Smartphone enthusiasts continue to push the Samsung Galaxy S7 to its limits of water resistance. The 2016 flagship, which has been on the market for a little under one month, features an IP68 water resistance rating. This means it can be submerged in up to 5 feet of water for 30 minutes.
But the guys at YouTube channel Unbox Therapy recently experimented with having a Galaxy S7 handset submerged in water overnight and the device appears to have lived to function another day.
The Galaxy S7 handset was placed in a mason jar filled with water from 7 p.m. until 12 p.m. the following day, for a total of 16 hours and 36 minutes. The time lapse video shows that the Galaxy S7 never shut off, as its always on display remained functional the entire time.
Once taken out of water, the tester was able to wake up the smartphone, but did not do any further tests to see how its functionality was affected by being left in water for more than half a day.
Other tests have shown the Galaxy S7 can survive extreme conditions, but does not come out completely unscathed. One tech enthusiast placed his Galaxy S7 in a washer for 45 minutes and the device still worked. However, it did suffer from some muffling of sound quality due to water being in the speakers.
When SquareTrade tested the Galaxy S7 as per its IP68 parameters, sound on the device was permanently distorted after being left in five feet of water over over 30 minutes.
Overall, it appears the effects of Galaxy S7 water submersion is largely dependent on the depth of the water as well as water pressure. The deeper the water under which the handset is submerged, the more pressure the device will be under. With more pressure comes more opportunity for damage. However, an unlocked mason jar is a fairly low pressure situation for the Galaxy S7, so perhaps the device fared well in a 16-hour swim.
However, we’d recommend everyday users not try this at home.
