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We know that the iPhone 12 can withstand spills and splashes, but Apple may downplay the water resistance that this phone really is. The IP68 rating of the iPhone 12 means it can survive up to 19.6 feet (6 meters) of water for 30 minutes. This applies to all four iPhone 12 models: iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. But we found that, like its predecessor, Apple’s newest iPhone can handle a lot more than that. Both iPhone 11 models It far exceeded the official rating, surviving a 39-foot saltwater dive in Monterey Bay, California. This year we took a brand new iPhone 12 for a swim in the icy cool waters of Lake Tahoe, on the other side of the Golden State, to test it out.
Working as a team with Mission Robotics, we mounted our iPhone 12 on the company’s underwater drone, Theseus. The drone can go 300 meters (984 feet) underwater, and the pilot can see the view from Theseus’s camera, as well as water depth and temperature metrics from a computer off shore.
Watch the video on this page for the full test and to see some amazing underwater footage of the drone.
read more: IPhone 12 drop test results show ceramic shield is as tough as it looks
John Kim / CNET
Dive 1: claim test (19.6 feet for 30 minutes)
According to Apple’s support page, you should not intentionally submerge or swim with your iPhone, or take it to extreme temperatures. But for the purposes of our testing, we wanted to push it to the limit.
For our first dive, we wanted to test the IP68 claim: 19.6 feet (6 meters) of water for 30 minutes. From the shore of Lake Tahoe, we placed the iPhone on a stand in front of the drone camera with the screen set to stay on, so that we could see if something happened to the iPhone while it was underwater.
The iPhone 12 in Theseus.
John Kim / CNET
The water temperature in Lake Tahoe at this depth was 52 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees Celsius).
After 30 minutes, we take the phone out of the water and dry it with a cloth. We then tested it to see if the phone worked. The touchscreen was fine and the volume control worked as expected. All three cameras (front, ultrawide and wide) looked clear with no evidence of fogging and photos looked normal. We recorded a voice memo before submerging the phone and could hear that after the first dive the speaker sounded a bit muffled in comparison, but it’s hard to tell if that would have improved after letting it dry longer. Apple’s support page suggests placing the iPhone base and the Lightning connector in front of a fan to aid the drying process. However, we had other ideas.
Dive 2: The Extreme Test (65ft)
With the iPhone 12 operating normally, we prepared the drone for its second dive in Lake Tahoe. This time, we wanted to take the phone to more extreme depths. We submerged the phone 20 meters (65 feet) underwater, more than three times the maximum depth rating. The water temperature at this depth was 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius).
With the timer running on the iPhone 12 screen, we could see how much time had passed since we submerged the phone. Once it reached 30 minutes, we decided to leave it submerged a bit more, just to see what would happen. We finally pulled the drone out of the water at the 40 minute mark and ran the same tests again.
John Kim / CNET
Surprisingly, everything worked normally. The screen was responsive, the volume and power buttons worked, and the two cameras worked too. The speaker still sounded muffled when playing the voice memo, but it was still audible.
After cleaning the iPhone 12, we turn it off and let it sit for a few days to dry completely.
The final test
After letting it dry for 72 hours, we wanted to do a final test to see if there had been any long-term damage as a result of the extreme underwater test. The phone itself was completely dry, but its three lenses, the ultra-wide and wide-angle on the back, as well as the front camera, had developed some fogging.
At this point the battery was completely drained as well, so we let the phone charge for a while through the Lightning port before turning it back on. But once we did, the iPhone 12 screen showed a diagnostic message. After trying to pass the diagnostic message several times, we connected the iPhone 12 to a MacBook to see if we could reset the device. It worked, but we still couldn’t get past the Diagnostics screens.
While we have no way of knowing exactly what caused this error, it may have been prolonged water damage, the change in temperature between cold Lake Tahoe water and an indoor environment, or a combination of both.
How waterproof is the iPhone 12?
Our very unscientific test would suggest that the iPhone 12 can withstand very deep water and clearly meets the IP68 claim. But, like all electronic devices, you have a limit to the amount of water you can drink and you should never intentionally submerge your phone in water (lake or otherwise).
As with our previous water experiment with the iPhone 11, your results may vary. Also remember that water damage is not covered under warranty. We contacted Apple and the company provided us with these instructions on its support page. Following these guidelines can improve the iPhone’s chances of coming into contact with water or any other type of liquid.
