Japan now has a soap-proof phone, because germs

Phones are dirty.

That's not a statement concerning your Snapchat habits (but honestly, you're a grown man, stop it) - but a description of the level of filth living on your handset. Every study, test and research group to have poked around a smartphone with a swab has found that your digital companion carries more dirt than the average toilet.

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Which goes some way to explaining why the mysophobic (Google it) tech heads of Japan have created the world's first soap-proof, washable phone.

And yes, there's obviously a weird advert to show it off.

While waterproof handsets have populated pockets for a number of years, the corrosive nature of cleaning products, scouring pads and vigours of a thorough clean have meant users have had to put up with a lump of muck.

In addition to being soap-proof, Kyocera's Digno Rafre handset has a scratch-healing case, a five inch touch-screen that works when wet and a bone-conducting audio point, to allow you to have conversations without the need of a speaker (less holes to let the water in).

Set to launch in Japan this month for around £310, don't expect the handset to make its way to European markets any time soon. Should the idea prove a popular one, it could become a standard feature of all future smartphones.

Finally, a world in which we can use our smartphones whilst raiding a packet of crisps.