Apple to develop a scratch-resistant iPhone: All Details

Apple has been granted a patent for technology that will allow the company to build smartphones and mobile devices like tablets that are scratch and abrasion resistant. Most of today's smartphones, including recent iPhone models, feature rear panels made of plastic or glass with a metal or plastic frame. These materials offer varying levels of durability, scratch resistance, and electromagnetic shielding. The recently granted patent by Apple could lead to the creation of a new material that combines metal and ceramic resistant to abrasion.

On June 13, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted a new patent for "Spatial Composites" (via Patently Apple) to the Cupertino company. The patent describes using abrasion-resistant materials that could be incorporated into the chassis of an iPhone to make it more durable. US patent number 11,678,445 B2 lists Apple engineers Christopher Perst, Stephen Lynch, and Teodor Dabov as the inventors of the technology.

In the patent, Apple explains that the various materials used to build devices offer different strength levels, abrasion resistance, and electromagnetic shielding. While a phone case made of plastic would be very durable, it is prone to scratches. Metal is more likely to interfere with radio connectivity than other materials, despite scratch and break resistance. Finally, ceramic has a different problem with radio signals, but it is not as durable as the other two materials.

Instead, Apple's patent proposes mixing ceramic and metal to create a new scratch-resistant material by placing these materials on a substrate that could comprise a moldable matrix with these materials located between 10 and 100 microns, depending on the details mentioned in the patent.

In recent years, Apple has improved the durability of the iPhone's main screens using its Ceramic Shield technology which is claimed to make the screen more resistant to damage when the device is dropped. Users who want to protect the glass rear panel from scratches should use a protective sleeve or sleeve.

However, it has yet to be discovered if the company plans to use the patent technology in any of its iPhone models in the future. The addition of a scratch-resistant material on the rear panel suggests that users could use their iPhone without a cover or case typically used to protect a smartphone from scratches and drops.