The majority of today's smartphones can't handle even a five-second dip in the sink or the toilet. Let alone an impromptu shower call. It's time for a change. (From 2016)
story about the time they jumped into the pool with their phone in their pocket, or dropped it in the toilet, or spilled a beer on it. In every case, that was the death of their phones. And yet somehow, waterproofing is a niche and surprising feature for smartphones. Samsung made a whole ad campaign about it, with Lil' Wayne pouring champagne on every Galaxy S7 he could find. Sony touted the water-resistance of the Xperia Z5.
The majority of today's smartphones can't handle even a five-second dip in the sink or the toilet. There are too many cracks, holes, and ports where water can squeeze itself in. There are, of course, options for those who crave waterproofing: stick on a fat innertube of a case, buy a phone made by a construction company, or just go with the good ol' Ziploc bag.That's not good enough. Not even close.
In 2012, SquareTrade, which sells insurance against lots of electronics, released its Smartphone Accident Survey. Two of the five most common accident scenarios were "Immersed in liquid" and "Liquid spilled on it." Even now, says Vince Tseng, SquareTrade's chief services officer, the only thing they see more than liquid damage is cracked screens. And everyone's working on cracked screens.
Somehow, your phone's fragility has been made out to be your fault—if you break it, you must have been doing something wrong. You have to buy AppleCare, or some other aftermarket insurance you hopefully won't need and definitely shouldn't have to pay for. Your phone's ability to survive a spilled drink shouldn't be worthy of Lil' Wayne's time, Samsung's ad budget, or all that wasted bubbly.
It's obviously good for consumers to have more phones that can handle a drizzle. But the case for waterproof phones is also remarkably easy to make to manufacturers. At least, that's what Simon McElrea, CEO of electronics-waterproofing company Semblant, tells me. It's simple economics: A lot of phones get returned, he says, "and at least half of that return rate is damage.
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