Dh844 fashion statement\u2014or just a sock?<\/p>\n
Priced at roughly Dh844.49, the iPhone Pocket has been widely mocked online as a \u201cglorified sock.\u201d Social media erupted immediately, with one X user tweeting: \u201c\u00a3230 for a cut-up sock.\u201d Tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee called it a \u201clitmus test\u201d for fans who \u201cbuy or defend anything Apple releases.\u201d<\/p>\n
Apple insists there\u2019s a method to the madness. The accessory is part of a limited-edition range in collaboration with Issey Miyake, the designer behind Steve Jobs\u2019 iconic black turtlenecks. The design draws on Miyake\u2019s 1997 APOC concept, \u201cA Piece of Cloth,\u201d and was inspired by the idea of creating an additional pocket.<\/p>\n
The Pocket comes in eight colours with a short strap and three colours with a longer crossbody option.<\/p>\n
Fans lined up outside Apple\u2019s SoHo store, treating the launch like a fashion week moment rather than a tech release. \u201cIt\u2019s so cool design-wise because it\u2019s designed by Issey Miyake,\u201d said Lee Aizner, a New York fashion designer.<\/p>\n
Sold out\u2014and mocked online<\/p>\n
Social media reactions were mixed. While some praised the design, others joked that its sock-like structure offered \u201cno security,\u201d dubbing it a \u201cpickpocket\u2019s dream.\u201d Reddit users and X commentators called it Apple\u2019s \u201cmost unnecessary invention.\u201d<\/p>\n
Apple, however, describes the Pocket as a tribute to Miyake, celebrating craftsmanship and design innovation.<\/p>\n
Scarcity drives desirability<\/p>\n
Limited availability, high prices, and global hype turned the Pocket into a collector\u2019s item, reminiscent of the early-2000s iPod Socks. Resellers have already listed them at inflated prices.<\/p>\n
Fashion meets function<\/p>\n
The iPhone Pocket\u2019s 3D-knitted construction fits any iPhone and small items like AirPods or lip balm. Apple stocked only ten physical stores worldwide\u2014including Tokyo, Paris, Milan, London, and New York (SoHo)\u2014adding to its exclusivity.<\/p>\n
Testing brand loyalty<\/p>\n
Critics have mocked the high price, but defenders argue it reflects the Issey Miyake collaboration and nods to Apple\u2019s history. Social media analyst Matt Navara told the BBC the pricing is less about practicality and more about \u201cform, branding and exclusivity,\u201d testing the limits of Apple\u2019s brand loyalty.<\/p>\n
Nostalgia and homage to Apple\u2019s past<\/p>\n
The collaboration carries sentimental weight: Miyake designed Steve Jobs\u2019 iconic black turtlenecks, which became as synonymous with Apple as its logo. Fans like Owen Sanders celebrated the connection, calling the Pocket meaningful fashion and collectible art.<\/p>\n
A collector\u2019s item, despite the jokes<\/p>\n
Despite memes and mockery, the iPhone Pocket has sold out worldwide. Michael Josh, a content creator, called it akin to \u201cowning a piece of art,\u201d showing that for many fans, hype and exclusivity outweigh practicality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dh844 fashion statement\u2014or just a sock? Priced at roughly Dh844.49, the iPhone Pocket has been widely mocked online…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":266133,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[304,641,2306,86,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-266132","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-apple","9":"tag-iphone","10":"tag-mobile","11":"tag-technology","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266132\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/266133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}