Latest reports reveal that Apple is working on a shatterproof screen. Well, this is not the first time for an OEM to use a screen that does not break, as the Motorola DROID Turbo 2 is going to carry a shatterproof screen too. But Apple has got a different type of technology in its pockets. It has reportedly filed a patent with the USPTO under the name of “Active Screen Protection for Electronic Devices”. It is a method that will protect the display from shattering, but it is not just a strong display; it’s a much more complicated form of protection.
Apple’s new shatterproof tech makes use of the phone’s proximity sensors and accelerometer to trigger screen protectors positioned at all the four corners of the phone. Once the phone determines that it is falling, it triggers the screen protectors, which pop up instantly and act as shock absorbers during the impact. The protectors then go back to their original position using motors once the fall is over. This technology might be used in iPod, MacBooks, iPad, Apple Watch, and iPhone.
Apple had filed another similar patent application in 2014, and that technology uses the camera of the device to determine when the phone is falling. The new iPhones have got a stronger body made out of Series 7000 aluminum, but the glass is still not shatterproof.