“Apple’s anticipated ‘iPhone 7’ could find itself with waterproof features — starting with its speakers ports,” Luke Villapaz reports for International Business Times.
“A patent application titled ‘Liquid Resistant Acoustic Device,’ published by the U.S. patent and trademark office Thursday, details a new invention which would protect a device’s built-in speakers from water and liquid damage,” Villapaz reports. “Instead of relying on rubber covers and gaskets to cover the speaker ports when not in use, Apple proposes using a combination of water-resistant mesh material and hydrophobic coatings to prevent liquid from leaking in. Additionally, it also suggests using what it calls an ‘umbrella housing section’ to reduce the the pressure from liquid on the outside of the device.”
Villapaz reports, “Apple proposes using this invention in a number of its products such as its iPhone, iPad, iPods and Macs.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Could be an important selling point for future Apple devices.
I sense Samsung will be adding waterproofing back in their phones 🙃
It wouldn’t surprise me if Apple implemented this but didn’t make much of a selling point out of it. It helps them reduce the number of warrantied replacements, which is good for them, and improves product reliability, good for customers and brand reputation.
But, like their problems with claiming “impact resistance” with their glass, if it isn’t an ironclad solution, it will be a public relations and liability risk.
http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/02/02/man-sues-apple-wins-case-over-apple-watch-sport-impact-resistance
Apple no longer markets their glass as being “impact-resistant”. I’d expect them to be just as cautious at claiming “water-resistant”.
Related to previous day’s post about removing antenna bands, jack…Waterproof the speakers, fabricate a Liquid Metal body and then lose the need for a case and carry the object “bare-skinned” in all it’s beauty. This would be a tour de force in both form/function…a true game changer. Ok, no more coffee this morning.
The latest iPhones are pretty robust already. My wife dropped her 6s plus in a bucket of water a few months ago. I was horrified and thought it might be a total loss. But I took it and made sure it was powered down and then put it in our plate warmer and set it to around 140F. An hour later I took it out, let it cool down, and then powered it up. It has worked flawlessly since.
I would think this is for the watch primarily. Or other future wearables. Sure, put it in the iPhone, but we’re not exactly swimming with those things, are we?
My local amusement park has a Water park where we always rent a locker to keep our phones in. I’d love to keep it in my pocket and take pics without worrying about it getting the wet!