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

By Daniel Petrov

Updated: Dec 02, 2014, 5:00 AM

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Those contraptions for preventing smartphone drop damages are starting to shape up much better now than their initial variations which include airbag deployments to cushion the blow, for instance. Straight from the US patent office comes Apple's latest grant that deals with automatically protecting your iPhone during a free fall.

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

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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena from 2010 to 2025, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.