iPhone 12 Leather Sleeve
The Leather sleeve is available in Saddle Brown, PRODUCT(RED), Baltic Blue, & Pink Citrus. It’s available for all four iPhone 12 models, and retails for $129.
Apple seems to be swinging for the fences this year with its controversial leather accessories. First, it was the hoopla over the MagSafe Leather Wallet. Now it looks like it's the Leather Sleeve's turn. Here are my thoughts on Apple's latest accessory.
When I first received the sleeve, I couldn't help remark that the box was gigantic. It's considerably bigger than the iPhone 12 mini's box because the accessory is wider than the phone and includes a leather strap stored in a separate compartment beneath the sleeve itself, adding to the depth of the package.
Leather Sleeve box: 34mm deep x 161 mm long x 91 wide (498cm³)
iPhone 12 mini box: 28mm deep x 150mm long x 81 wide (340cm³)
If my country’s education system is worth its salt, the leather sleeve comes in a box that’s nearly 50% larger in volume than the iPhone 12.
Regardless of your thoughts on the utility of this accessory, you can't fault Apple on the leather. The leather is smooth and supple, with no imperfections, flawlessly stitched around the perimeter, and finished with a welt to bind the edges. In my experience, Apple's leather sleeves have generally exceeded the lifespan of the product. Regarding the price, $129, every Apple accessory has an Apple tax, but leather is pricy. If you want high-quality leather and a high-build quality, you will pay a premium (maybe not an Apple-grade premium, but a premium).
iPhone Leather Sleeve next to an iPhone 12 mini.
The sleeve features two cutouts for the earpiece and a portion of the display. Using some NFC/magnetic sorcery, the phone recognizes the sleeve it's placed into, and the colour matches the clock face once the phone has been inserted. The entire screen is colour-matched and illuminated when you check the time despite only a small portion of the display being. I find this an odd choice, given that these are OLED panels that could be programmed only to illuminate the part exposed within the cutout when the phone is raised.
In addition to displaying the time, the cutout shows the battery percentage when connected to a power source and then displays a small icon indicating that the phone is being charged. And when you receive an incoming call, the cutout shows the caller ID of the individual you are calling. Regrettably, there is no way to answer the call while the phone is inside sleeve; neither tapping nor sliding your finger on the cutout will answer the call. Personally, this feels like a huge miss for Apple, who had the opportunity to develop a compelling showcase of software/accessory integration.
Another disappointing aspect of the Leather Sleeve is that if you remove the phone to answer a call, reinserting the phone into the case causes the call to disconnect immediately. Only if the call is answered through a set of headphones (AirPods, wired headphones, etc.) can the phone remain inside the sleeve without disconnecting. The only rationale I can come up with is that keeping the phone inside the sleeve must occlude some of the mics on the iPhone uses for the noise cancelling, and rather than permit any degradation of call quality, Apple chose to have the call disconnect instead. In contrast, when headphones are available, the iPhone defers to any mic on the headset itself for any available noise cancelling.
The phone is inserted into the bottom of the sleeve and requires enough of a push and tug to either insert or remove the phone that I am not worried about the phone falling out on its own. The sleeve's back even has a groove for the camera to fit into, which gives the phone that extra little bit of grip inside the case. Apple has also created a second separate compartment in the bottom where 1-3 cards can be stored. Personally, this isn't a feature I would use, mainly because it gives the sleeve a bit of a beer belly (I don't know how else to describe it) that takes away from the sleekness of the sleeve.
Cards in the front, phone in the back!
With this sleeve, Apple has also included a colour-matched detachable leather strap. Not my thing, but if you chose to carry your phone around like a clutch wallet/purse, you might appreciate the strap. Preliminary tests (i.e., me swinging the sleeve around my wrist loop-de-loop style) help me feel pretty confident that the belt is securely affixed to the sleeve once attached.
The strap is pretty secure. You could probably give a mugger a good thrashing whipping this sleeve around without worrying about the strap detaching.
SO WHAT’S THE POINT?
From the iPod Leather Case to the iPod Socks, Apple has released several accessories over the years for their mobile devices that obstruct the displays and controls from being accessed. But more generally, sleeves don't provide access to phone controls or the display, so this isn't a fault on Apple so much as it is a description of phone sleeves generally. That said, it was a bit of a missed opportunity that Apple didn't engineer more options for controlling the iPhone (e.g., answering calls, playing/pause music) through the cutout display) or even for viewing more notifications through the cutout.
In recent years, my favourite accessory has been the iPhone Leather Folios that Apple has had for the iPhone X through 11 Pro. The folio's design was more in keeping with what I like in a product, wraparound protection that continues even when the phone is in use. I was disappointed with that accessory disappearing from the iPhone 12 lineup this year.
There is a lot to like about Apple's latest accessory for people who choose sleeves for the aesthetics or protection they provide. With this accessory, your iPhone is wrapped in gorgeous leather with Apple's signature fit and finish, allowing the phone to be used without a case yet remain protected inside a pocket or carried around.
In reviewing the product, AppleInsider gave the sleeve a score of 4/5, but I'll be more nuanced. This will be a four-star case if you're the kind of person who likes sleeves, with points deducted for the higher price and lack of functionality in the cutout window. But this is a 0/5 star accessory if everything I've just described about the product you find entirely unappealing.
MISC RAMBLINGS
Given the width this product adds to the phone, I have no idea how someone will hold or fit the iPhone Pro Max version into their hand or pocket with this sleeve.
I'm eyeballin' the Nomad Rugged Folio as a potential stand-in until Apple gets their act together and releases a Folio for the iPhone 12 (which I have my doubts about happening).
Lucrin, A company I've purchased from in the past, also has a wide selection of leather sleeves (basic sleeves, sleeves with pull-tabs, wallet sleeves) that you should consider if these types of accessories are your jam.
No, the phone will not fit inside the sleeve with a case on. How do I know this? I pushed very hard, got the phone about halfway in, and then tried equally hard to pull it out. Don't be an idiot like I was.
The phone can be wirelessly charged via MagSafe while inserted inside the sleeve. But like the leather case, Apple warns that “Interaction with MagSafe accessories will leave slight imprints.”
