Apple's $230 iPhone Sock (theverge.com) 81
Apple has launched the iPhone Pocket, a knitted bag designed to hold iPhones. The limited edition collaboration with Japanese designer Issey Miyake costs $229.95 for the crossbody version. A shorter version is priced at $149.95. Apple said the 3D-knitted design was inspired by "a piece of cloth" and was born from the idea of creating an additional pocket for any iPhone and small everyday items. Yoshiyuki Miyamae, design director at Miyake Design Studio, said the product "speaks to the bond between iPhone and its user" and explores "the joy of wearing iPhone in your own way." Steve Jobs mocked similar $29 iPod Socks as "a revolutionary new product" in 2004.
Checked the date (Score:5, Informative)
Not joking. As soon as I saw this headline, I checked the date to make sure it was not Apr 1.
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Not joking. As soon as I saw this headline, I checked the date to make sure it was not Apr 1.
I did the same -- this was something we would see on joke sites. Not an *actual* product.
If this ends up selling well I will lose faith in humanity, again.
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What happened that you to regain your faith in humanity?
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My wife and me just now:
Me: Look at this iPhone sock thing.
My wife's words after I showed her: Is it available in pink
Me: Yes
Wife: Sugoi! Interesting.
She then proceeded to buy one.
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Fashion is whatever you make of it.
And just because you don't care about clothes, shoes or small things to hold stuff like purses, doesn't mean others don't. I'm sure there's probably something you care very much for, like a "Red Swingline Sta
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I'm sure there's probably something you care very much for, like a "Red Swingline Stapler" that has to be Swingline.
I really want to agree with you, honestly, I do. All of your points are valid: Fashion isn't for everybody. There are absolutely things I won't compromise on. I have stickers on my desktop at home. Etc. Etc.
But holy hell, I just cannot understand the need or desire to pay 10x or 100x the price for something because it's "designer". The "things I won't compromise on" generally boils down to compatibility or suitability for purpose. I've been racking my brain trying to come up with an answer for somethin
Douche' ... by Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
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It's fashion (Score:4, Insightful)
Not utility, the money is for the social signal.
Re:It's fashion (Score:4, Insightful)
Not utility, the money is for the social signal.
The only social signal this sends out is that the person who has one is a moron to be avoided at all costs.
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We'd like to think so but how many other things in society would we say the same about, particularly in fashion but people still buy it. Go into any mall that deals with high fashion and selling $600 shirts and Ballenciaga $6000 ugly coats but those companies are always doing well.
I remember so many saying the same about the Apple Watch when it launched and here we are on like it's 8th generation. Social signaling is very very strong.
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Sounds like a valuable social service to me.
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There is already such an indicator: Ear pods.
Re:It's fashion (Score:5, Insightful)
Not utility, the money is for the social signal.
There are lots of reasons to own an iPhone. I don't think an iPhone "sock" is one of them. And damn, I think more people are going to laugh at the tool that owns one than think "Ooooo, that's really cool! Even their models wearing it for the photos look like they fear the ridicule.
I get strong New Jaguar vibes out of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
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That might be the worst ad I've ever seen.
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That might be the worst ad I've ever seen.
The crazy part is that Jaguar car demographic used to be guys like me. A bit of success, some discretionary money. Now they've pivoted to young androgynist urbanites that hang out at trendy clubs, and dress "interestingly". How many of that demographic has the money? There's a saying, "Don't abandon your core demographic, and replace it with nothing."
Jaguar kind of shit the bed here, they've now fired their CEO and the ad agency that came up with that abomination.
Meanwhile sister company Land Rover i
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Land Rover has pivoted from the demographic of people who want and off-road work vehicle to people who want to waste money on an ugly, unreliable SUV. The new Defender is an abomination. The closest thing to the old Defender is the Ineos Grenadier, or maybe some of the GWM Tank models would do as a cheaper stand-in.
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Land Rover has pivoted from the demographic of people who want and off-road work vehicle to people who want to waste money on an ugly, unreliable SUV. The new Defender is an abomination. The closest thing to the old Defender is the Ineos Grenadier, or maybe some of the GWM Tank models would do as a cheaper stand-in.
