Despite costing almost $250 less than the iPhone XS, the iPhone XR offers almost the same set of features and experience as its more expensive sibling. Apple does make a few compromises to reach that $749 price tag of the iPhone XR including a downgrade to IP67 certification.
While the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max come with IP68 certification, the iPhone XR features an IP67 certification. That’s not bad by any means and the same as iPhone 8 and iPhone X from 2017. But what exactly does the IP67 certification mean? Read below to find out.
What IP Certification Really Means
The IP certification guideline has been defined by the IEC 60529 standard which provides an Ingress Protection a.k.a IP rating to all consumer devices for their dust and water-resistance capabilities.
The ‘6’ in the IP67 rating of the iPhone XR denotes its dust-resistance capabilities, while the ‘7’ denotes its water-resistance capabilities. While 6 is the highest dust-resistance rating a consumer device can get, the water-resistance rating goes up to 8 which means the iPhone XR’s water-resistance capabilities is just below the best. However, for all intents and purposes, the IP67 certification of the iPhone XR is going to be good enough for most consumers.
As per Apple, the IP67 certification of the iPhone XR means it can survive being submerged in 1.5m deep water for up to 30 minutes. The iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max which come with IP68 certification can survive being submerged in up to 2m deep water for 30 minutes at a stretch.
The Catch
Just because the iPhone XR has an IP67 certification, it does not mean that it is waterproof. There’s a world of difference between water-resistant and waterproof. If you end up exposing your iPhone XR to highly pressurized water or submerging it in depths greater than 2m, water is going to breach the rubber seal inside the device and wreak havoc with the internal components.
Also, IP certification is generally given on freshwater resistance capabilities. Despite its IP67 certification, you should absolutely avoid exposing your iPhone XR to sea water. This is because salt and other minerals present in the seawater can end up causing plenty of other issues.
If you accidentally do expose your iPhone XR to sea water, you should quickly take it out of the water, wash it with fresh water and then dry it. Follow the same steps if you expose the phone to any other kind of liquid as well.
Wear and Tear
Apple achieves the IP67 certification on the iPhone XR by running a rubber gasket around the edges of the device thereby sealing the internals completely. However, this sealing can and will deteriorate over time. Under regular use, this should not much of a difference. However, if a drop ends up causing major damage to the chassis of the device, its IP rating can be severely compromised.
No Warranty
Just because your iPhone XR features IP67 certification, it does not mean that Apple will cover it for any kind of liquid damage. While any kind of liquid damage caused due to a manufacturing defect will likely be covered, do not expect Apple to honor the warranty if it was caused because you decided to push the phone’s water-resistance capabilities.
It is better to take the water-resistance capabilities of your iPhone XR as a backup instead of taking it for granted and dropping the phone in water or any other liquid every other day.
Do you think there’s room for Apple to improve the water-resistance capabilities of its iPhones? Or do you think the iPhone XR’s IP67 certification is good enough? Drop a comment and let us know.
