When the iPhone 17 series was released this past September, one of the key accessories Apple promoted for its latest phones was its new Crossbody Strap. Now, instead of slipping your iPhone into your pocket, you could choose to wear it across your body by attaching a strap to one of Apple’s cases. Some people thought it was pointless and prone to theft, while others saw it as a clever way to carry their iPhone around, especially if they were wearing something without pockets. Now, nearly two months after the Crossbody Strap for the iPhone was released, the next evolution of it has already arrived, and it bears a striking resemblance to a sock.
Apple recently unveiled its new iPhone Pocket, a knitted bag designed to hold your iPhone or other everyday items. Similar to Apple’s iPhone Crossbody Strap, the iPhone Pocket can be worn across your body, and it comes in a shorter version that allows you to carry it around or attach it to a bag. Apple created the iPhone Pocket in collaboration with Japanese designer Issey Miyake, which drew inspiration from “a piece of cloth,” and was “born from the idea of creating an additional pocket.”
The crossbody version of the iPhone Pocket starts at an eye-watering $230, and comes in three colors: blue, brown, or black. The shorter version is available for $150 and comes in a wider range of color options, including orange, purple, yellow, turquoise, pink, and black.
“The design of iPhone Pocket speaks to the bond between iPhone and its user, while keeping in mind that an Apple product is designed to be universal in aesthetic and versatile in use,” explained Yoshiyuki Miyamae, design director of Miyake Design Studio. “iPhone Pocket explores the concept of ‘the joy of wearing iPhone in your own way.'”
The iPhone Pocket launches November 14
This isn’t the first time Apple has launched a sock for one of its products
If you’re interested in picking up an iPhone Pocket to keep your phone warm this winter, Apple says it is a limited-edition release that will be available starting on November 14 on Apple’s website and in select stores.
The iPhone Pocket will only be available in the US, UK, France, Italy, Greater China, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. In the US, if you want to look at it in an actual Apple Store before buying it, you’ll only be able to do that at Apple SoHo in New York City.
…the design of the iPhone Pocket does look neat, and I respect the craft skills that went into it, but at $230 for the longer version or $150 for the shorter one, I think I’ll pass.
You might be surprised to learn that this isn’t the first time Apple has sold a product resembling a sock to hold their devices. In 2004, Steve Jobs introduced the iPod Socks, which you could safely store your iPod in to “protect it” and give it a “little more personality.” At the time, it was available and included six different colors of socks for the iPod, including green, pink, and orange, and it cost $29. During the Apple Music Event Keynote in 2004, when the iPod Socks were unveiled, Steve Jobs jokingly called it a “revolutionary new product.”
I, for one, can’t help but find it funny that Apple is releasing the iPhone Pocket. I was expecting a new Apple TV 4K to finally be announced this month, not a sock for the iPhone, but I guess we can’t have everything. In all fairness, the design of the iPhone Pocket does look neat, and I respect the craft skills that went into it, but at $230 for the longer version or $150 for the shorter one, I think I’ll pass.
