Connector protector, dirt deflector…

I never really knew this but the oils coming off your skin can sometimes affect the performance of your connector if they get on them. Most phones are designed to be oleophobic, repelling the reactive effect of the skin’s oils… but chargers and connectors, hardly. You’ll notice that chargers are more likely to collect everyday grime/dirt than your phone, and even that connector port can get dirty/oily, gradually affecting its performance… a little like getting fingerprints on a CD before you put it on the CD tray.

The Connector Protector is a small piece of plastic that sits on the connector, covering it when not in use so that you don’t necessarily touch it. Its spring-like design means the hood retracts when you’re plugging the connector into the port, and returns to its original shape when you’ve unplugged the cable. Now if only someone designed a protector that prevented those pesky wires from fraying and breaking apart every time!

The Connector Protector is a winner of the iF Design Award for the year 2018.

Designers: Takahiro Nakamichi & Wataru Yaekura (Softbank)

Sarang Sheth

Sarang is the co-editor in chief of Yanko Design. He is a former industrial designer at a Bangalore-based multidisciplinary design studio, working in areas including appliances, FMCG, packaging, technology, luxury, etc. Sarang has written about design and technology for over a decade and has been a jury member on international design awards. He occasionally works on tech concepts featured on Forbes, The Verge, Hypebeast, Digital Trends, SlashGear, Tom's Guide, LetsGoDigital, and Unbox Therapy. Sarang graduated from MIT Institute of Design, Pune.

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