You know the moment when you've dropped your iPhone and you can see it tumbling in slow motion about to hit the floor and shatter?
Well, Apple wants to offer you a device that knows when you’ve dropped your phone and changes its angle in mid-air to ensure a safe tumble.
On December 2, 2014 Apple was officially granted U.S. Patent No. 8,903,519 for a “protective mechanism for an electronic device”. The device would include a processor, sensors, and a protective mechanism. 
A rear view of the device and the position of the protective mechanism.
(Image via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office)
According to the patent, “the protective mechanism is in communication with the processor and is configured to selectively alter a center of mass of the electronic device.”
The patent explains that the device (specifically mobile phones) would include a sensor that could detect when it is in a free-fall state, determine its position, estimate the area of impact, and finally be able to change its orientation by using the protective mechanism. 
The iPhone after a freefall at the moment of impact on the surface. (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office)
The patent provides several examples of how Apple could potentially pull this off. The company would mostly rely on existing technology like accelerometers, gyroscopes and GPS, but other versions of this mechanism include ultrasonic sensors which have not yet been developed.
The main scenario provided in the patent uses a motor with eccentric mass that could create a force on a free-falling phone’s rotational axis which would cause it to land on a more ideal spot like its side or back instead of flat on the screen.
Until the patent becomes a reality, be careful with those iPhones.
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