Oh, I don't want one of them either, and yes, they aren't terribly reliable. I'm a Jeepguy. I prefer the Trailhawk versions. Son has a Patriot, Wife has a Cherokee, And I have a Compass Trailhawk. Climbs rocks. gets me to and from my off-road adventures with a comfortable ride to and from them.
My point in all of this is that Landrover is still viable, while Jaguar destroyed their brand going woke. So weird that the companies don't get that. Gillette with its outright attack on the demographic that gave t
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There are lots of reasons to own an iPhone. I don't think an iPhone "sock" is one of them.
Good thing when you buy an iPhone it doesn't include this sock? Nobody would argue with that statement?
Good virtue signal nobody was asking for though?
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There are lots of reasons to own an iPhone. I don't think an iPhone "sock" is one of them.
Good thing when you buy an iPhone it doesn't include this sock? Nobody would argue with that statement?
Good virtue signal nobody was asking for though?
True dat. Generally, Apple products are done with some taste. I have 4 Macs, 2 iPads, and 2 iPhones. I'd think long and hard about buying them if I thought that stupid sock represented users. Oh, and then there is the orange iPhone. The pumpkin spice of iPhones.
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Even their models wearing it for the photos look like they fear the ridicule.
To be fair, literally every model wearing literally anything looks like this.
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Even their models wearing it for the photos look like they fear the ridicule.
To be fair, literally every model wearing literally anything looks like this.
Gawd, I remember a time when a model was attractive. Then came heroin chic, when every female model looked like she was strung out. Now I think they are going for "non human".
OMG (Score:1)
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Re:OMG (Score:5, Funny)
You're not far off. This "sock" is more akin to a condom, "expanding to fit more of a user's" stuff.
In days of old, when nights were bold,
With condoms not invented,
They tied a sock, around their cock,
Then babies were prevented.
It's a micropurse. (Score:3)
It's not a sock. It's not a pocket. It's a micropurse. A micropurse for signaling to others that you are a trend-hopper with bad economic sense.
On the other hand, it does absolutely look like a great tool for prison. Would hold a bar or two of soap, and you could swing it nice and hard at someone's face in as a mele weapon. Not sure how many prisoners can afford it though. Guess they'll just have to make do with tube socks and clip-on straps.
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Well, maybe personal wealth more than just bad sense. If $150-$230 is a trivial amount for you, then why not blow it on a trivial whim? Well, because you're so wealthy that something that cheap will invite laughter - "Oh, was your valet unwell that day?" So, "I'm so wealthy that I can throw $200 away on worthless crap to show off that I can throw $200 away, but no so wealthy that I can pay someone to carry my phone for me. Now you know my economic class without having to ask. You're welcome, f-k off."
I hope they don't mind being laughed at for the stupid looking things. As pretty as a Tesla Cybertruck.
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It's all BS for people who care about silly things. Or at least things that I think are silly.
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Well, maybe personal wealth more than just bad sense. If $150-$230 is a trivial amount for you, then why not blow it on a trivial whim? Well, because you're so wealthy that something that cheap will invite laughter - "Oh, was your valet unwell that day?" So, "I'm so wealthy that I can throw $200 away on worthless crap to show off that I can throw $200 away, but no so wealthy that I can pay someone to carry my phone for me. Now you know my economic class without having to ask. You're welcome, f-k off."
Nobody climbing in wealth will spend money on this nonsense. Throwing $200 plus at something this silly is a sign you aren't interested in continuing to climb in wealth. This is aimed at those who want to *PRETEND* they have that kind of money to throw around. Hence, why I said bad economic sense.
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So... you don't have a wife?
Did for twenty-five years. (Currently separated.) She wouldn't buy shit like that though. She's never been the showy, trendy type.
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Also, good for Homie the Clown from Living Color TV show.
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with bad economic sense.
Much like the blonds carrying their designer dogs in their Gucci handbags it may indicate that someone has immaculate economic sense. I mean you'd have to have played the game correctly to be able to blow money on such a pointless fashion accessory, or a handbag, or an iPhone sock.
