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Apple Card isn't into leather

Apple offers tips on dos and don'ts for storing and cleaning its new titanium credit card.

Steven Musil Night Editor / News
Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. He's been hooked on tech since learning BASIC in the late '70s. When not cleaning up after his daughter and son, Steven can be found pedaling around the San Francisco Bay Area. Before joining CNET in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers.
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Steven Musil
2 min read
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Easy does it with the leather.

James Martin/CNET

Before you start complaining about your new titanium Apple Card losing some of its luster, Apple wants you to know up front that, yes, it's possible to clean it wrong. If for some reason you like to clean things with leather, don't.

Apple posted a support page on Wednesday that explains the proper way to clean and store your new credit card. The tech giant recommends using a microfiber cloth slightly dampened with isopropyl alcohol to clean off stains. Window and other household cleaners should be avoided, along with fabrics such as leather and denim, because they "might cause permanent discoloration that will not wash off."

Available via the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone 6 or later running iOS 12.4, Apple's credit card is managed entirely via the Wallet app. You can sign up for the Card by tapping the "+" icon in the upper right of the app. Designed to be used with Apple Pay, users can also request a physical titanium card free of charge through the app as well.

After doing a soft, invite-only launch earlier this month, Apple on Tuesday announced that it's expanding applications for its credit card to anyone in the US who's interested. The iPhone maker teamed up with Goldman Sachs and Mastercard for the new credit card.

Call Apple's cleaning and storage tips a pre-emptive strike of sorts to avoid a repeat of 2010's Antennagate, in which the iPhone 4's stylish stainless-steel frame that wrapped around the device and housed the phone's antennas reduced the device's signal strength when held in a certain manner. Apple's initial response amounted to "You're holding it wrong" but eventually apologized and said owners could return their handsets if they wanted to.

Apple's suggestions for storing the card are pretty familiar to anyone who's ever had a credit card; keep the card away from other credit cards, magnets and abrasive objects such as loose change or keys.

And remember, don't wipe the thing on your jeans or leather jacket.

Originally published Aug. 21.
Update, Aug. 22: Adds details of Apple partners for the credit card.