If you ever wanted to know if you have more money than sense, this new product from Apple may be the ultimate benchmark. Ask yourself, would you pay NZ$35 for a bit of cloth with an Apple logo on it?
That isn’t a hypothetical question. If the answer is ‘yes’ then Apple will gladly take your money right now, albeit with a wait of 10 to 12 weeks before the magic beans product is in your hands.
“Made with soft, non-abrasive material, the Polishing Cloth cleans any Apple display, including nano-texture glass, safely and effectively,” the blurb reads. There’s no information given about what non-abrasive materials are used, but given the price we assume it’s thoroughbred Unicorn fur.
In all seriousness, there’s no explanation as to why this is any better than any bog-standard microfibre cloth that you can buy for a couple of dollars. Unless you believe that the Apple logo has magical powers.
Indeed, Apple’s own support pages don’t insist that you use the company’s official cleaning products when scrubbing screens. Instead it recommends a “soft, lint-free cloth” and that you “avoid abrasive cloths, towels, paper towels, or similar items,” should you be considering a bit of sandpaper. You should also “avoid excessive wiping, which might cause damage.”
Still, in the Polishing Cloth’s defence, it is extremely backwards compatible. For some reason, Apple has included a list of compatible devices, and it’s funnier just to show you a screen grab:
So… don’t go cleaning your iPhone 5 with the Polishing Cloth, I guess?
The Verge notes that this technically isn’t just a standalone product, and seems to be the same fabric square that the company previously bundled with the nano-texture Pro Display XDR.
Why do owners of that monitor get it free? Well, given they’ve already paid at least NZ$10,799 for the screen, it seems that Apple feels it can afford to be a bit more generous…
