Whilst no phone can be completely ‘waterproof’, many of the top smartphones do feature some degree of water resistance. This means you can use your handset in the rain, take pictures by the pool and not have to worry about unfortunate spills or splashes.
As part of the launch of their nationwide in-store repair service, mobile phone retailer Fonehouse, who specialise in mobile phone deals, have conducted a survey which revealed that almost three in five (58%) people don’t know how waterproof their phone is.
To help inform consumers when searching for a new handset, Fonehouse have revealed how water-resistant some of the top handsets are and how to check yourself.
A water-resistant handset can usually resist water penetration to some extent, with a rating system called the Ingress Protection (IP) used to measure devices’ resistance against liquids. This is the international standard that defines the degrees of protection devices provide against liquid, dust and solid objects.
An IP rating will have two numbers. The first ranging between 0-6, rating the phone’s protection against the entry of solid foreign objects like dust and dirt. The second number falls between 0-8 and measures the phone’s resistance against liquids.
|
Level |
Liquids (second number) |
|
0 |
No protection. |
|
1 |
Protection against vertically dripping water. |
|
2 |
Protection against vertically dripping water when the device is tilted at an angle of up to 15 degrees. |
|
3 |
Protection against direct sprays of water when the device is tilted at an angle of up to 60 degrees. |
|
4 |
Protection from sprays and splashing of water in all directions. |
|
5 |
Protection from low-pressure water projected from a nozzle with a 6.3mm diameter opening in any direction. |
|
6 |
Protection from water projected in powerful jets from a nozzle with a 12.5mm diameter opening in any direction. |
|
7 |
Protected from immersion in water with a depth of up to 1 meter (or 3.3 feet) for up to 30 mins. |
|
8 |
Protected from immersion in water with a depth of more than 1 meter (manufacturer must specify exact depth). |
Many devices make the claim of being water resistant, but they don’t all carry the same IP rating.
For an 8 on the IP rating, the device must withstand being submerged in at least 1 meter of water for 30 minutes. Beyond that, it’s up to the manufacturer. So, while any phone with a rating of 8 will have had to hit that 1 meter-30-minute minimum threshold, it’s important to check the fine print and see exactly what your phone offers.
These models have a rating of IP68 and a maximum depth of 6 metres up to 30 minutes:
- iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max
These models have a rating of IP68 and a maximum depth of 4 metres up to 30 minutes:
- iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max
These models have a rating of IP68 and a maximum depth of 2 metres up to 30 minutes:
- iPhone 11
- iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max
These models have a rating of IP68 or IPX8 and a maximum depth of 1.5 metres up to 30 minutes:
- Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+ and Galaxy S23 Ultra
- Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+ and Galaxy S22 Ultra
- Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 Ultra
- Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra
- Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Fold4
- Galaxy Z Flip3 and Galaxy Z Flip4
- Galaxy Note20 and Galaxy Note20 Ultra
- Sony Xperia 1 III and Sony Xperia 1 IV
- Sony Xperia 5 III and Sony Xperia 5 IV
- Sony Xperia PRO-I and Sony Xperia PRO
- Google Pixel 7 and Google Pixel 7 Pro
- Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 6 Pro
- Xiaomi 13
These models have a rating of IP67 and a maximum depth of 1 metre up to 30 minutes:
- iPhone SE (2nd generation)
- iPhone XR and iPhone X
- iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus
- Galaxy A52, Galaxy A53 and Galaxy A54
- Galaxy A33 and Galaxy A34
- Google Pixel 6a
These models have a rating of IP53 and have light splash resistance:
- Xiaomi 13 lite
- Xiaomi 12t pro and Xiaomi 12t
However, this should all be taken with a pinch of salt as companies testing a device’s water resistance might softly submerge it in freshwater, which is much different from jumping in a swimming pool or saltwater at the beach. A phone’s levels of water resistance can also diminish with wear over time.
