Case maker bets wrong on iPhone 15 Pro line and produces 30,000 cases with the wrong cutout

Being a case manufacturer for flagship phones from Apple, Google, Samsung, and others often means sifting through all of the rumors about a phone, and still having to make a bold decision, gambling that your firm’s case will have all of the cutouts in the right spots. As an example of what could happen, there had been rumors for some time that Apple would replace the mute switch on the iPhone 15 Pro models with an Action Button that would allow users to select certain tasks that would take place when the button was pressed.

But for a company named Peak Design that sells iPhone cases, travel bags, photography accessories, and other gear, the gamble they made didn’t work out. Instead of designing a cutout on the top of the volume keys that could accommodate the Action Button, Peak Design kept the cutout designed to work with the Mute Switch. When the Mute Switch is toggled to the left, showing orange, it enables silent mode leaving the phone to vibrate for incoming calls and alerts; toggle it back to the right to turn off silent mode allowing calls and alerts to send audio alerts.

In a post on Reddit, Peter Dering, founder of Peak Design, explained the thought process behind his decision. Dering wrote:

• we were aware of the rumors of the action button for months.
• we decided to go with a cutout instead of a button a) because we couldn’t be certain that they would be using the action button, and b) we were hopeful that the cutout would still provide a reasonably good experience.
• now that we’ve got phones in hand, we’re equally disappointed by the experience of the action button. we just can’t credibly claim that we “make the best case” if we don’t have a button there.

Request a button-fix kit and a $15 gift certificate for PeakDesign.com. The kit is being developed and is expected to be ready by the middle of November. However, even Dering admits that he isn’t sure of its “viability.” If it doesn’t work, customers will have to choose option number 2 or option number 3.

The second option is for customers to keep their cases as-is but receive a $40 gift card for PeakDesign.com. The last option is to get a free replacement case with an updated button. These cases are expected to be released in late November.

Once again on Reddit, Dering writes, “As lousy as this situation is, it’s actually a wonderful opportunity to show to our customers that there really is a difference when you buy a Peak Design product. We stand behind what we do, full stop, even when it takes a swipe at the bottom line. Short-term losses in profit are puny compared to the importance of brand reputation.”