Most of us end up putting our shiny new smartphones in a case the moment they arrive, even as companies make a lot of effort to help their phones stand apart. Now, to let people enjoy their new iPhones the way they were designed to, Apple Inc. AAPL has won a patent that should make future iPhones scratch resistant.
What Happened: Apple has won a patent intended to make future iPhones so scratch resistant you would not have to put them in a case, reported Patently Apple.
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Most modern smartphones have a chassis made of metal or glass. These materials are prone to issues of their own – while metal chassis is prone to dents, glass back often cracks when users with clumsy hands eventually drop them. Plastic material is prone to both scratches and dents.
That leaves companies with one option – using a mix that combines the strengths of multiple materials. Apple's solution is a combination of metal and ceramic.
"The abrasion-resistant members may be formed from metal or ceramic. The substrate comprises a moldable matrix. The abrasion-resistant members are harder than the moldable matrix," Apple said in its patent filing.
To illustrate how it might look in practice, Apple's patent includes a diagram that shows a series of "beads" in a rectangular pattern. These beads are spaced at 10 to 100 microns from each other, but the distance should largely be imperceptible.
Will this be the cure for clumsy hands destroying iPhones? Time will tell, but it looks like Apple certainly is trying to find a fix.
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