A perfect product with zero flaws (Score:2)
Since they're only putting them in a handful of stores in select cities, that will give the Indonesian companies plenty of time to flood the market with $23 knockoffs well before Apple would have to bother with making too many of them.
The tight single pocket design guarantees you get to make the choice if you want your keys rubbing against the screen or the camera lenses.
And I'm sure absolutely no one would ever make fun of a guy carrying a knit phone purse.
At $29... (Score:2)
Prison couture (Score:2)
P.T. Barnum? (Score:3)
I would hardly call myself a fan of Jobs (Score:3)
It's the inspiration that I enjoy. (Score:4, Insightful)
That's high fashion for ya!
I highly recommend taking a look at the designer's work. https://us.isseymiyake.com/ [isseymiyake.com]
While you do, ask yourself, "wha..?", "huh?", and, "what awful sci-fi movie did I see that in?"
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A bit of cloth inspired by... a bit of cloth.
That's high fashion for ya!
I highly recommend taking a look at the designer's work. https://us.isseymiyake.com/ [isseymiyake.com] While you do, ask yourself, "wha..?", "huh?", and, "what awful sci-fi movie did I see that in?"
OMG! The dancing models in ridiculous oversized swatches of fabric. I don't think I've seen anything funnier than that serious angry face stomp-dance with the sleeves flowing around like she was pike-hiking a mountain trail in a long time. That's the best laugh I've had in days. Imagine being the guy that had to explain to her, "I want you to look angry and really sell the trudge while swinging your arms around like an idiot!" I'll bet she ended up thinking porn would have been more dignified.
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A bit of cloth inspired by... a bit of cloth.
That's high fashion for ya!
I highly recommend taking a look at the designer's work. https://us.isseymiyake.com/ [isseymiyake.com] While you do, ask yourself, "wha..?", "huh?", and, "what awful sci-fi movie did I see that in?"
OMG! The dancing models in ridiculous oversized swatches of fabric. I don't think I've seen anything funnier than that serious angry face stomp-dance with the sleeves flowing around like she was pike-hiking a mountain trail in a long time. That's the best laugh I've had in days. Imagine being the guy that had to explain to her, "I want you to look angry and really sell the trudge while swinging your arms around like an idiot!" I'll bet she ended up thinking porn would have been more dignified.
Yoko Ono approved! They need to pair that weirdness with this https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
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The... what I think is supposed to be a men's jacket at the bottom of the front page immediately reminded me of bad sci-fi (everything else merely reinfo
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I'm once again left wondering if it's all just a joke. Could it be that a small number of brilliant pranksters managed to convince the wealthy and gullible to parade around looking like village idiots or refugees from some 1980's futuristic dystopia?
It's all an elaborate avant gard art installation.
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And how many have let the approbation go to their heads and forgot that it's a joke, not the brilliant statement about the self-inflicted alienations inherent to modern society that they told an art dealer it was.
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Well, yes, that's exactly what it is. And I've often wondered how many avant garde artists were trying really hard not to bust out laughing.
And how many have let the approbation go to their heads and forgot that it's a joke, not the brilliant statement about the self-inflicted alienations inherent to modern society that they told an art dealer it was.
You ever see the Family Guy where Brian writes the stupidest book he can just to prove that literary circles are stupid and then gets sucked into his own success? I'd imagine that story came from somewhere.
Could be even more profitable (Score:2)
They could have issued an NFT version of the product instead. I'm sure lots of Apple fanbois and fangrrrls would have taken the bait, and setting up the NFT would have been even cheaper than the probably-sub-five-dollar cost of the $230-dollar product shown in the TFA.
Speaking of the product, it's prompted me to coin a new word: "uglitude". Because plain old "ugliness" isn't hipsterish enough for this garish refugee from the early 70's [duckduckgo.com].
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They could have issued an NFT version of the product instead. I'm sure lots of Apple fanbois and fangrrrls would have taken the bait, and setting up the NFT would have been even cheaper than the probably-sub-five-dollar cost of the $230-dollar product shown in the TFA.
Profitable? This could be expensive for Apple. Apple has given iPhone a sock. iPhone is FREEEEEEEEEEE!
