Although most modern-day smartphones can easily survive a dunk or two in a swimming pool/bathtub, the equation changes entirely when saltwater is thrown in the mix. Saltwater conducts electricity better than regular water, meaning that the chance of circuits getting fried is a lot higher, even with IP ratings in place. Samsung's website plays it cautiously and asks users to keep their phones away from saltwater.
That raises the question: is it safe to take a shiny new Galaxy S22 Ultra — or one of the many Galaxy flagships that feature water and dust resistance — to the beach? The answer is yes, but with some precautions.
Last year, Samsung partnered with National Geographic to showcase the Galaxy S21 Ultra's 8K video recording prowess. An adventurer took the phone to never-before-seen depths (with ample protection, of course) to capture some stunning videos.
However, the protection offered to the Galaxy S21 Ultra mentioned above was tailor-made and is not available to the average customer. What happens if you just have a regular plastic bag and accidentally drop that into the sea? YouTube channel Linus Tech Tips literally took the plunge to find out the answer to that question back in 2017.
In the video below, you can see that they took half a dozen high-end phones of the era, including the Galaxy S7, for a short swim in the sea. All the phones instantly died upon being exposed to seawater – the Galaxy S7 held its own at 10 feet but died later. Nonetheless, that is a very impressive feat for a smartphone.
Hence, one can deduce that your Galaxy phone, at least the one with an IP rating, can survive a short splash in the ocean. However, some of the lower-end Samsung phones, most of which have no official water or dust resistance, might not survive the ordeal, so keep that in mind before your next beach escapade. At that point, your phone's survival boils down to pure luck and that's not something one should rely on.
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