A U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published document said that the next iPhone could sport an armored body. The very hard exterior would make the next flagship, possibly iPhone 7, float on water.
Techworm reports that protection from water would be possible by using the device's onboard sensors to determine when a free fall happens. But before the gadget hits a very hard surface, the surface dampeners located on the four corners of the iPhone would prevent it from suffering from more intense damage.
That's because the corner is one of the spots on the phone with the highest probability of receiving the majority of damage. The outer shell would be lighter than the overall density of water to make the device stay on water's surface.
It would make Apple fans happy because the latest model, the iPhone 6S, is not waterproof. CNN tested the device's water resistance by placing it in a vase of water for five minutes.
While it continued to operate while under water, just a few seconds after its submersion, air bubbles started to stream, an indicator that water was entering and collecting inside the iPhone 6S. After 60 seconds, the bottom of the screen was distorted.
The phone continued to function 10 minutes after it was removed from the vase. But it did not play music because the headphone port was filled with water and the phone considered a headphone was plugged into the jack. After some time, the display became totally white, the iPhone 6S stopped functioning and shut off for good.
In another torture test by Protect Your Bubble, a gadget insurance firm, on an iPhone 5, the device stopped working after five minutes in water. It tried the same test on an iPhone 6S and the flagship continued to operate for 45 minutes.
CNN points out that "Apple never actually made a claim that the iPhone 6S was waterproof," although before its launch in September, there were speculations it would be water-resistant. Similar tests have been conducted on other phone brands.