Self-healing Apple iPhone fixes itself when not in use

Apple is working on an innovative self-healing technology for iPhones that is said to fix broken and problematic phones automatically, when not in use. Some of the potential issues that could be addressed using the technology include liquid damage, dead pixels and a set of useful maintenance activities. These include testing the camera and resetting the network components whenever the user encounters internet connection problems or issues with sending text messages.

The patent for the technology was filed by the company in 2014, which gives the details on how an iPhone could recover itself from a completely broken or dysfunctional state. For instance, the iPhone's speaker is the most vulnerable component for liquid damage when water gets into it due to spillage or moisture in the environment.

Apple's new self-healing technology, however, is designed to enable the iPhone's speakers to emit a special tone to expel water whenever it detects the user amid a loud environment, reports Business Insider.

The dead pixels on the affected iPhone's screen can be fixed when the user is asleep or not using his phone for a considerable amount of time. This is done by cycling through a screen diagnostic schedule that lights up the screen in various ways.

Other maintenance activities that an iPhone can take up while the user is asleep include camera testing, resetting network components to fix internet connection issues, and problems with sending text messages. It is, however, still unclear if this technology would make its way into an iPhone 7 or if Apple has some other ideas up its sleeves.

Although manual ways of fixing several of these issues already exist, this is a breakthrough research in terms of automating all the fixes on an iPhone without any user interaction. Check out the complete patent document pertaining to United States Patent and Trademark Office at the official site.