The Swim Check for Smartphones

TECH TIP

How waterproof is your gadget? A world customary measures a gadget’s potential to face up to dips and dunks — in addition to mud and filth.

Q. When a smartphone is marketed as waterproof, how do they confirm that declare?

A. When hawking the water worthiness of their merchandise, most smartphone producers cite the outcomes of IP, or ingress safety, testing. To not be confused with the favored augmented-reality recreation, the “ingress” right here comes from the Latin “ingressus” from the verb “ingredior” — which suggests “go into or enter.”

In order you might count on by now, the IP standardized take a look at is all about how a lot liquid and mud a tool can preserve out. Telephone makers usually record a product’s outcomes as its IP ranking beneath the Worldwide Electrotechnical Fee’s 60529 customary.

For its current Galaxy gadgets, Samsung touts “a world customary ranking of IP68” and says the Galaxy S7 and later fashions are “deemed match sufficient to face up to mud, filth and sand, and are proof against submersion as much as a most depth of 1.5 meters underwater for as much as 30 minutes” — which ought to defend it from the dreaded Bathroom Drop.

As for those numbers, the first digit in the rating refers to the level of protection from solid substances and is measured on scale of 0 (no protection) to 6, with a 6 meaning no dust enters the device for two to eight hours of exposure. The second number refers to water and is measured on a scale of 0 to 9. A rating of 8 designates protection against water immersion under pressure for long periods, and a 9 rating means the object can also hold up against high-pressure water jets.

ImageEven if your phone is rated as "water-resistant," keeping it away from situations where it can accidentally get wet helps prolong its life.CreditThe New York Times

Apple’s support guide regarding the water and dust resistance of the iPhone 7 and later lists an IP67 rating. The company cautions users that “splash, water and dust resistance are not permanent conditions, and resistance might decrease as a result of normal wear,” and that “liquid damage is not covered under warranty.” Apple also warns against using the iPhone while swimming, surfing, riding a water scooter, showering or sitting in a steam room; Google has similar advice for owners of its Pixel 2 phones.

Although “waterproof” is used in some advertising, the term “water-resistant” is a more accurate term. If you need to use your phone around liquid environments, consider keeping it in a sturdy watertight case (or a sealed plastic bag), even if your model has a high IP rating.

Personal Tech invites questions about computer-based technology to [email protected]. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually.

J.D. Biersdorfer has been answering technology questions — in print, on the web, in audio and in video — since 1998. She also writes the Sunday Book Review’s “Applied Reading” column on ebooks and literary apps, among other things. @jdbiersdorfer

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