Next iPhone should be waterproof

This week, Apple filed a license about a new waterproofing based on silicone called “hydrophobic coating” (hydrophobic coating). The patent ended up generating several rumors about the probability of its use in the company's next phone, the iPhone 7. The principle is not new, with several similar ones already known. The technique consists of applying, via spray or immersion, the waterproofing compound directly onto the smartphone board and other moisture sensitive components. From there, the device becomes resistant to immersion in water. The process can be used to coat the external and internal surfaces of devices, but some internal structures with electromagnetic shielding still lack an interference-free solution. To overcome this obstacle, the document suggests using small openings, just above sensitive electrical components located on the printed circuit board.

Breaking the screen due to a drop or dropping the phone in water are among the main causes of these devices being unusable. the new screen Gorilla Glass 4, present in newer devices, should solve the first problem. As for the second case, we've even seen some water-resistant cell phones and tablets. The most common solutions try to make the device hermetic (totally closed), a characteristic that is difficult to achieve due to the restrictions imposed by the use of removable batteries, USB ports, microphones and speakers, which results in a temporary protection. The application of a protective layer seems to be a more efficient solution, and can also be used in conjunction with the previous one.

With Sony e Motorola also launching devices with this property, it is not yet known how the technology patented by Apple would differ from the others. The patent does not specify any devices, so it is likely to apply to several products manufactured by the company, including the new iWatch (which can be used while bathing, according to Tim Cook, CEO da Apple ). Unfortunately, going against the grain, we had the Samsung with the announcement that its new releases, the Galaxy S6 e S6 Edge, will not be water resistant (a setback, since the previous model, the SG5, was waterproof).

The video below shows several interesting applications for this technology:

Source: cool smartphone, Apple Insider