Inside every iPhone are a dozen little moisture indicators that turn pink the second your iPhone is exposed to excessive moisture. Apple uses them to tell when to deny you warranty service because you’ve accidentally dropped your device in a drink or left it out in the rain, but wouldn’t it be better if Apple never had to worry about replacing a water damaged device again?
We could be a year away from just that, thanks to Never Wet, a superhydrophobic coating that does such a good job resisting moisture that devices literally can never get wet when slathered in the stuff. Don’t believe us? Check out the video above, in which an iPhone 3G functions while submerged in water for over thirty minutes.
This does not appear to be a scam. The coating was developed by the minds over at Ross Nanotechnology, and not only does Never Wet make it possible to keep electronic devices water proof for over a year at a time, but it’s also great for preventing ice damage, corrosion, and making devices less prone to picking up harmful bacteria.
Just watch the video. There don’t appear to be any camera tricks: all they did was spray every inch of the outside with Never Wet, then dumped it in a bowl of water with the stopwatch app going. 30 minutes later, the device was still perfectly functional.
According to Ross Nanotechnology, Never Wet’s still at least a year away from being deployed commercially. It can’t come to market soon enough, in my opinion. Just think: every iPhone’s just a squirt and a couple years away from being totally waterproof.
Needless to say, Ross is making some bold claims, but we don’t see anything that stands out as fake in this video, and it’s got the guys over at Wired convinced. If you know otherwise, let us know!
