Will we take your iPhone 7 or Apple iPad Pro for a swim? New patent says: we just might.
The latest iPhone patent published by Apple this week, confirms once again that the company is indeed working on a waterproof device. Whether that might be the iPhone 7 itself, is not exactly clear, and it won’t be until an official announcement is made, which won’t likely be but minutes before Tim Cook himself walks on the stage of the next keynote and delivers it. Until then, speculation is all we have.
Still, speculation has proven fruitful in a number of occasion, particularly in regard to predicting the 12 inch MacBook Retina, and the iPad Pro, both of which were prognosticated months in advance.
The patent, titled “Method for color balancing underwater photography”, does not make explicit reference to the iPhone as the preferred device for this technology, but rather extends the capability to all devices, including MacBooks and iPads:
“The image organizing, editing, and viewing applications of some embodiments operate on mobile devices, such as smartphones (e.g., iPhones.RTM.) and tablets (e.g., iPads.RTM.). FIG. 13 is an example of an architecture 1300 of such a mobile computing device. Examples of mobile computing devices include smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc. As shown, the mobile computing device 1300 includes one or more processing units 1305, a memory interface 1310 and a peripherals interface 1315. “ (III. Mobile Device ~ USPTO)
Could this be mere legalese typical of Apple’s thorough patent-filing style, or could it be a hint that one day the iPad Pro will be a diver’s accessory? The concept is not too outlandish, so long as an acceptable user experience can come of using a touchscreen underwater. An iPad Pro is a device with a screen large enough, and bright enough to be visible in a variety of environmental conditions, which, provided an appropriate protective case, would be easier to operate than an iPhone, especially underwater, where touchscreen gestures like swiping or 3D Touch, are far less effective than ashore.
At present, there are plenty of water-resistant cases, and a few that are actually waterproof, however, a case is hardly a reliable way to protect any device from water damage. Cases can crack, accidentally open, and have potential points of entry capable of damaging the device inside, when under pressure, which is why most manufacturers of this type of accessories, will not accept liability for damaging the devices they are supposed to protect.
Building a waterproof device, on the other hand, is a smarter approach, as Apple would simply have to change some of the legal verbiage binding its Applecare service, as well as the warranty, with terminology that take in consideration waterproof devices, when it happens, or if it happens.
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