Of the many features that the Galaxy S7 flaunted, the water resistance is easily one of my absolute favourites. The IP68 rating allows the handset to be submerged in the water for 30 minutes at a depth of 1.5 meters. But how could Samsung make this handset water and dust resistant while the predecessor had no such features?
I found a video that explains exactly that. A point to note is that the handset is water resistant and not water proof.
Samsung had to go great length to keep the water out of the handset’s internals. The most important component for this purpose is a rubber seal. These gaskets do not allow water to seep into the internal through the ports such as the headphone jack, microUSB port and the speaker grill. Samsung even had to seal off the sim tray and the buttons to make sure the phone is truly water resistant.
The engineers have glued the components tightly so that the moisture doesn’t seep into the phone. The glass on the front and back are secured to ensure nothing goes from between them.
One ingenious piece of engineering is the speaker grill. Air is needed to produce sound. Samsung fitted a special type of speaker mesh that allowed air to pass but not water due to a specific surface tension.
There are a couple of water stickers that get spoiled when water touches the surface. Thus, Samsung would be able to tell if the phone had water seeped into it.
Samsung is also clever enough to market the device as water resistant yet if any phone gets damaged by water, the owner cannot claim the warranty due to the warrant constraints. Even though the phone is water friendly, be sure to use it carefully when in a shower or while underwater.
What are your favourite features in the galaxy S7?
