$300,000+ iPhone case is outrageous

I get kinda depressed when I think about Jony Ive and his devotion to luxury goods.

On the one hand, when he was Apple’s design chief, he served the company well. As a result, Apple excels at making high-end devices largely affordable to a wide swath of the public.

On the other, in his new role at his design company, LoveFrom, he’s tinkering with $60,000 record players, royal seals and a partnership with Ferrari (which doesn’t seem to have come to fruition yet). One thing’s for sure: He’s not designing for the masses anymore.

The thing I always liked about Apple is exemplified by Andy Warhol’s famous quote about Coca-Cola:

“What's great about this country is America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you can know that the president drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good.”

Which is all a roundabout way of saying that I hate this AI-designed iPhone case, which costs more than $300,000 and comes from French luxury accessories maker Labodét. I hate that some people have the means and the desire to buy an iPhone case that costs so much. I hate that it’s made out of animal skins. And I even hate the way it looks.

It doesn’t look like something Jony Ive would design, but the outrageous price tag nevertheless feels familiar. In fact, the naked appeal to luxury is the only thing uglier than the case itself.

I’ll stick with an iPhone case that’s a little more humble, approachable and affordable — or go with no case at all.

Also in today’s newsletter:

• Tim Cook isn’t known for speaking out of turn, but comments he made about iPhone sales in China just cost Apple a pretty penny.

• There’s good news and bad news about Apple’s efforts to build a folding iPhone. Actually, it’s just bad news. Same with the rumored iPad Air with an OLED screen.

• If you want some nice speakers that play well with your Apple gear, the HomePod mini is on sale for just $79.99. It’s a rare discount on a sweet-sounding smart speaker.

• Tell us what you think about Labodét’s outrageous iPhone case in today’s poll. (Apparently, Cult of Mac Today readers don’t care much for the new Apple Sports app.)

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

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Today’s poll

Results from yesterday’s poll: How do you like the Apple Sports app?

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