Last week, Apple pulled the curtains off their three new models. Each with an IP68 rating, are capable of submerging in water for 30-minutes as deep as 5-feet in the water. Another upgrade is the glass used on these devices. As per Apple, this is the most endurable glass ever used on a smartphone.

 

For time-being, iPhone customers may be content with this, but Apple is not stopping at this. According to a patent application filed in March 2017 at the USPTO, Apple is working hard on an abrasion resistant finish that will protect your iPhone from not just scratches, but dents as well.

As per the patent application, there is an intermediate layer that has a hard outer layer and is in between a metal substrate with an outside coating. The latter is expected to be made of either hard carbon-based material or a ceramic material. Either way, it will be hard as a diamond. Expectations are the outside layer to be thick around .5 to 3 micrometers and much harder than the intermediate layer. The “in-between layer” is expected to be in-between 8 micrometers to 30 micrometers.

Apple has named their patent application “Abrasion-Resistant Surface Finishes On Metal Enclosures On Metal Enclosures” and as per the document, the coating will give an improved resistance not only to abrasion but dents as well.

and according to the document, the coatings provide improved resistance to abrasion and denting. The patent application adds that “Coatings that provide improved resistance to abrasion and denting are described.”

“The abrasion-resistant coatings can also be used to provide a cosmetic quality to a part. For example, in some cases, the abrasion-resistant coating has a high gloss finish. In some cases, the abrasion-resistant coating has a shiny black color and has a slick, cool-to-the touch feeling. Thus, the abrasion-resistant coatings are well suited for providing cosmetically appealing and protective surfaces to consumer products that may be exposed to a wide range of everyday materials such as steels and other metals, sand, stone, concrete, grit, glass, etc. For example, the abrasion-resistant coatings can be used to form durable and cosmetically appealing finishes for housing of computers, portable electronic devices, wearable electronic devices, and electronic device accessories, such as those manufactured by Apple Inc., based in Cupertino, California."-Apple patent application

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