zlacker

Do that many people need their phone to be waterproof rated?

I realize it's mandatory from a marketing perspective, but how often is it used?

Accidentally jumping in the pool/ocean/lake with your phone. But past that, I'm not often in submerged situations.

>>ethbr1+(OP)
I always sort of imagine it's a selling point less for the adventure aspect and more for the 'dropped in the toilet' angle.

i've yet to be so unfortunate, but i've met a lot of people with a 'I dropped my phone in the toilet so it's in a bag of rice' story.

let's hope they throw that rice out at the end of the process.

>>ethbr1+(OP)
People routinely ruined phones via submersion or splashed water. I drowned a phone in my pocket while biking in a rainstorm as recently as 2018. You never hear about this anymore.

>>ethbr1+(OP)
You really don’t think people accidentally jump in pool, drop their phone in a puddle, in the sink, in the toilet etc?

>>ethbr1+(OP)
Nothing is truly waterproof, but IP55 is really weaksauce by modern standards. Modern flagships are IP67 or even IP68.

I live in an area where's it very humid and rains a lot. My phones get wet, a lot, just due to nature. I had one die after I got caught in a massive squall line at an outdoor concert on what was supposed to be a sunny day.

>>ethbr1+(OP)
Funny you say this when I was just in a pretty bad rainstorm tonight and got absolutely soaked. I've lost a couple of portable devices getting drenched like that in the past but this time it was just the USB-C port wouldn't charge for an hour while it dried out.

So yeah I would have needed a new phone tomorrow if it wasn't for my phone being waterproof. This kind of stuff happens all the time. I've lost many things from water damage. So many people used to complain about Apple denying warranty claims from water damage from the device just being in a humid area for a long time, now that just doesn't happen.

>>scarfa+b6
They do, but they were also doing it before the phones were routinely designed to be waterproof, and I don't recall an epidemic of water-related phone-killing incidents.

>>vel0ci+Ra
I live in a very rainy city, I got soaked several times.

I never once lost a phone to water damage, despite most of the phones I've owned not being waterproof.

My pocket made of regular fabric seems to be sufficient protection.

>>guappa+Qh
my old Samsung Galaxy s2 died when tripping around Australia, just by being in the car overnight (where I was sleeping too). Apparently enough humidity that in the morning it was dead, board fried up

>>inejge+gb
you don't mind so much when it is a 50$ phone, a bit more on a 1100$ one. Not that I understand why anyone would pay more than 250$ in a smartphone really.

>>guappa+Qh
I have, phone in the pocket of my rainjacket, got caught in a serious downpour, water got into the pocket and because it was a rain jacket stayed there to the point it was sodden.

Screen on the phone died.

I see the point of waterproofing phones after that.

>>ethbr1+(OP)
> Accidentally jumping in the pool/ocean/lake with your phone. But past that, I'm not often in submerged situations.

This is the main use case, but it's not to be dismissed considering this is a very common cause of phone failure. If this doubles the lifespan of your phone then it effectively ~halves the cost. Which is a big deal when phones are as expensive as they are.

>>prmous+lt
Well since even the average Android phone’s selling price is $285 the last time I checked, maybe it says more about your lack of insight than anything else?

>>scarfa+dI
I don't know, I have had company issued high end phones and apart from better camera quality[1] these devices weren't doing things significantly better than my personal 240$ smartphone.

Also, generally people spend an awful lot of money on things out of vanity and social pressure, regardless of their needs and if it is a good decision. Look at new cars prices and how most vehicles purchases are usually overkill for everyone. The most sold car in the US are the Ford F series , Chevy Silverado and Dodge Ram trucks before a number of high end SUV. Sure people are free to buy whatever they want but a Honda Fit would be enough for large majority of them and be a smarter financial decision[2]. They mostly do it because they can, not because they need.

[1] which has become fairly decent for anyone accross all ranges in the last few years.

[2] I am not sure it is still sold in the US but I could have chosen another example of a smaller and more affordable vehicle.

>>ethbr1+(OP)
After working wireless retail in the early '00s, I will always choose a phone with a high IP rating. Other scenarios I've seen - Phone pushed into sink without realizing while doing dishes and walking away for an hour long phone call, parked convertible with phone in the cupholder, boob sweat, working in a greenhouse going in and out of air conditioning, leaving on a picnic table overnight while camping, water bottle leaking in purse, etc. Also there's utility in feeling confident the phone can survive if you need to wash syrup, baby food, sticky bar residue, etc off it.

>>prmous+kN
Yes I’m sure 60% of Americans care about “social pressure” enough to buy a different phone. Trust me, my 80 year old mother doesn’t care about what TikTok influencers think.

Low end Android phones just plain suck when it comes to performance and battery life. Not to mention they rarely get operating system updates.

If you did force me to buy an Android phone, it would be the Pixel.

>>bwooce+HX
> Phone pushed into sink without realizing while doing dishes and walking away for an hour long phone call

How did they talk on their phone for an hour without realizing their phone was underwater?

>>scarfa+171
> Trust me, my 80 year old mother doesn’t care about what TikTok influencers think.

nor does she care about operating system updates.

>>apetre+a71
> in the early '00s

The customer was probably talking on their landline phone for the hour.

>>prmous+fd1
Actually she does. Once she saw that an old computer running an old version of Windows was no longer going to get updates, she stopped using it. She would be just as cautious about a phone that didn’t get updates