Apple was the first large tech brand to apply an oleophobic chemical treatment to the screens of a major product line. The glass screen of the iPhone 3GS was covered with an organic, carbon-based polymer that prevents oil from the skin from sticking to the screen. Instead, the oil (from the user's fingers, cheek, ear, or nose) stays bonded together in droplets, but not bonded with the screen.

Apples solution didnt rid the phone of fingerprints and smudges very effectively, but Apple has stuck with its oleophobic surfaces. New iPhones and iPads ship with oleophobic screens. And the company has certainly invested in research on oil-resistant screens: In February 2011, Apple  on a special process for applying an oleophobic polymer to the surface of a touchscreen.

The most promising research in oleophobic surfaces involves the physical texturing of screen surfaces. Last December, Max Planck Institute researchers published a paper in the journal saying that regular sootthe carbon residue released from a burning candlecan create a rough, oil-resistant surface.

The researchers coated a slide with candle soot, then covered the layer of carbon residue with a layer of silica structures and baked the whole thing at 1112 degrees Fahrenheit, which made the layer of soot transparent.