Apple tech-grab suggests future iPhones will be waterproof and ruggedised

Do you think your iPhone is tough enough? Apple’s phones are in many ways the best constructed handsets on the market – but they’re still prone to damage from water, dust and shock. A lot of the iPhones we see on pub tables these days have a cracked screen or malfunctioning home button.

Well, it seems like that might be set to change. Apple has applied for a patent that would toughen up weak points in its mobile devices – speakers, microphones etc. – with clever mechanical shutters. When sensors detect the phone is falling, pressure on the phone is increasing or perhaps the presence of water, these shutters would slam closed and protect the openings from damage.

Currently, Apple attempts to lessen the weakness of openings by protecting them with mesh or making them very small, but shutters could allow them to be larger: something which could mean wider speaker openings, for instance. Wider speakers openings could mean better audio performance, so there’s more than just the anti-damage angle here.