Apple’s $230 iPhone Pocket: Sock Couture or Tech Absurdity

By:Mollie Dominy

Apple has unveiled the iPhone Pocket, a $230 accessory that’s basically a designer sock for your phone. Marketed as a “beautiful way to wear and carry an iPhone,” it’s already splitting the room—half fashion statement, half meme fuel. For some, it’s peak Apple lifestyle branding. For others, it’s proof the company can turn the simplest idea into luxury hype.

A Fashion-First Accessory

Straight from Apple’s newsroom: the Pocket is crafted from merino wool and recycled fibers, designed to sling your iPhone around your neck or across your body. Apple frames it as wearable tech, not just protection. Multiple colors, premium materials, and the promise of blending seamlessly into your outfit, it’s the AirPods effect all over again, but for your phone.

Etsy Energy at Luxury Prices

Some didn’t mince words: the Pocket looks like something you’d snag from an Etsy seller for $20. The $230 price tag is the lightning rod here. Apple’s ability to repackage a basic concept, wrap it in branding, and charge ten times the going rate is on full display. Social media wasted no time turning it into a meme, “iPhone scarves,” “Apple sock couture,” and jokes about the next big drop in Apple’s fashion line.

iPhone Pocket Split Opinions

This fashion “what would happen if” creation has caused a divide. Some consumers see the Pocket as clever, no more digging through bags or jeans for your phone. Others call it unnecessary, overpriced, and ripe for parody. It’s the same split that follows most Apple accessories: utility versus lifestyle. For loyalists, it’s another way to signal identity. For skeptics, it’s a sock with a logo.

Apple’s Lifestyle Play

The Pocket isn’t about practicality, it’s Apple doubling down on fashion-tech fusion. Just as AirPods became a cultural symbol, Apple is betting the Pocket can carve out space as a wearable accessory. It’s less about carrying your phone and more about carrying it with style. Whether it lands depends on whether consumers buy into the idea of their iPhone as part of their wardrobe.

The Bigger Picture

Apple has a track record of turning odd ideas into mainstream hits. Wireless earbuds dangling from your ears looked ridiculous before AirPods became ubiquitous. The iPhone Pocket might feel absurd now, but Apple thrives on shifting perception. The real question isn’t whether it’s useful—it’s whether Apple can convince enough people that it’s cool. And at $230, cool comes at a premium.

However, if you are interested in obtaining one! It is available at select Apple Store locations and on apple.com in France, Greater China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the UK, and the U.S.

Mollie is an article writer and editor for Total Apex Gaming. She's loved playing and talking about games since she played her first game, Mortal Kombat, much to the dismay of those around her. She loves all forms of video games and uses her research skills to find out about every game she sees so that fangirling can commence.