It comes as no surprise that device manufacturers are planning to implement waterproof designs on their future devices. Apple is already along the way with its water-resistant iPhone 6s, and now the company is taking a step forward with its recently approved patent.
Just recently, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) approved and published one of Apple's filed patents that can use sound to eject liquids from speakers, and it's called "Liquid Expulsion From An Orifice."
This time, a new patent called "Electronic Devices With Housing Port Shutters" found on USPTO's website will add another layer of defense against water. The technology involved can employ shutters to seal openings over important components of a device to block off any liquid substance, including the speakers, microphones and headphone jacks as well as SIM card slots. The concept can be applied to almost any gap on the iPhone 7.
The shutters close entry points off from the inside, and they would activate automatically when the device detects any damaging element, such as water or airborne contaminants. It'll also trigger when ports are not in use or when the environment is determined to be harmful.
Owners of the device can also manually turn on these protective shutters via voice command, a physical switch or a digital button on the screen.
It's worth mentioning that the designs of upcoming iPhones won't be compromised because of this measure. As said earlier, these shutters are inside, which means that these won't affect the aesthetics of the smartphone line. In other words, owners won't be able to see or touch them, so there's little or no effort required to get used to them.
Right now, there's no official word about the patent rolling out on the upcoming iPhone 7, but with this evidence, it's pretty clear that Apple wants to make a consumer-ready waterproof iPhone in the near future.
