Is it really worth it? When we talk about waterproof smartphones, what we’re often referring to is water-resistant phones. Smartphones are not truly impervious to water, but instead are resistant to water in certain circumstances. What you might also be surprised to learn is that those circumstances can be quite specific. The highest smartphone water resistance rating right now is IP68, which means certified devices can survive in 1.5 metres of fresh water for up to 30 minutes, although many OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) define their own test parameters.
Like “best before” dates on your groceries, these IP ratings are more often than not just a guide. Not to the extent that you could leave your phone in a pond overnight and expect it to be fine the next morning ” although those stories certainly exist ” but if a phone is in water for 31 minutes, as opposed to 30, chances are it will still be okay. Nonetheless, even with water resistance as a specific property of your smartphone, there’s no guarantee that it’s going to survive water attacks in every circumstance. And inversely, some phones that aren’t sold with an IP rating are pretty darn water-resistant, like the original Moto G.
So your phone isn’t waterproof, but with water resistance, it could survive liquid encounters that may ruin a non-water-resistant device. The next question, then, is what’s that worth, both to the manufacturer and you as a consumer? Applying water resistance to a phone is believed to be expensive. Not simply thanks to the cost of glueing protective rubber on the inside of the device, but in developing the product with water resistance in mind. Xiaomi’s co-founder Lei Jun once said it would add 20-30 percent to the cost of its phones. The price will, of course, vary depending on the manufacturer, but they will always increase the production costs of the device.
Adding water resistance may not just affect the costs of a device either, but what it’s like to use. Insulating a phone may affect its size, thickness, weight, and perhaps the audio quality of its speakers. Then there are third-party waterproofing technologies you can add to a device or waterproof cases. Their benefits (or lack thereof) deserve to be studied.
Should you always buy a water-resistant phone? The odds are still in your favor when it comes to whether your phone will become water-damaged. Thankfully, greater numbers of water-resistant phones are being released all the time and that number is likely to continue to grow, so “paying more” won’t necessarily even be a consideration. Most studies on damaged phones indicate that they are more often harmed by a fall than by water damage. With that in mind, you might need to ask yourself if you want to prioritize water resistance over a (much more inexpensive) protective cover.
