The Internet May Keep Comparing This New Apple Product To Borat’s Mankini, But That Didn’t Stop It Selling Out
Apple has a history of controversial design decisions: Turning a desktop into something like a miniature trash can with a terrible upgrade and thermal situation. Making a hockey puck-like mouse that charges while lying on its back. Eating a lawsuit for a bad keyboard. Hawking a $1,000 monitor stand. Selling a $20 polishing cloth. The list is long, but so far, most of the criticism has either centered on technical merits or an outrageously high price. The latest from Apple — the iPhone Pocket — checks both boxes, thanks to a controversial design and a steep asking price.
Apple says the inspiration is “a piece of cloth.” The internet, on the other hand, has been comparing it with the extremely revealing mankini worn most famously by “Borat,” the titular character in the mockumentary film of the same name; played by Sacha Baron Cohen. In the film, and its 2020 sequel, the character can be seen wearing a single-piece bikini with thin shoulder straps in bright colors. Apple also picked some peppy colors for its iPhone Pocket, which comes in lemon, purple, and pink — something the internet quickly noticed and launched a meme fest on social forums.
The iPhone Pocket – approved by Borat. #apple pic.twitter.com/xAWThXISy0
— edwart (@flashpro) November 11, 2025
The accessory is pretty polarizing. Apple says it was born out of the need for another pocket to carry a phone, but with enough flexibility to carry it as a handheld, tied onto bags, or worn directly on the body. The 3D-knitted design with a ribbed open structure comes in two design formats; one with a short strap and another with a longer strap, supposed to be worn as a cross-body accessory. It’s hard to call it a particularly clever design, but it’s really the asking price of $149.95 and $229.95 for the short and long-strap variant, respectively, that set Reddit threads on fire.
A love letter that took decades to arrive
The iPhone Pocket is a collaboration between the Apple Design Studio and the Miyake Design Studio, a Tokyo-based design firm established by Japanese designer Issey Miyake. Interestingly, the foundations of this partnership were laid long before the iPhone even existed. Apple co-founder and former chief, Steve Jobs, was a huge fan of Japanese design philosophy. In the 1980s, when Jobs visited a Sony factory in Japan and saw the uniform of workers (a nylon jacket with removable sleeves and doubled as a vest), he became enamored by the signature style. The Sony uniform was created by Miyake, and Jobs subsequently asked him to design one for Apple employees.
Apple’s employees didn’t like the idea. Apparently, the reaction was so harsh that Jobs was booed off stage. However, Miyake’s classic black turtleneck, paired with Levi’s denims and New Balance shoes, later became the signature attire of Steve Jobs, especially for his on-stage presentations. Miyake apparently made “like a hundred of them” for Jobs. Miyake retired the black turtleneck design in 2011 in the wake of Jobs’ death; the Japanese designer also passed away in 2022.
Over a decade later, Apple joined hands with Miyake’s design label to create the accessory for a device that is arguably Jobs’ most defining legacy. The minimal aesthetics paired with a functional fabric are a hallmark of Jobs’ and Miyake’s respective design preferences. For fans of either figure, this limited edition accessory is quite a hot pick. Naturally, just days after its launch, Bloomberg reported that the accessory was sold out.
It’s pretty cool, but pretty easy to pass on
Soon after the iPhone Pocket dropped, many compared it with the iPod Socks. However, there’s a huge difference, and I’m not just talking about the price difference worth $200 between the two accessories. It’s the way they were introduced: With the iPhone Pocket, Apple just dropped a press release and piggybacked on the fame of a design powerhouse to sell a designer accessory for one of the most widely recognized gadgets on the planet. For a company like Apple, which prides itself on meticulous design and engineering, this was a rather drab product drop.
On the other hand, Jobs had fun with the reveal of the iPod Socks back in 2004. When the Apple chief introduced it as “a revolutionary new product” on stage, the attendees burst into laughter. Jobs then took a playful dig at the company, noting that it’s what the design team came up with. Instead of digging deep into design philosophy and other intellectual stuff, he focused on the fun side. “They keep your iPod warm on cold days. They protect it. And they give you a little more personality,” Jobs said on stage.
I have little doubt about the iPhone Pocket’s material quality, and in its strap avatar, it doesn’t look half bad. What you’re paying for is mostly the label and the vanity attached to it. But hey, that’s how the luxury fashion industry works, right? The idea isn’t truly revolutionary: You can find crocheted-style sling pouches for phones for one-tenth of the asking price. And some of them, like this FabIndia beige mobile pouch, are far more stylish with an ethno-modern look to them. The iPhone Pocket is just a big miss for me.
