Last month we showed you a cool new waterproofing technology called Liquipel. According to a new report, Apple is planning using the new technology to completely waterproof the iPhone 5!
Cult of Android points to a report from Today’s iPhone cites a “previously reliable source” inside one of the U.K.’s top phone retailers, who supposedly correctly predicted the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S launch dates before the devices were released.
According to the report, Apple’s next iPhone will in fact feature Liquipel’s impressive molecular-level waterproof coating, and states that Apple (as well as Samsung, who’s Galaxy S III is also rumored to shipping with Liquipel) may even alter the terms of their AppleCare agreement to do away with references to water damage (although it’s not perfectly clear what Today’s iPhone meant by the statement):
Both will have had Liquipel treatment as they’ll be altering the working on the insurance.
There would certainly be advantages to Apple in waterproofing their devices. It would reduce the number of repairs the company would have to do on iPhones, and would prevent customers from becoming disgruntled if their phones are used in humid environments or accidentally subjected to water.
Another possibility for waterproofing the next iPhone is ZAGG’s HzO technology – a similar waterproofing technique that Apple and Samsung are reportedly already talking about with the company.
In the end, this is just a rumor. It’s uncommon for retailers to have information like this about an Apple product prior to its actual launch, and considering that the article incorrectly states that Liquipel and HzO are owned by the same company, and fails to link to their iPhone 4 and 4S “prediction” articles or provide any information about their source is reason enough to be skeptical.
True or not, however, it’s still a cool idea. Definitely on my list of desired iPhone 5 features.
