Why is my smartphone not waterproof?

A typical smartphone owner keeps his/her handset in a case or probably has a screen protector or even a tempered glass. We love our devices thus, we keep them protected and even though I personally don’t like ruining the slim design of my Nexus 6P, I use a case occasionally so that I don’t add scuffs or dents to the body.

But what about protection from water, especially if you stay in a city like Mumbai, where dodging the rains is not an option. A case will protect it, unless you have one which is waterproof and covers the entire smartphone, but who wants that?

Before we go ahead, let us tell you the main difference between waterproof and water resistant. If a smartphone OEM tells you that their smartphone is waterproof, it means that it can be submerged in water, however a water resistant smartphone would only be able take a few splashes or maybe survive under light rain.

Waterproofing in smartphones has been around for a few years now and probably the only name that comes to my mind is Sony. The company had waterproof smartphones even when it had a joint venture with Ericsson back in 2011-2012 and continued making smartphones that could withstand water even after it split from the Swedish company. It wasn’t until recently, that Sony decided to limit the feature only for its top of the line flagship, the Xperia X Performance. The company says that consumer aren’t attracted to this feature anymore. Really now? Motorola  identified this as an oppurtunity and has started making some phones that can take on a few spills. Even Samsung for that matter made their latest flagship, the Galaxy S7, waterproof.

I went out and asked smartphone users between the age group of 18-35 years whether they would consider waterproofing as a crucial feature if and when they plan on buying a smartphone. Almost 75 per cent of them said that it isn’t a crucial feature that they would want, but would definitely like to see it in smartphones priced at and above Rs 15,000.

Easier said than done, adding waterproof coating to a smartphone is not very cost effective as explained by Xiaomi’s founder, Lei Jun. He says that there are two main reasons why Xiaomi doesn’t offer this feature:

1. If water resistance was added to the product(s) the price would increase roughly 20-30 percent above what Xiaomi devices cost now
2. Ensuring water resistance requires that the handsets themselves are not damaged or compromised in any way

He also said that the company understands what their customers want and that they are considering adding waterproofing if consumers are ready to pay the extra cash needed to add the feature.

So how does a smartphone become waterproof? It involves a special process where a nano-coating is applied on to the smartphone. A vacuum sucks all the air from inside and outside of the device which is replaced with a gas that settles down and binds itself to the device’s surfaces and circuits forming a nano-coated layer which is usually made out of super-hydrophobic particles to repel water. This process is either done by the manufacturer or can be done by a third party or aftermarket vendor.

To maintain a standard, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) takes charge to check if a smartphone can withstand water-related damage. The IEC has defined a set of IP (International Protection) codes which include two digits, for instance the Moto G Turbo edition comes with an IP67 rating. The first digit which is 5 or a 6 usually denotes the phones dust-proofing ability while the second digit denotes the ability to protect itself from water. Smartphones with an IPx7 rating is common and means that it can be dunked in water of up to 1 meter while IPx8 rated devices can go up to 3 meters. Of course they shouldn’t be kept there for a long period - 30 mins tops. The tests are for fresh water only and not for any other liquids. The IEC also claims that the tests only suggest whether these smartphones can survive a quick dip in water, they do not suggest if they will be functional while they are submerged.

I think all smartphones should come with a waterproof coating, well at least all the high-end flagships. Every other smartphone features Gorilla Glass protection, similarly a nano-coating should become a norm for all smartphones to give customers a peace of mind. Hopefully the coming years will bring this change.