Water Proof - SlashGear

LG G6 teaser confirms that, yes, it will be waterproof

JC Torres | Feb 22, 2017

It’s just a few days before MWC 2017, so, naturally, LG is kicking off its marketing engines into full gear. Which means even more breadcrumbs of clues, some of which we already more or less know. Still, it’s good to see some more or less formal confirmation of those features. LG has all but confirmed that the LG G6 will be waterproof but now it is saying it as clear as this water. But as they on TV, “don’t try this at home”.

LG G6 teasers promise grace under pressure, under water

JC Torres | Feb 14, 2017

The way things are, LG might not have any surprises left when it unveils the LG G6 in less than two weeks. It's usual practice is to drop bits and pieces of information leading up to the big reveal, which really only confirms what has already been leaked anyway. In this latest round, LG is practically confirming the smartphone's water proofing, a first for its flagship line, promising peace of mind no matter the accidental circumstances.

Kyocera rafre washable phone returns, now body soap resistant

JC Torres | Jan 27, 2017

Water resistance is becoming a much sought after property in smartphones these days, with consumers looking at IP rating as much as specs. But IP scores only tell you how long the device might last under water at a certain depth. They don’t tell you if it’s safe to actually wash the phone with soap and water. Kyocera, famous for its hardened smartphones, said back in 2015 that “yes, yes can!” And now it’s saying it again with an all new “rafre”, now with resistance to more kinds of soap.

iPhone 8 tipped to have even stronger water resistance

JC Torres | Jan 16, 2017

Water resistance, perhaps even more than dust proofing, has become an expected feature of almost every high-end smartphone these days. After all, if you’re paying premium price for such a sophisticated device, you’d expect it to survive a few, hopefully minor, mishaps. Until the iPhone 7, however, Apple’s smartphones haven’t exactly joined that trend. But now that it has, it seems to be going full out. According to multiple sources, the iPhone 8 will feature an ingress protection (IP) rating of IP68, obtaining the highest dust and water proofing score that few smartphones so far enjoy.

Xperia X Compact gets waterproof, pink models in Japan only

JC Torres | Oct 20, 2016

At this rate, people will begin to wonder why Japan is getting some of the nicer stuff. It’s not like they’re subjected to more water than the rest of the world. And yet, that market is exclusively getting at least two waterproof models of high-end smartphones. Hot on the heels of KDDI’s LG V34, NTT DoCoMo has put up the product page for the Sony Xperia X Compact, which is practically the same elsewhere, except for its IP68 rating. And as if to add insult to injury, it also comes in pink!

LG V34 is the smaller, waterproof V20 you can’t have

JC Torres | Oct 19, 2016

The LG V20 is admittedly one of the nicer Android smartphones this half of the year, especially with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 out of the running. But nice as it is, it have a few things that make it less than perfect for some. For one, some might find the 5.7-inch screen a tad too big. For another, it doesn’t speak of any dust or waterproofing at all, much like the new Google Pixel. It seems, however, that LG has addressed those complaints in a new LG V34. The bad news: it’s only available in Japan.

Samsung displays could bounce off water in the future

JC Torres | Sep 26, 2016

Smartphones have become an integral part of our lives to the point that it’s no longer sufficient for them to be powerful only. They also need to be able to survive many of the accidents we get subjected to, day in and day out, specifically splashes and drops of water. Water resistance is an important factor among high-end smartphones these days, and Samsung is taking that up to the next level by licensing superhydrophobic glass coating for its future devices, like smartphones and tablets.

Google Pixel phones tipped to barely have water resistance

JC Torres | Sep 21, 2016

Our smartphones these days have become part and parcel of our lives to the point that we bring them with us anywhere and everywhere. That runs the risk of exposing them to elements, so consumers have mostly come to expect that their smartphones will survive a bit of a splash. Most flagships for the past years do promise some peace of mind in that regard, with a few exceptions. And unfortunately, according to a “reliable source”, the Google Pixel smartphone will be one of those exceptions, getting only an IP53 rating, which means having no special water resistance at all.

Galaxy S7 Active manufacturing defect now fixed, says Samsung

JC Torres | Jul 21, 2016

It is utterly ironic that the Galaxy S7 Active, a smartphone that is advertised to be the utmost in survivability, isn't as immune to water as Samsung would have us believe. And yet that is what some tests have tried to prove, which, naturally, Samsung has claimed not to be the case. That said, now it seems that the manufacturer is admitting some of it, albeit indirectly. The company reached out to Consumer Reports, who first broke the news of the Galaxy S7 Active's less than stellar underwater performance, that the manufacturing problem that caused that issue has now been addressed.

Galaxy S7 gets an unboxing in water, a teardown in Russia

JC Torres | Feb 22, 2016

It's not unusual for new smartphones to get a teardown at one point or another, but the speed at which they happen is somewhat unprecedented. The Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge were just announced, not even launched, Sunday and now someone in Russia has already torn it apart piece by piece. But before you can go through a smartphone, you have to go through its box first. And what better way to unbox a waterproof device than under water, which is exactly what T-Mobile just did.

iPhone 6S waterproof? Nearly, and cleverly

Chris Burns | Oct 2, 2015

Today the folks at iFixit have released some teardown images of the iPhone 6S with specific regard given to the device's ability to be waterproof. The device appears to use technology Apple patented back in the year 2014, including strips of adhesive to seal the front glass panel and display to the back panel, and coating surrounding the cable connectors of all logic boards in the smartphone. Super-tiny differences in the mesh used for speakers was also used, this time finer than the previous generation.

Sony now backtracking on phones’ underwater prowess

JC Torres | Sep 11, 2015

Sony's smartphones have traditionally centered upon three or four key strengths: the OmniBalance design, two-day battery life, high-quality camera sensor, and waterproof rating. Two of those, design and camera, have now been challenged, even refuted, and now it seems that Sony itself is trying to debunk another one. The Japanese OEM has updated the wording on some of its support pages to warn users not to use their smartphones underwater, despite their top IP68 dust and waterproof rating, conflicting with their own previous marketing campaigns.