A new surface treatment can make a variety of electronic surfaces waterproof.
International Data Corp. (IDC) discovered more than 900,00 smartphones are damaged by liquids every day globally.1 IDC’s research has found that liquid damage is the second-largest cause of damaged smartphones after broken screens, representing 35% of all devices repaired. This damage results in significant costs to the end users, device manufacturers, carriers and retailers, with the impact of liquid damage estimated to be worth nearly $100 billion each year. IDC cites that, by 2020, more than 1.7 billion smartphones will be shipped at a market value of $398 billion, with the problem of liquid damage only becoming more widespread if it is not addressed.
However, early attempts to make smartphones waterproof have had limited success, as many of the phones are in fact only water-resistant and thus only protected against incidental splashes of water. More recent attempts to use physical devices such as gaskets and silicone are not only costly and take up a lot of precious real estate, but are also prone to fatigue and failure over time.