In the patent Apple explains how devices could prevent water and other things from getting to vulnerable parts such as microphone or the speaker. A electronically controlled set of shutters or louvers would close the openings automatically when not in use.
The patent included several pictures (above) of proposed applications that feature different kinds of means of shutting a variety of openings. The patent suggests that this could be even used to protect the headphone jack and the card readers which usually require a clumsy hatch of some kind.
Will the patent make its way to the next generation of Apple products, that we'll have to see. But even if it doesn't Apple clearly wants to make their products more durable – which certainly hasn't been their strong suit in the past.
Written by: Matti Robinson @ 27 Nov 2015 16:07
