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The only thing worse than the news Apple is charging $19 for a polishing cloth is that said cloth is already sold out until November.
Apple is incredibly aware that it has the buyers of its products held firmly by the bank account. That is plain for all to see whenever a new iPhone launches and people queue outside of Apple stores around the world, clamoring to pay hundreds of dollars just to say they were one of the first to own one. It is also demonstrated by the number of people who own $179 AirPods.
Queuing for iPhones and spending an outrageous amount for a pair of wireless earphones pales in comparison to Apple's latest method to part you from your money. You can now buy an official Apple polishing cloth. That's right, a piece of cloth that has been endorsed by Apple as the best tool to use to clean your Apple products.
We say you can buy one of these polishing cloths right now, but that isn't technically true. Despite it costing $19, Apple's polishing cloth is already sold out. If you order one now, then you won't get it until December 6, 2021, at the very earliest. That means the screens of your Apple products are going to have to remain grubby and potentially unusable for the next six weeks or more. We couldn't possibly think of something you could use in the polishing cloth's place between now and then to keep your Apple products clean.
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The product description for the cloth explains it is made from a soft, non-abrasive material and can be used to clean any and all Apple products. For $19, we would certainly hope so. It appears that a similar cloth comes free with the new Pro Display XDR. Pretty giving of Apple to include the cloth absolutely free of charge with a TV that will set you back almost $5000.
If you do want your Apple products to be officially clean by Apple standards, then the polishing cloth might well be available in selected stores before December, so keep an eye out. If you want to keep your screen clean with regular items you probably already own, Apple actually has a support document advising you on what's best to use.