There’s a lot of characteristics that the modern phone needs to have, and the iPhone 11 Pro Max is no different. It includes a whole selection of features that make it a very desirable handset, one of those features is the fact that it is, in fact, waterproof.

Now you would be forgiven if you found this slightly confusing because historically, electronics and water don’t tend to mix very well unless they are custom built for the job. However, it’s become a modern policy for mobile phones to be somewhat waterproof, so let’s explore it properly here and now. 

The IP68 Promise

So every modern device has a waterproof rating. Well, technically, it’s an overall resistance rating. Things like water and dust can be a massive problem for a phone, because they can damage the internal components. Therefore, these ratings tell us how well the iPhone is built to stand up to these problems.

Breaking it Down

So, for those of you who are interested, let’s break down the individual components of the rating and find out what they all mean. If we look at the first letter, the I, we will see that it talks about the level of dust protection that the phone has. The P stands for liquid protection, and the now relatively obsolete 6 stands for the amount of impact resistance the phone has. Then finally, the 8 in this instance would indicate the oil and voltage resistance of the device.

What Does This All Mean?

So this stamp of certification is all well and good, but what does it actually mean? In real terms, how well does it translate to protection for the iPhone?

Well, a phone of this rating is, according to tests, basically impervious to harm from water or dust. Is the kind of mobile that you could drop in the toilet by mistake and you wouldn’t have to worry about losing it. Whether you choose to put it in some rice to soak up the moisture or not is up to you, but the phone itself wouldn’t theoretically be damaged. According to Apple, you can also take it underwater and take photos with it, but this isn’t something we recommend testing too heavily, just in case. 

So in conclusion, the iPhone 11 Pro Max isn’t necessarily going to be damaged if you expose it to water. A lot of people find that they can take it out in the rain, or accidentally splash it and it will be fine. However, it’s never a massively good idea to begin rigourously testing the waterproof rating of a mobile device, because you never know what will happen.

All of these tests are typically conducted in controlled conditions, which means that their actual viability in the field is questionable. You could very easily take the phone underwater, but why would you do that? It’s much better to just stay on land, and seek some comfort in the knowledge that your phone will be fine in the rain.