Samsung surprised everyone with its 2021 foldables by bringing water resistance to them, a feat pretty much no one had expected on a foldable device for a few more years.
Both the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 featured IPX8 certification, which meant they were as water resistant as Samsung's candybar flagship phones while missing out on dust resistance altogether (no doubt because their hinge mechanism leaves plenty of space for dust to get through).
Just recently, Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Galaxy Z Flip 4, both featuring quite a few important upgrades over the Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 respectively. And many prospective customers have been wondering: what about water and dust resistance, or rather, the Ingress Protection (IP) rating of the Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4?
Has that changed or improved in any way? Is there something different this time around, or has Samsung kept things exactly the same as they were before?
Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Z Flip 4 are water resistant but not dust resistant
Well, the answer is that the new foldables also feature IPX8 certification. The X denotes that there's no dust protection, while the 8 tells you just how resistant to water these devices are. The two phones can be submerged in up to 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes, and a little bit of rain or the occasional accidental liquid spill shouldn't cause any damage.
However, there are some restrictions. The Ingress Protection rating is based on freshwater that isn't falling on the phone with too much pressure. Usage near a beach or a pool is not recommended by Samsung and is likely to cause damage that isn't covered under warranty should something untoward happen.
Of course, should you buy either of the new foldables, it's best not to bring them near any kind of water if you can help it. But you can rest assured that in most cases exposure to water is unlikely to be an issue. Dust resistance, on the other hand, is not available on either phone, as already mentioned, although Samsung will hopefully be able to address that in the next couple of years.
SamsungGalaxy Z Fold 4
