This thing does a much better job at cleaning their nano-texture displays compared to a regular, smooth microfiber lens cleaning cloth, so there is actually a reason for it to exist.

That being said, while I haven't tested this, you can get other "suede" style microfiber cloths that I suspect are functionally the same thing as the Apple Polishing Cloth.

Can I wash this myself or do I have to send it to Apple for their proprietary laundering method?

No thanks, I’m Polish already.

Is this AI ready?

Some more discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49434830

Yeah, but did you see the compatibility list? Disappointed I'll need to move to iPhone 5 or higher to use it.