Phones have always been fashion statements. What started as simple cases to protect your phone has evolved into decking out the devices with every accessory imaginable: dangling charms and key chains, PopSockets, phone wallets, straps, and now . . . pockets?
Apple just launched a new product called the iPhone Pocket, and it’s effectively a knitted bag for your iPhone. Apple designed the pouch in collaboration with high-end Japanese fashion brand Issey Miyake, whose relationship with Apple stretches back to the Steve Jobs era. (Jobs’s signature turtlenecks were designed by Miyake, who retired the iconic shirts following Jobs’s death in 2011.)
The tech giant says the 3D-knitted design is meant to serve as an additional pocket for an iPhone and small essentials like AirPods or lip balm. The ribbed pleats—a nod to Miyake’s signature style—are designed to hold any iPhone, stretching just enough to offer a peek at the screen. Given the stretchy fabric, it can be carried by hand, attached to a bag, or worn across the body.
The shorter version—available in bright shades like orange, pink, yellow, and turquoise—costs $149.95 and can be worn on the wrist or attached to a bag as a charm. The cross-body version comes in blue, brown, or black. That extra fabric will cost you, with a price of $229.95.
The iPhone, accessorized
Unsurprisingly, the internet is balking at the price. Marques Brownlee, an influencer with more than 20 million subscribers, reacted on X: “TWO hundred and thirty dollars. This feels like a litmus test for people who will buy/defend anything Apple releases.”
A wave of responses quickly followed. “Can’t wait for the $8 Amazon knockoffs,” wrote one user. Another added: “What are they gonna do? Stop making pockets on our pants so we have to start wearing our phones like a purse? C’mon man, Apple will do anything BUT innovate on a new phone.”
Many have noted that the pouch takes inspiration from Jobs’s 2004 iPod Sock, which he jokingly described at the time as “a revolutionary new product.” The Miyake collab lacks the same sense of humor, but it at least signals a hint of playfulness coming out of Cupertino.
Apple has historically taken a minimalist approach to accessories, with iPhone cases designed to be a simple second skin to the devices. For the most part, the company has left any sort of self-expression to third-party accessory brands, which can have a heckuva lot more fun with their design.
This year, though, Apple seems to have taken notice that people want to accessorize their phones—you know, the object that humans carry with them for hours a day and coddle like a baby. The company dipped its toes into wearable iPhone fashion with a $59 cross-body strap released alongside its September iPhone lineup. Now, the iPhone Pocket marks Apple’s second venture into phone-as-accessory territory.
The Pocket is getting roasted, and perhaps fairly so. But the product very clearly has its audience in mind: the small Venn diagram of people who care enough about technology and fashion to wear it on their bodies—and have enough money to pay for the pleasure of doing so.