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Video shows just how much water still gets into iPhone 6s despite greater water resistance

While both IHS and iFixit were able to explain the increased water resistance of the iPhone 6s/Plus over last year’s models, finding adhesive seals similar to that found in the Apple Watch, a new test by IFixYouri shows just how much water still gets in.

After submerging an iPhone 6s for just two minutes, the company opened it up to see how much water managed to penetrate. The short answer is: quite a lot. While the casing is far better sealed, water is still able to get through the Lightning port, microphones, headphone jack, speakers, mute switch and volume buttons … 

You can see the new adhesive seal in the video below, but don’t try this with your iPhone …

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePhiu4cWeIg]

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Comments

  1. I guess that means my iPhone and I won’t be swimming together after work. :-(

  2. thisisasticup - 8 years ago

    Considering there are holes in the phone, this isnt that surprising.

  3. jamezyap - 8 years ago

    Why is this conflicting with your earlier report on Zach Straley’s test?

  4. bellevueboy - 8 years ago

    And the reason for trying this out is? Just page clicks? The watch had some claims of water resistance does iPhone have it too?

    • chrisl84 - 8 years ago

      I dunno, I think its kind of interesting just from an understanding/informational purpose

  5. Just 5 days ago you guys posted a vid of both 6 and 6s being submerged for over an hour without any operational damage whatsoever. So either the water got in but had no effect, or the experiments weren’t quite the same?

    • Ben Lovejoy - 8 years ago

      No two tests are going to show identical results, but the bottom-line is the same: water gets in, the phone copes remarkably well but don’t try this at home.

  6. jmholmes83 - 8 years ago

    Darn you Apple! Why did you have to go and advertise the phone as waterproof just so people would submerge their device and ruin… Wait what’s that Apple? You didn’t tell anyone it’s waterproof… Oh… So this is just BS… Ok, carry on.

    • 89p13 - 8 years ago

      Exactly! Why would you think a device with speakers, microphones and openings would be waterproof?

      Common sense people – Common Sense.

      YMMV

      • srgmac - 8 years ago

        The Samsung Galaxy S5 is waterproof and it has all of those things……..

      • 89p13 - 8 years ago

        And . . . For the US Posters . . . . We’ve already suffered through our own “National WaterGate” back in the 1970s.

        Nothing to see here – move along!

  7. tincan2012 - 8 years ago

    Water resistance appears to be due to this new [and very thin] gasket. Looking at the video, battery replacement will for sure result in the loss of this gasket. I doubt ‘cottage industry’ iPhone repair shops will replace the gasket to restore water resistance. Will Apple store battery replacements include gasket replacement?

  8. srgmac - 8 years ago

    I wonder why they don’t make the iPhones with a better water resistance rating? Wasn’t the galaxy s5 basically waterproof?

  9. rafterman11 - 8 years ago

    I think the moral of the story here is that a little rain exposure might not be harmful.

  10. 89p13 - 8 years ago

    To SRGMAC:

    “The Samsung Galaxy S5 is waterproof and it has all of those things……..”

    Then buy a Samsung and put up with Android – OR – Treat your iPhone like the $$$ Device that it is. Use Common Sense, it goes a long way.

    • srgmac - 8 years ago

      I don’t even want to attempt to respond with anything logical here but I’ll try…I like iOS, I use a 5S as my main phone, but I would like it if Apple had better hardware features on their devices compared to their competitors — two great examples is the waterproofing that the galaxy S5 has (not sure if GS 6 has the same thing or not), and samsung pay which is a wireless payment system that doesn’t require NFC to function, so it works in any store with an old school credit card reader, and it’s just as secure as Apple Pay.

      • dpcom - 8 years ago

        Just wanted to give you some information about Samsung pay. Their non-NFC “solution” is just a start up called Loop Pay which they bought. If you want you can probably still find a loop pay dongle for iOS because Loop marketed that before being bought. It is absolutely not as secure as Apple Pay because it is a simple magnetic system. It transmits your actual credit card number to the card reader by a burst of magnetic energy. It doesn’t work nearly al the time, and is awkward to try to explain to a business where they swipe your card. “no, here, hold my phone just so by the reader” “Dude I told you we don’t take phone payments yet” “Yeah you do this is different it’ll work let me do it for you” “Security!!”

        It is an impressive hack in theory but has no future since magnetic swiping will soon be a thing of the past after the credit card issuers transfer fraud liability to businesses still using magnetic swipe this month.

        All that said the GS5’s water resistance was great. The normal S6 doesn’t have it, oddly, but they made one specific model that does. No idea why Samsung has 37 models of each generation but *shrug*

      • srgmac - 8 years ago

        Since I can’t reply to dpcom because of friggen WordPress — I feel I really need to correct your comment, especially if some people read it and actually believe it (sigh!) — “It is absolutely not as secure as Apple Pay because it is a simple magnetic system. It transmits your actual credit card number to the card reader by a burst of magnetic energy.” – Samsung Pay absolutely does ***NOT*** transmit your actual credit card number to the card reader. It uses a system much like Apple pay with tokenization. If you do not believe me you can read about it at Mashable: http://mashable.com/2015/03/03/samsung-pay-security/#KAwytqK3SiqU — Samsung Pay also uses NFC when available; that’s the default method that it will use, it will only work with mag readers when no NFC is available. Apple pay is awesome but it works at about 5% of the stores I go to. Not very good for leaving my wallet at home. Samsung Pay will work everywhere — I’ll gladly suffer through some “awkward” conversation with a business — that’s fine with me, so long as it works.

  11. tawab1 - 8 years ago

    I saw a video of two hours length that iPhone 6s and 6s plus inside water but nothing happened.
    In my opinion this video is not correct.

  12. pdoobs - 8 years ago

    can we stop promoting the idea that the iphone is able to handle any exposure to water. apple hasn’t claimed increased water resistance.

  13. standardpull - 8 years ago

    No phone is really designed to be submerged to any depth for any period of time. If you unexpectedly fall out of your canoe with your Galaxy or iPhone in your pocket, consider yourself very lucky if your phone isn’t damaged.

    In the best case some phones promise of protection for brief and minor dunkings (3 feet) – if and only if you keep doors and flaps and seals clean and properly closed. Best of luck with that in the real world.

  14. tush4r - 8 years ago

    The big question is, why would you even submerge your phone into the water? and accidental falls, uhmm, don’t say you are not going to do anything to get your precious out.

  15. strawbis - 8 years ago

    No sooner do you advertise anything as “splash proof” than some idiot thinks that means it’s okay to take it 100 atmospheres beneath the ocean, and expect the maker to replace it when it’s crushed by the pressure. Is anyone really surprised Apple don’t claim any king of water proofing for iPhone?

    That said; didn’t they buy a company that was treating electronic components to make them waterproof a couple of years ago? Could this be the fruits of said purchase?

  16. calisurfboy - 8 years ago

    I live in Texas and I’ll admit a few times I have sweated profusely in my pocket causing my phone to not work. If they could improve it so it can handle a profuse amount of butt sweat in Texas, I’d be happy. Don’t need to go swimming with the phone.

  17. Even if they promote any future iPhone as waterproof or any other product in general from any manufacture int he world I wouldn’t take it into water. Plus, it’s a pointless feature only Samsung can make a big deal of.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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