Is Apple working towards a waterproof iPhone?

Smartphones have been becoming more waterproof over the years, yet Apple hasn’t taken the precautions in order to make their iPhone device more water-resistant but that might be about to change…

Of course, the iPhone 6S is a lot more water-resistant than its predecessors as it has a special adhesive lining inside the casing as well as seals to protect the logic board. Yet, the iPhone 6S still isn’t completely waterproof and elements can still be damaged by water.

However, it looks like Apple is working towards making the future iPhones completely waterproof, according to their latest patent application.

Apple has filed a patent application for technology that uses self-healing rubber that will automatically cover up the iPhones externals ports when they are not being used in order to completely seal the iPhone, making it completely water-resistant.

Apple says “The self-healing elastomer may obscure the electronic connectors from the user as well as provide environmental protection for the connector and the electronic device”. This means that the external ports will only be exposed while cables are plugged into the device and once removed the rubber will automatically “reform and self-heal” covering the external ports.

This solution may be ideal for iPhone users as it means your iPhone will be a lot more durable enabling it to withstand water and dust without compromising its sleek design.

The patent application doesn’t actually specify any particular device that Apple plans to use this self-healing rubber on, however the iPhone is definitely the device that most needs this sort of technology but we suspect that they will use it across their entire range of devices.

We have to bear in mind that these patent applications are no guarantee that the technology will ever be used but it’s reassuring that Apple is working towards waterproofing their devices. But considering the extra precautions Apple took to making the iPhone 6S a little more water-resistant, it isn’t much of a stretch to believe that the iPhone may be fully waterproof within the near future.