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It’s common for manufacturers of phones, smartwatches, and many other devices to claim that products are waterproof, but what do the ratings touted by companies like Apple, Sony, Samsung, and more really mean?
You are likely to hear these companies referring to ‘IP rating’. This is the international standard that defines the degrees of protection that devices provide against liquids, dust, and solid objects.
Devices including the iPhone 12, iPhone SE (2020), Samsung Galaxy S21, OnePlus 8 Pro, and even the Apple Watch 6 claim to be waterproof, as do some lower-end and older devices, but not all have the same IP rating.
You will usually see numbers like IP67 when referring to the iPhone SE (2020) and various older iPhones like the iPhone 8, while the IP68 number is much more common on recent high-end phones, like the iPhone 11 range. the Samsung Galaxy S21 and Google Pixel 5 range. While these are the two numbers you will see most often, they are not the only ones.
What does IP mean?
Those letters ‘IP’ refer to ‘ingress protection’, which in layman’s terms means how easily dust and water can get into the internal parts of your device.
The IP part of the term will not change, so these are the numbers that you will really need to look at to determine how rugged your device is designed to be.
The first number in the sequence refers to the solid protection of the device. That means it will tell you how likely it is to get dust on the device and if, for example, it is likely to be a problem if you take your device to the beach and drop it on the sand.
For the most part, you will only see the number five or six here. The number five means that “dust entry is not completely prevented, but must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment; complete protection against contact “.
However, if it is a six, it will be more protective as the definition says “no entry of dust” and offers complete protection.
Sometimes you will also see a rating like IPX8, which is where the company doesn’t disclose its product’s dust protection number, so it replaces it with an ‘X’.
What does the second number mean?
The second number in the IP rating refers to how waterproof the device is, and is a bit more complicated than the first number.
Almost all mobile devices have an IP rating with a number of at least three or four, which protects against splashes or sprays of water and ensures that your device is not instantly ruined by rain when you use it.
The numbers that will interest you start at five. It is the protection against “water projected by a nozzle (6.3 mm) against the enclosure from any direction”. If its IP rating is number six, it will protect against “water projected in powerful jets (12.5mm nozzle) against the housing from any direction”.
Truly waterproof devices are those with numbers starting at seven, but they still vary. The number seven means that “entry of water in harmful quantities will not be possible when the enclosure is immersed in water under defined conditions of pressure and time (up to 1 m immersion)”.
A rating that includes an eight for the second number will refer to devices that can withstand submersion beyond 1 meter, but no device is completely waterproof.
The official definition of the maximum number of water resistance (nine) is “the equipment is suitable for continuous immersion in water under the conditions to be specified by the manufacturer. Normally, this will mean that the equipment is hermetically sealed.”
However, with certain types of equipment, it can mean that water can enter but only in such a way that it does not produce harmful effects.
Which phones have which IP ratings?
Therefore, no phone is 100% waterproof. It’s always possible for some water to seep into your device if you submerge it to very deep depths or leave it there for a long time.
If you are looking for one of the most durable smartphones, there are plenty of rugged options, including the Ulefone Armor 9 FLIR, Blackview BV9900 Pro, and Doogee S96 Pro, which are specifically designed to protect against vibration, shock, dust, and water.
If you are looking for a normal phone, we recommend listening to the individual advice of each manufacturer that you can find on the official websites of each device manufacturer. But if it has a high IP rating, you can probably use your device in the bathroom or near a pool without worrying.
IP67 devices include various iPhones, such as the iPhone SE (2020), iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 7, plus some mostly older phones from other companies, such as the Huawei Mate 10 Pro, Google Pixel 2, and HTC U11. .
IP68 certified devices include the Samsung Galaxy S21 range, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 range, the iPhone 12 range, the iPhone 11 range, the LG Velvet, the Sony Xperia 1 II, the Oppo Find X2 Pro, and a wide variety. from other phones, mostly high-end.
However, it’s worth noting that, particularly once it hits the IP68 level, not all phones with that rating are equally waterproof. It just means that they have reached the minimum requirement for it.
So, for example, both the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus (which Samsung claims can be submerged up to 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes) and the iPhone 12 Pro (which Apple says can submerge up to 6 meters for 30 minutes)) are rated. IP68. Therefore, it is worth checking beyond the rating.
What about other water resistance ratings?
While IP ratings are the main water resistance ratings you’ll find on phones, if you have a portable device, you may have noticed that it is listed as ‘5ATM’ or similar.
The ATM bit stands for ‘atmospheres’, but what it really tells you is the amount of water pressure the device can withstand. The first number covers that: a 1 is a depth of 10 meters, a 5 is a depth of 50 meters, and so on.
Therefore, the 5ATM rating that your smartwatch may have means that it can survive water pressure at depths of 50 meters. However, it is not that simple, since that classification is only for when it is stopped; It can be a very different story if nothing else, for example.
In fact, as impressive as 5ATM may sound, it doesn’t actually guarantee that the device is safe to swim with, although it will usually at least be rain and water proof. However, many wearables can be worn swimming, you just have to make sure they specifically say so.
Less often, you may also see a number followed by a “slash.” Similarly, this is a unit of pressure, and 1 bar is almost exactly the same as 1 ATM. Virtually many wearable devices only list the actual depth, such as 10 meters, but again, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can dive to depths of 10 meters with the device.
A wide range of wearables will have one of the above ratings. For example, the Apple Watch 6 is listed as water resistant to 50 meters, the Garmin Vivomove HR is rated for 5ATM, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 is rated for 5ATM and IP68.
It’s common for manufacturers of phones, smartwatches, and many other devices to claim that products are waterproof, but what do the ratings touted by companies like Apple, Sony, Samsung, and more really mean?
You are likely to hear these companies referring to ‘IP rating’. This is the international standard that defines the degrees of protection that devices provide against liquids, dust and solid objects.
Devices including the iPhone 12, iPhone SE (2020), Samsung Galaxy S21, OnePlus 8 Pro, and even the Apple Watch 6 claim to be waterproof, as do some lower-end and older devices, but not all have the same IP rating.
You will usually see numbers like IP67 when referring to the iPhone SE (2020) and various older iPhones like the iPhone 8, while the IP68 number is much more common on recent high-end phones, like the iPhone 11 range. the Samsung Galaxy S21 and Google Pixel 5 range. While these are the two numbers you will see most often, they are not the only ones.
