Apple Considers iPhone That Automatically Folds To Protect Itself During A Fall

While Apple has trumpeted claims that iPhones might be hardy enough to not require a case, it now has to return to the drawing board with the rise of foldable gadgets. The Cupertino tech giant hasn’t rolled out bendy handsets yet, but it already has some inventive concepts to justify itself being late to the game.

As discovered by Insider, the company recently registered a patent on the US Patent and Trademark Office for a self-preserving device that folds in mid-air to prevent its fragile screen from being damaged.

The filing describes a “self-retracting display device” with an accelerometer, or a drop detector, that can tell when vertical acceleration (AKA a fall) is occurring—during which it quickly triggers a mechanism to shut one side of the iPhone over the other to protect itself. The safeguards ensure the device’s vulnerable internals don’t get hurt from the impact.

With that being said, the accelerometer may not act in time to fully cover the iPhone when it is close to the ground. No matter, says Apple—as the iPhone can still be protected to some extent with a partial fold, which would still shield the display from harmful contact with the surface.

The idea admittedly sounds promising, but that’s not to say that this novel technique for self-protection will be incorporated into Apple’s rumored foldable iPhone, or if it will ever be rolled out. Tech companies often create patents to protect their products, but they don’t always necessarily want to make good with those concepts.

In the meantime, it might be for the best to fall-proof your mobile device with a quality case.

[via Insider and Good e-Reader, images via various sources]