Nick Iannelli, wtop.com
WASHINGTON — The odds are either you — or someone you know — has cracked a smartphone screen.
It is an ugly sound: Hearing a pricey phone crack against the ground after a quick slip out of the hands or a pocket.
Apple seems to recognize that frustration and has applied for a patent to make smartphones even smarter, reports Patently Apple.
The website says Apple is launching a venture into somehow forcing phones to ‘right’ themselves while falling.
The patent lists some specific innovative ideas.
One would involve a self-ejecting battery meant to shift weight distribution in midair.
Another concept adds a tiny gas canister to the interior of a phone that would activate after being dropped and change the angle of the fall.
According to Apple, “The protective mechanism may be activated to rotate the device so that it may impact a surface on its edge, rather than on a screen portion.”
In other words, whatever the finished product may be, devices would contain technology that would allow them to land on less vulnerable areas when hitting the ground.
Don’t look for these innovations in stores anytime soon.
The ideas in the patent are broad, and more theoretical than practical.
But who knows?
Maybe someday dropping a smart phone on the ground won’t lead to an immediate feeling of dread.
Follow @WTOP on Twitter.
