This is actually the 4th Apple Polishing Cloth. Here are all the variants I know:
* Original one (reference size)
* New one (reference size; softer/thinner)
* Apple Vision Pro (slightly smaller, square, different colour)
* Nanotexture Display (much smaller, rectangular)
This cloth was originally for Pro Display that needed to be only cleaned with care using a good microfiber to not ruin the antireflection coating. Apple then started including everything on their catalogue as compatible with it(is it compatible with itself?).
You can pick up polishing cloths at half the price and that are compatible with all computing devices, including all current, former, and future Apple devices. Not just those in the “compatible devices list” of this $9 polishigncloth.
In the last thread someone contacted support and they said that it is compatible and the compatibility chart just bottoms out on the iPhone 5 :D https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49435364
You'd think apple would be incentivised to sell it at as low a price as possible, perhaps even as a loss leader. More polishing cloths sold means more polished iDevices, which improves brand perception.
I always wonder what the rationale is inside Apple to sell a separate cleaning cloth.
There’s no way this is even a drop in the bucket for their business, and neither is this some strategic judo move where they can undercut a competitor’s business.
It’s specifically advised for use on the nano texture displays, where the wrong material could rub away the special surface etching they use to get the glare resistance.
They list it as compatible with everything, because, well why not.
Nothing beats KORG's muslin swaddling cloths that they were handing out at Superbooth a few years ago, for cleaning those knobs and hard to get at clavier keyboards.
It was such a great bit of Superbooth swag that I went down the rabbit hole on Japanese swaddling cloths, muslin, and the like[1], and am now a convert to the muslin clan. I don't use anything else for swims these days, its that great. The fact that I can slick off the water with the same towel I use to keep my synths shiny is just sweet.
FYI -- swaddling is the practice of binding up an infant's legs and arms, and other appendages, so that they can't flail around, or swat at adoring shepherds, or fall out of a manger where you've laid him. The "swaddles" they're selling start at 115cm square. You probably do not need such a large cloth to swaddle your KORG keyboard.
What is happening to HN? What is it about anymore? Posts and comments critical of any tech CEO doing shitty things or technologies that affect millions of lives are routinely flagged, while posts about a dumb piece of fabric with no special characteristics that almost no one will buy hit the front page multiple times.
If you want to spend 12 minutes on what changed, AppleInsider made a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL-4kCkvEvQ
This is actually the 4th Apple Polishing Cloth. Here are all the variants I know:
https://512pixels.net/2026/08/new-polishing-cloth-review/
I learned my lessons from cube chargers, not going to risk getting ripped off again with some no-name product.
There’s no way this is even a drop in the bucket for their business, and neither is this some strategic judo move where they can undercut a competitor’s business.
They list it as compatible with everything, because, well why not.
It was such a great bit of Superbooth swag that I went down the rabbit hole on Japanese swaddling cloths, muslin, and the like[1], and am now a convert to the muslin clan. I don't use anything else for swims these days, its that great. The fact that I can slick off the water with the same towel I use to keep my synths shiny is just sweet.
[1] - https://kongessloejd.com/en-at/collections/muslin-cloths-swa...