Officially, Apple states that it’s Apple Watch is “water resistant,” which means basic hand washing and Spring rain showers are OK. However, a growing body of testing data shows that Apple Watch can actually withstand much harsher punishment.
Is Apple Watch actually “waterproof”? Yeah, it looks that way, but…
Officially speaking, Apple Watch specifications list the smartwatch as being “IPX7 under IEC standard 60529” water resistant, which means it’s water resistant. Specifically, the IPX7 standards indicates compliant devices can be submerged up to a depth of one meter.
Apple recommends avoiding submerging their smartwatch. The Apple Watch manual offers the following advice vis-a-vis water:
• Submerging Apple Watch in water for long periods of time.
• Swimming or bathing with Apple Watch.
• Exposing Apple Watch to pressurized water or high velocity water, for example, showering,
water skiing, wake boarding, surfing, jet skiing, and so on.
• Wearing Apple Watch in the sauna or steam room.
Nevertheless, Ray Maker (aka DC Rainmaker) — the Apple Watch wearing guy shown swimming above — has performed hardcore water resistance testing.
• Maker, who is a triathlete, swam his regular 1,000 meter workout and it passed that test with flying colors.
• Maker’s watch survived a 32 foot plunge off a high-dive platform.
• Don’t know where Maker found a “waterproofing test chamber,” but his Apple smartwatch survived two simulated 40 meter dives.
That said, Maker’s testing is hardly unique. Many others, including Consumer Reports, have noted that Apple’s breakthrough wearable appears to be waterproof.
Why wouldn’t Apple advertise that its smartwatch is waterproof? In true Apple fashion, the company prefers to undersell the functionality and then watch people ooh and aah as Apple Watch outperforms expectations…
What’s your take?
Via: AppleInsider