The new smartphone from OnePlus won't have an official water resistance rating, but the company dunked it in water anyway
- Smartphone maker OnePlus snubs official IP water resistance ratings, saying they cost customers more money.
- The company is making the case that its upcoming OnePlus 7 Pro phone has water resistance, even if it doesn't have an official IP rating. And it's trying to prove it with an amusing "water dunking" video.
- But you should read the fine print before dunking your phone.
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OnePlus dunked its new OnePlus 7 Pro smartphone in a bucket of water in a teaser tweet posted on Friday, despite the fact that it doesn't have an official "IP" water resistance rating like other flagships from Samsung, Apple, and Samsung.
The company is snubbing official IP ratings for resistance to water and dust, saying it costs smartphone users more to include them. Indeed, it costs phone makers money to obtain official water resistance certifications, and the company is suggesting that other phone makers pass that cost down to smartphone buyers.
OnePlus is apparently confident that the OnePlus 7 Pro will have enough water resistance to withstand a good water bucket dunk.
Still, the company doesn't suggest that you actively expose its upcoming smartphone to water. Fine print in the video says: "Water resistant under optimal test conditions. OnePlus makes no guarantees regarding water/liquid resistance."
That's to say that anyone who exposes the OnePlus 7 Pro to water is responsible for the damage and the ensuing costs to repair or replace the device if it does succumb to liquid damage.
Of course, the same things goes for water damage on phones that boast an official IP rating. Apple's support pages, for example, note that "if liquid damages an iPhone or iPod (for example, coffee or a soft drink), the service for the liquid damage isn't covered by the Apple One-Year Limited Warranty." You'd have to buy AppleCare+ for $6 per month and pay another $100 for the repair or replacement, which is what you'd get if the iPhone didn't have an official IP rating.
Samsung also says "Physical damage is not covered under the Samsung Limited Warranty" under its liquid damage support page. Carriers might have their own extended warranty options that cover liquid damage the same way Apple does.
At the end of the day, official ratings don't really mean that much if your smartphone is damaged by liquid, even if the liquid damage happened within the conditions listed by the IP rating, like "up to 30 minutes under five feet of water."
To be fair, there wouldn't be a good way for phone makers to confirm that liquid damage occurred within the rating's specs.
Official ratings give you peace of mind that your smartphone will be able to withstand certain amounts of water. With OnePlus, you'll just have to take their word for it.