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uglitude
I misread this as uglutide, an injectible that generates GLP-1 receptor agonists any time it hears you called ugly.
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uglitude
I misread this as uglutide, an injectible that generates GLP-1 receptor agonists any time it hears you called ugly.
To get them ready to compete in the Special Ozempics?
Sorry, I just couldn't resist.
Ummm. (Score:2)
This is bait (Score:3)
This is what's called outrage farming. And it's a huge part of why our civilization is collapsing.
Outrage farming should be an occasional bit of funny nonsense which to be fair this is but it's not just an occasional bit of funny nonsense anymore it's a multi-billion dollar industry.
Remember all those videos of people getting into altercations on airplanes? Several of them were staged. I don't mean staged in the airplane I mean literally on a set.
We really need to start teaching critical thinking in schools directly but we're not going to do that because critical thinking skills get used against elites and actual elites not the imaginary ones you hear about that run the women studies departments in community colleges. Like billionaires and wealthy bishops and those kind of assholes. Those guys are not going to let you teach kids how to think critically.
And it can be taught and learned. You don't have to just blunder into it by sheer luck.
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It's a bag designed by a designer sold at a profit by a for profit company.
Apple Drifting (Score:1)
Yeah, and (Score:3)
The same could be said for dropping $100k on a Birkin bag. Yes, it exists in the world, and has no justifiable reason to exist (at that price). No, no one is forcing you to buy it.
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Consumer-focused company offers an overpriced luxury item...for consumers! Film at 11.
The same could be said for dropping $100k on a Birkin bag. Yes, it exists in the world, and has no justifiable reason to exist (at that price). No, no one is forcing you to buy it.
As a society, it is our duty to ridicule these people. They are rich arseholes and should be informed of this at every opportunity
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$100 is a bit much for a purse, but it's not really that... oh, wait... I see it now. Never mind.
While I understand that nobody is forcing me to buy luxuries I don't need, I can't help but see rows and rows of huge, ultra-luxury SUVs at car dealerships, and feel that reasonable options are getting thinner by the day. As such, I'll still mock any stupidly expensive display of runaway consumerism.
I want too see clothes (Score:2)
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With pockets made for smartphones, like a nice denim button up shirt like Wrangler makes only with the pockets two inches deeper than they ate now, and khaki and denim trowsers with deeper pockets too, a little research can find the best location where the phone is protected from damage by normal activity
Alternatively, you could buy a smaller phone. They still make those.
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Who is bonded to their phone? (Score:2)
the product "speaks to the bond between iPhone and its user"
What kind of pretentious BS is this? Oh. Wait. It's Apple. "Pretentious bullshit" is, what, 90% of their brand strategy?
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Apple Innovation (Score:2)
This is the state of Apple innovation in 2025. Without a silly bag, you're holding it wrong.
Remember the iPhone 6 Days? (Score:2)
I remember the time when you just had a tailor on-site [upi.com] at your store for a new iPhone launch so your pocket can be enlarged. Much better than a purse.
Of course, that was also the "bendgate" phone. So pockets maybe weren't a good idea.
Great way to drop your iPhone (Score:2)
Guaranteed when you try to put your phone back into the sock without paying full attention it will fall to the floor.
I shall offer my... (Score:2)
IPad Jock...for when you need a place to protect your iPad and junk.
$250 sports team edition - unwashed and signed
$230 personal - might be washed.
And, there is the MacBook Jersey.
Someone will surely want to buy one of these items.
My grandma called and she wants her bag back... (Score:1)
...But on closer review, even she realized she would never create such a thing for such a price....
Oh, he made Jobs' shirts. (Score:2)
Pricey (Score:2)
You can buy a whole actual phone for the price of that ugly-ass bag.
Checked again to assure it wasn't a parody account (Score:2)
Thieves will love this (Score:2)
Hey, I've got an iPhone Pocket (Score:2)
But it only cost me $50 - and it came with a bonus pair of pants attached.
Homey Donâ(TM)t Play That (Score:2)
Insert âoeHomey the Clownâ with a sock meme here.