Apple's latest patent hints at an air-tight and smart iPhone protective case

By Christian de Looper March 24, 2017

Lifeproof Fre Case — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Apple has been making a number of efforts of late to make its iPhone more durable. The iPhone 7, for example, is the first iPhone to be water-resistant — which is a big deal. Now, however, a new Apple patent hints at a new case that could make your device much more durable.

The case is interesting for a few reasons. For example, it seems it can provide feedback to the phone, so if the case isn’t properly secured, the iPhone will inform the user that extra steps need to be taken.

According to the patent, which was discovered by Patently Apple, the case itself would be made from standard materials like plastic, silicone and perhaps some leather. As you might be able to see in the patent, the case would also have an electrical contact, which may be used to ensure that the case is properly attached to the phone. The case even has a small memory circuit and processor circuit, which could be used to run tiny programs pertaining to the case’s positioning.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

It also looks like the case will have a latch mechanism, so you can take the case off and put it on with a simple screwdriver. That also helps ensure the case is secured when it is on the phone and that it won’t come apart if you accidentally drop your device.

Apple has been playing a bigger role in the production of iPhone accessories over the past few years and it launched a battery case with a large battery pack on the back. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues and if so, we could see things like completely waterproof cases, which would be helpful for those who have dropped a device in the bath or pool before.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Christian de Looper

Contributor

Christian’s interest in technology began as a child in Australia, when he stumbled upon a computer at a garage sale that he…

Mobile

3 reasons why I’ll actually use Anker’s new iPhone power bank

A person holding the Anker MagGo Power Bank.

Power banks are a necessary evil, and even if you don’t consider yourself a “power user” who's likely to drain a phone’s battery in less than a day, there will be times when one comes in handy. And when I am forced to carry one, I want it to be as helpful and versatile as possible.

I’ve been trying Anker’s MagGo Power Bank 10K -- meaning it has a 10,000mAh cell inside it -- and there are three reasons why I'm OK with it taking up valuable space in my bag.
It has a screen on it

Mobile

Here’s how Apple could change your iPhone forever

An iPhone 15 Pro Max laying on its back, showing its home screen.

Over the past few months, Apple has released a steady stream of research papers detailing its work with generative AI. So far, Apple has been tight-lipped about what exactly is cooking in its research labs, while rumors circulate that Apple is in talks with Google to license its Gemini AI for iPhones.

But there have been a couple of teasers of what we can expect. In February, an Apple research paper detailed an open-source model called MLLM-Guided Image Editing (MGIE) that is capable of media editing using natural language instructions from users. Now, another research paper on Ferret UI has sent the AI community into a frenzy.

Mobile

There’s a big problem with the iPhone’s Photos app

The Apple iPhone 15 Plus's gallery app.

While my primary device these days continues to be my iPhone 15 Pro, I’ve dabbled with plenty of Android phones since I’ve been here at Digital Trends. One of my favorite brands of phone has been the Google Pixel because of its strong suite of photo-editing tools and good camera hardware.

Google first added the Magic Eraser capability with the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, which is a tool I love using. Then, with the Pixel 8 series, Google added the Magic Editor, which uses generative AI to make edits that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. There are also tools like Photo Unblur, which is great for old photographs and enhancing images that were captured with low-quality sensors.