Earlier this month, Apple (AAPL) unveiled one of its most surprising products: a $19 polishing cloth emblazoned with the Apple logo that's just the right texture to wipe fingerprints off your device. The product is currently in an unsalable state, and the delivery time of new orders has been postponed to early January. Why is apple cloth so expensive? Perhaps iFixit's recent teardowns have provided the answer.
The apple rag is, well, exactly what it's called. According to Apple, the product is made from a "soft, non-abrasive material" and can be used to clean the display on any Apple device, including those with nano-textured glass.
Apple lists several compatible devices on its product page, including the old iPod Shuffle.
IFixit paid some attention to polishing cloth in its 2021 MacBook Pro demolition plan released this week. The team is interested in mini-detaching, including adding $20 billion pictures of erasing the iPhone's screen. Entertainment aside, the review points out that Apple's polishing cloth feels the same as the inside of the iPad Smart Cover.
The texture is described as leathery with some fluff; The polishing cloth completes its "character" with thick thickness and an Apple logo pressed onto the material. The only logical thing to do is to take a piece of cloth and cut it apart to discover that it is two pieces of material glued together.IFixit notes that you can peel off the two layers and get double the polish for $19.
Of course, cutting fabric is a one-way street, as iFixit rates fabric as zero out of 10 for repairability. Once the apple polishing cloth is too dirty to continue using, you need to throw it away and replace it with a new one.
