By Apparently, Samsung wants your next device — the Samsung Galaxy S8, hopefully — to really hate water. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory has announced that Samsung is exclusively licensing superhydrophobic glass coating technology. The lab’s press release even goes on to confirm the tech is being licensed for commercial use in smartphones, tablets, and other personal electronics.
So, what the hell is superhydrophobic glass? And why is it so awesome? Here’s the quick explanation from the horse’s mouth:
[Superhydrophobic film is a] transparent coating that repels water that carries away dust and dirt, reduces light reflection and resists fingerprints and smudges.
Dust and dirt can still find its way onto your display, but when water hits the phone it’ll literally bounce right off (no, seriously, what it in action above) and carry all that gunk with it. And because moisture is the cause of fingerprints being transferred, it’ll make sure the phone isn’t a fingerprint magnet, too.
Couple that with full waterproofing of the device’s internals and Samsung would have a phone on their hands that might not require any kind of cleaning aside from an occasional run under water. Using it in the rain? Find some shelter and let the water droplets roll off for quick and unhampered use of the display without those weird interactions that can happen when the display becomes a little wet.
We’re not sure when we’re to see this technology find its way into a device, but with the research on it complete and licensed we’d say it’s a good chance that the Samsung Galaxy S8 is being seen as the top contender. Just add one more crazy innovation to a list that’s already looking pretty crazy.
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