Through sensors built into the phone, the device will know when it is being dropped. As it crashes to the ground, panic usually sets in as you wonder how bad that screen is going to look.

But it seems like Apple is cooking up something that’s straight out science fiction. “Apple has been granted a patent for a system that protects the iPhone’s screen by extending retractable tabs, AppleInsider reports”.

The Cupertino company’s latest invention is being called “Active screen protection for electronic device“.

As for the rest of the changes that are rumored to arrive in the iPhone 7, they include the use of a Sapphire screen. After the screen protectors move to the extended position in response to the sensor detecting a drop event, they may return to the retracted position. These tabs may be formed of various flexible and/or rigid materials such as plastic, plastic film, polyethylene terephthalate or other polymers, metal, thin film metal, combinations thereof, and/or other such materials. The good news is that this patent might not really need new technology, as sensors that can detect falling is already found in most phones, like accelerometers and gyroscopes, so we suppose it’s really a matter of calibrating it to detect when a phone might be falling.

The four pronged approach will apparently protect the delicate glass covering on the iPhone, but don’t get your hopes up in anticipation for a 2016 arrival.

Unfortunately there is no word on when Apple might implement this technology on the iPhone.

The iPhone 6s and the 6s Plus have brought in a lot of sales for Apple, even though they were not redesigned much, but next year could see an entirely different scenario and a completely redesigned iPhone 7 lineup hitting the market. This patent was originally filed in early 2014, so it’s unclear if Apple is still committed to this idea or has moved on to something else.