14 DAY TRIAL // iPhones already come with an IP68 rating, which means they could spend approximately 30 minutes in 2-meter deep water, but like other phone manufacturers, Apple is always thinking of ways to achieve full waterproofing.
In a patent discovered recently by AppleWorld.Today, Apple explains that one of the challenges of making the iPhone fully waterproof is the use of physical buttons.
Because of the way they are designed, physical buttons don’t allow for perfect sealing, and Apple is looking into several ideas to tackle this problem.
One method that could prove effective is designing a new housing for the buttons, which itself would be specifically waterproofed, thus making sure no water would slip in when the buttons are pressed.
“The waterproof button assembly may include a housing including an opening and a button. The button may be positioned at least partially within the housing via the opening. The assembly may also include a plurality of engagement components positioned on opposite-distal ends of the button. The plurality of engagement components may be configured to retain the button within the housing,” Apple explains in the patent.
Just a patent, not a certain feature
Does this mean the iPhone would become fully waterproof? Not necessarily, but Apple says its complex approach, which would include additional supports and other components, could help reduce the likelihood of water reaching the internals.
“The engagement components may extend distally from the button, such that a portion of the engagement components may be positioned within apertures formed in the sidewall of the housing. The assembly may also include a plurality of supports, a tactile dome in contact with the button and at least one of the plurality of supports. A sensing component of the assembly may be positioned adjacent the housing and in alignment with the button and/or tactile dome for sensing actuation of the button within the assembly,” the company says.
Of course, there’s a long way from patent to the actual mass production of any technology, so don’t hold your breath for this idea to make its way to the iPhone just yet.