If you’re anything like me, the shelf life of an iPhone is less about how long the phone actually works for and more about how long it takes until I smash it into smithereens.
We’ve pretty much all been there. But what if Apple somehow created a self-healing phone, like something straight out of a Harry Potter movie?
It sounds like a dream come true – and it could happen – if these new reports are anything to go by.
According to tech blog Patently Apple, an Apple patent application reveals plans for a foldable (yes, foldable) iPhone, which would include a self-healing display cover.
The patent, which was originally filed in January, details how the device would be able to repair dents or scratches covering the screen, without the phone owner even needing to do anything at all.
The repairs would come into action automatically, perhaps when the device is being charged, and it would use heat, light and electric current to create a protective layer over the screen.
To go into a little bit more detail, the proposed protective screen cover could include a layer of elastomer, which would be able to lose and regain its shape in order to keep the underneath layers of the device working and protected.
The concept of a foldable phone is nothing new, and has already been achieved by the likes of Samsung and Motorola, so it can be done. But Apple’s proposal would seemingly take it to the next level, with the addition of the self-healing feature.
Samsung was the first to take on the foldable phone, with its Galaxy Fold, but it didn’t come without its own set of issues which had to be reworked and reworked.
Meanwhile, the self-healing concept is something which has been seen before, inn LG’s G Flex from 2013, according to The Verge. The rear cover was designed to repair minor scratches and scrapes, but it was deemed to be pretty ineffective.
Of course, filing a patent gives absolutely no indication as to whether we can expect to see this new Apple technology any time soon, or if they’re even working on it yet. But knowing Apple, they’ll want to get ahead of the curve on this one.
If only they could apply the self-healing to the dozen broken iPhones I have sitting in my drawer.
