To say that Apple is an innovative company is an understatement, and Cupertino shows off their ingenuity yet again with the very real possibility of your iDevices lasting a whole lot longer in the future. Sure, a solar-charging screen on an iPhone is not exactly groundbreaking news as it has been presented before back in 2011, but what makes this bit of news exciting is this – Apple is going through the process of obtaining a patent for an integrated solar charging capability within the touchscreen itself, which will not rely on layers as what was shared back in 2011. In lieu of layers, the new panel’s electrodes will function as both touch sensors and solar power collectors, which means the current slim devices like the iPod touch, iPhone and iPad will still be able to remain just as svelte, albeit sporting sun-charging capabilities to boot.
There will also be a smart management unit available which decides whether the harvested energy will be sent over to the phone directly on the spot, or should there be enough energy reserves, said harvested energy will be stashed away in the battery for future use.