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A sight nobody wants to see. Shutterstock/Jan Faukner

Apple's idea for a screen protector involves bumpers popping out of your phone

The four retractable ‘tabs’ would be located at each corner of a phone’s display, activating anytime it senses a fall.

DESPITE THE MANY advances they have made, smartphones are still just as vulnerable to a bad drop as they were years ago.

Apple is one company looking at ways to prevent cracked screens from happening with future devices, and its latest idea is a mechanism that activates when a phone is dropped.

The patent, which was issued earlier this week, would use protectors or ‘tabs’ at each corner to absorb the fall.

When the phone senses it has been dropped, the tabs would pop out, functioning as a shock absorber and preventing the screen from hitting the surface.

When it absorbs the fall, the tabs retract after a period or when it knows the danger has passed.

The ‘tabs’ could be made from different materials like plastic, polymers or thin metals.

iPhone bounce patent US Patent & Trademark Office US Patent & Trademark Office

iPhone patent 3 US Patent & Trademark Office US Patent & Trademark Office

The screen is the most vulnerable part of a phone and while manufacturers have opted for tougher glass and metallic frames, dropping it can still undo those measures.

This isn’t the first patent Apple has issued as a way of solving this problem. A similar one was issued last year where a phone would reorient itself if dropped, similar to how a cat would land on his/her feet when dropped.

Read: Facebook admits its app is draining your iPhone’s battery >

Read: This secretive company backed by Google is in the spotlight again >

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27 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Judge_n_Jury
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    Dec 10th 2013, 4:45 PM

    Unattractive students creating a stronger right arm. Reminds me of my uni days.

    101
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    Mute Joe Valentine
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    Dec 10th 2013, 5:13 PM

    Students will be literally pulling the stomach off themselves!

    18
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    Mute Aunty Simmonite
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    Dec 10th 2013, 4:38 PM

    Is it any use for splitting logs?

    18
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    Mute Leo Latorre
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    Dec 10th 2013, 6:28 PM

    Purchased by the US Army in 3… 2… 1…

    12
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    Mute Pa Jama
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    Dec 10th 2013, 5:57 PM

    I love living in the future!

    11
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    Mute Tom Godfrey
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    Dec 10th 2013, 4:39 PM

    Robot chicken

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    Mute i want to be frank !
    Favourite i want to be frank !
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    Dec 10th 2013, 7:15 PM

    It Might make the arm stronger to a degree but trying to lift or pull something extremely heavy would rip the hand from the arm .

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    Mute Kevin Brady
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    Dec 10th 2013, 5:59 PM

    twould be great for masturbating so it twould. or in a scrap….”come here u ill bate ye”smack!!! then lift him up a throw him like ur super man. im getting one of santa claus

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    Mute Oisín Tarrant
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    Dec 10th 2013, 5:04 PM

    Dunno if I wanna put my arm into a robotic vice that costs 1/50th of what it normally does.

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    Mute Larry Bird
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    Dec 10th 2013, 9:58 PM

    Granpa’s cough medicine?

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    Mute alanobrien
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    Dec 10th 2013, 8:39 PM

    Go way

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