You already know I love high quality leather products and industrial design. When those two things come together, MAGIC! Apple impressed me with the quality of their latest product, the AirTag Leather Loop. In typical Apple fashion, the Loop is beautifully simple with elegant design touches. The key-hole cutout, flawless edge glazing and insanely precise chamfering on the snap are a few of the standout elements.
The iPhone 5 was the first phone to truly embrace chamfered edges. The edges were a stunning sight to behold. I had never seen a phone that glimmered in nearly ANY light the way the iPhone 5 did. I loved the subtle design up until the edges started getting dinged from just being carefully set down on a table at the incorrect angle. The iPhone 5 was made of a softer aluminum than Apple has used for its later models so I figured it would not stay beautiful during the entire time I’d owned the device.
Photo courtesy of minimallyminimal.com
The issue of chipping and and dings became less common as Apple refined their production process and began to use more durable materials. The Leather Loop hardware is machined so well, the tolerances are so tight that I struggle to understand how something so small can be so precise. When you unclip the Loop, you can see a small expanding ring that serves as a retainer to hold the clip in place once you’ve inserted the AirTag.
You can tell that there isn’t much leather being used on the Loop. I’m going to purchase a separate Leather Loop so I can do a proper teardown and get a look at what’s actually inside. I think I’ll find a thin layer of leather followed by an even thinner layer of cardboard backing sandwiched between the bottom(or top) layer of thin leather. Make sure you keep checking the site for the update on the teardown or sign up for email notifications in case you rather be reminded by me each time I post! I’ll leave you with some close-ups of the Leather Loop.
