Apple logs patent for ‘anti-drop’ iPhone technology

APPLE have filed a patent for technology that could help your iPhone make a safe landing if dropped.

The patent covers a number of possible options that the smartphone and computer manufacturer is considering to help customers keep their expensive kit in one piece.

Apple suggest in the filing that a motion sensor, which can detect the direction and speed of a device’s fall, could be used to tell other on-board technology the best course of action to prevent damage.

Among the suggested solutions are a compressed air cannister to change the direction of the fall, an ejector seat-style release for the battery to change the phone’s weight distribution, or expanding wings to slow down the device and bring it to earth safely.

As phones have become lighter and more complex, and glass screens have grown ubiquitous, the damage caused to devices when mishandled has become increasingly problematic for users.

A 2011 survey by uSwitch found that damage to dropped devices accounted for over 40% of mobile phone insurance claims.