Water resistance is a feature that doesn't make the headlines often enough. Yet the two big players in the mobile field, Samsung and Apple, make it a point to include water and dust resistance in all their flagship phones, and some other manufacturers do so, as well.
Samsung, of course, has been doing it a lot longer than many of the competition. Since 2016, all Galaxy flagships have featured IP68 certification, which makes them fully dust resistant and capable of surviving for up to 30 minutes in 1.5 meters of water and basically brush off random liquid spills or a trip in the rain (unless it's a heavy downpour, in which case you shouldn't really be using any phone, water resistant or not).
This year, Samsung even managed to make its foldable phones water resistant, which is a feat that impressed all of us here at SamMobile. But it's also made us even more aware of the fact that half a decade since Samsung made water and dust resistance a standard feature on its flagships, the company still doesn't have a tablet that sports an IP rating.
And it won't have one next year, either: The Galaxy Tab S8 lineup will have plenty of exciting features, but an IP rating will not be one of them. None of the rumors have mentioned it, and our sources have also confirmed that water/dust resistance will not be available on the Galaxy Tab S8, S8+, or S8 Ultra. That means we can assume that another year will go by without Samsung adding elemental protection to its tablets.
There are plenty of situations where water resistance on a tablet would be handy. The most obvious one is when you're taking a long, hot bath and using your tablet in there. Many people use their tablets in the kitchen to follow recipes or just pass the time as they cook or do the dishes. If you let your kids use your tablet, you are probably well aware how water resistance would be incredibly useful – heck, even many of us adults are guilty of spilling a drink on our tablet or laptop at some point in life!
There have been water resistant tablets on the market before. Sony made some, and it would be really awesome if Samsung could take a cue from the Japanese manufacturer. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like 2022 will bring good news on this front, but maybe 2023 will? Guess we'll wait and see.
