases.
