Apple Announces Limited iPhone Pocket in Collaboration with ISSEY MIYAKE

By next fall, Apple had already wrapped up its big presentations: new iPhones, refreshed MacBooks, and a handful of accessories. The betas of iOS and macOS still stay under wraps in developer builds. Meanwhile, Apple stepped into the unexpected. It revealed the iPhone Pocket, a collaboration with ISSEY MIYAKE. A knitted strap-pouch for your iPhone. Because even in a year full of “innovations,” you might still need something to carry it in.

Apple Collaboration With ISSEY MIYAKE

Apple dropped the iPhone Pocket, created in partnership with ISSEY MIYAKE. It looks like a knitted strap-pouch designed for an iPhone but dressed up with designer credentials. Imagine a 3D-knitted sleeve that holds your iPhone like a small pouch. You slip the phone in, pull the edge slightly, and the mesh stretches just enough to peek at the screen without taking it out. The texture feels soft yet tight, almost like it’s trying to hug the iPhone (lovingly, but for its price, expect no less).

Materials wise, Apple lists the composition as 85% polyester, 14% nylon and 1% polyurethane. The design line draws on ISSEY MIYAKE’s pleated textile tradition and Apple’s minimalist hardware style.

Apple sells two versions. The short-strap model costs $149.95 and comes in eight color options: lemon, mandarin, purple, pink, peacock, sapphire, cinnamon, and black.

The long cross-body version costs $229.95 and limits you to three shades – sapphire, cinnamon, and black. Clearly Apple wants you to make a choice between practicality and a bit of brightness.

Sales begin November 14, exclusively online and in a few flagship Apple Stores in the U.S., UK, France, Japan, Singapore, and other key regions. Expect limited stock and long lines.

Don’t Think This Is the First Strange Accessory From Apple

After we saw the iPhone Pocket announcement, we started to wonder if this was Apple’s first release of something so unusual, or not? As it turned out, Apple has experimented before, and quite a few times. So, we decided to add a short list here, just so you know what kind of “pocket-level” creativity Apple has displayed over the years.

• Back in 2004, Apple released one of its most unexpected accessories – iPod Socks. Six knitted sleeves in bright colours: green, purple, gray, blue, orange and pink. They sold for $29 as a pack. Steve Jobs called them “revolutionary,” clearly with a straight face. The socks were never meant for an actual pocket, just for protecting your iPod while it travelled. Apple kept them in stores for years, and now collectors pay more for them than anyone ever should for fabric tubes.
  

  

• Then came the Apple Polishing Cloth. In 2021, Apple launched a $19 microfiber cloth with a small embossed logo. It works on every Apple display, even the delicate nano-texture glass. Tech sites quickly asked the obvious question: what makes this different from any regular microfiber cloth? No one ever gave a solid answer, but memes flourished.
  

  

• The Smart Battery Case arrived quietly in 2015 for the iPhone 6 and 6s. The silicone design added a noticeable hump on the back to fit a built-in battery. It promised up to 25 hours of talk time and showed its charge right on the iPhone screen. Reviewers compared it to a backpack for your phone. The look wasn’t elegant (some called it “the hippo case”), but the function worked.
  

  

• In 2020, Apple unveiled the AirPods Max along with a case that left everyone guessing. The Smart Case folds over the headphones and triggers a low-power mode. Reviewers didn’t hold back: one said it looked like a purse, another compared it to… (something less polite).
  

  

• The Clicks Keyboard attaches a physical keyboard to an iPhone like it’s 2009 again. This one technically isn’t Apple’s own product, but it deserves a place here, and we discussed it with our team and decided to mention it anyway. If you ever dreamed of turning your iPhone into a mini BlackBerry, you now have a way to do it.
  

  

Final Thoughts

This was probably one of the funniest posts we have ever published. The news about the iPhone Pocket announcement made us smile right away. No matter how much we love Apple, this decision looks odd. We are sure many users will love the concept and grab one the moment sales start, but we stay loyal to our ordinary silicone cases. You will not find us in the lines for the Pocket, even if the long strap version matches our wallpaper.

Still, the iPod Socks remain undefeated. Those were literal knitted sleeves for twenty-nine dollars. Everyone’s grandma could make them at home in a weekend. Yet somehow, Apple turned them into a collectible. That alone proves how well the company sells not just products, but ideas, and sometimes jokes that cost real money.

For now, we wait for Apple’s next round of announcements. We only hope that the next “innovation” does not include brighter pockets for iPhones. Our shelves and our wallets already need a rest.