Apple has been granted a patent for technology that will allow the company to create mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, that are resistant to scratches and abrasions. Most smartphones nowadays, including recent iPhone models, have back panels that are made of plastic or glass with a metal or plastic frame. These materials provide varying levels of durability, scratch resistance, and electromagnetic shielding. Apple’s newly granted patent could lead to the creation of a new material that combines metal and ceramic that is resistant to abrasion.
On June 13, the Cupertino company was granted a new patent (via Patently Apple) for “spatial composites” by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The patent describes the use of abrasion-resistant materials that could be incorporated into the chassis to make an iPhone more durable. U.S. patent number 11,678,445 B2 lists Apple engineers Christopher Prest, Stephen Lynch and Theodore Dabov as inventors of the technology.
In the patent, the company explains that the different materials used to construct the devices provide different levels of strength, resistance to abrasion, and electromagnetic shielding. Although a phone chassis made of plastic is very durable, it is very prone to scratches. Despite being resistant to both scratches and breakage, metal is more likely to interfere with radio connectivity than other materials. Finally, ceramic does not have the same problems with radio signals, but it is not as durable as the other two materials.
Apple proposes mix of abrasion-resistant materials for phone chassis
Photo Credit: Screenshot/US Patent and Trademark Office
Instead, Apple’s patent proposes creating a new scratch-resistant material by combining ceramic and metal, by placing these materials in a substrate that could include a moldable matrix with these materials spaced between 10 and 100 microns apart. As per the details mentioned in the patent.
In recent years, Apple has improved the durability of the primary display on the iPhone by using its Ceramic Shield technology, which it claims makes the screen more resistant to damage if the device is dropped. Users who want to protect the glass rear panel from scratches will still need to use a protective case or skin.
However, there is no word on whether the company plans to use the technology in the patent in any of its future iPhone models. The addition of scratch-resistant material on the rear panel suggests that users may be able to use their iPhone without a cover or case, which is typically used to protect smartphones from scratches and drops.
