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Comment by TrueGeek | Hacker News Reader

I'm surprised you're getting downvoted. The iPhone has been IP67 since iPhone 7 (so 7 years now). I figured more people appreciated this. I assume most Androids are the same. It's nice to be able to go kayaking and not worry about having to have a waterproof case. Mine once spent 10 hours in a back cycling jersey pocket where it rained the entire time and it was perfectly fine.

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There's obviously a trade-off between able to open the case without having to glue it back together - which is kind of needed for good repairability - and having IP67. It don't think it's even possible tbh. If you have screws, you'll have gaps and since IP67 has to be completely dust proof (not only dust protected as IP5) and water proof for 30 minutes in 1m water it's kind of a silly ask for anything repairable.

> without having to glue it back together

It's not like using a squirt-bottle. Just buy the seal with the repair part, example below.

https://www.ifixit.com/products/iphone-x-display-assembly-ad...

In my opinion, getting it safely /off/ is the challenge that makes glued-on front panels a downside.

Just take your time, warm it up a bit and use a little acetone. Not a big deal. That kind of seal is intended to be opened for repair.

They're really easy to get off. I've done at least 5 now. Just get one of the microwaveable heat packs and use it to soften up the adhesive, then work round it with a spudger and clean it up afterwards.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 pulled it off. IP67 and you can take the back cover + battery out with your fingernail.

No. Mostly Samsung lied and put oleophobic coatings on all the vulnerable points that washes away from a few weeks/months of ambient humidity. Phones like that are not waterproof in the real world, and if you want a hard example of that you can just look at Samsungs folding devices (they have to use the same coating ‘cheat’ there to get any ip rating)

What is the trade off? Diving gear (flashlights etc) has had replaceable batteries since forever.

The culprit is Steve Jobs' obsession with thin phones. Just thicken the phone and add some gaskets and you are good to go. People put those thin phones in thick cases anyway, so it is fine.

That's fair and I hadn't thought about the "Make it a bit thicker again" variant. I would like that. Probably not what will happen though.

Yeah, but to be honest the entire time I've been baffled that Apple advertised such a useless thing as a feature. I've never once dropped my phone in water. Not in some 15-16 years of owning a mobile phone. It's not really onerous to take a little care to not get my phone wet.

There have been several times I've been outside with my phone, apple watch and airpods, and it suddenly starts pouring down with rain. 10 years ago this used to be a really stressful event. I used to carry around a zip lock bag in case this happened. Today I can comfortably just accept being drenched knowing all my tech is waterproof.

> I've never once dropped my phone in water.

It's not really about that. It's about being able to play music from your phone in the shower. Or use it in the bathtub. Or take it on a cycling ride while it's raining. Or put it on a bar table without worrying about spilling beer on it. It makes a big difference not to have to treat it like a delicate flower.

Yes exactly that. My iPhone 13 Pro has been up mountains, across glaciers and through deserts (no shit it actually has) and it looks and works like the day I bought it.

But the time it really got hammered was when it was pissing it down in the middle of nowhere in the UK when I was waiting for a train that would never come and I had to try and organise a taxi in an unfamiliar place. That would have killed the Fairphone 5 dead. It was soaked. Everything was soaked.

Edit: I also have a Pixel 7a which is the same.

I appreciate it. I like knowing my phone can survive a quick rinse in the sink when it gets dirty.

I can't wait for the day when we have to lose our reflashed phones in boating accidents on purpose.

Having an IP67 phone is of little help if your phone end up at the bottom of a river/lake.

Ask me how I know.

I dropped mine in a river in central asia.

I went in and got it out.

You got lucky to find it.

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