Could Apple’s iPhone 5S Be Smarter and Self-Aware?

What innovation is Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) planning next? If a patent application is to be believed, the company may be looking into making its devices a little smarter and a little more self-aware. The patent filing from Apple shows some novel systems that enable the phone to physically control itself.

(Disclaimer: Physically self-aware is not cognitively self-aware. The Terminator is not on our doorstep.  Yet.)

When we think about smartphones, we mostly think about the cool features they offer us and the things we can do with them. But if a smartphone is dropped, it stops being all that smart. In fact, it wasn’t very smart at all to fall and not do anything to rectify the situation.

In the near future, Apple’s devices might take care of that intellectual deficiency. A recent patent filed by the company showed a number of physical technologies that could be incorporated into its devices that would allow an iPhone, for example, to modestly control itself in the event of a fall…