Apple granted patent for flipping an iPhone in free fall, so it doesn't land flat on its face

Thankfully, this one doesn't include any airbags stuffed inside the handset, but rather engages the sensors that are already in the handset anyway - accelerometer, magnetometer and the like - for determining quickly the side and point of impact. Afterwards, a dedicated processor calculates the needed adjustment for a fraction of a second, and engages a motor with eccentric mass to adjust the phone's position mid-air, and land it on its least breakable side, instead of face-down on the concrete, for instance. 

In fact, the vibration motor that is already in the handset, can be used for the purpose, just with stronger vibe impulses, compared with the ones that are used to alert you for messages or incoming calls when the phone is on mute.

source: USPTO via AppleInsider