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iPhone 6s and 6s Plus hold up surprisingly well in waterproof test [Video]

Update: Straley has shared a new video detailing the functionality of the devices 48 hours after being submerged in water. Check it out at the bottom of this post.

We’ve already seen how well the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus hold up in bend tests and drop tests, and now a new video from YouTuber Zach Straley shows how well the devices fareΒ when submerged in water.

In the video, Straley submerges both the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus in bowls of water, pulling them out every so often to check if they are still correctly functioning. After an hour of being submerged in the water, Straley removes the devices and dries them off for a more in-depth look at how the devices held up.

After being submerged for an hour, both devices still work correctly. The screens are still fully functional, without any water spots present. 3D Touch also still works perfectly, as do the home and power buttons. The cameras also still work as they should, with no water appearing to have snuck into the sensors. Perhaps most surprisingly, the speakers still sound normal, as well.

The two thingsΒ that remainΒ unclear when it comes to functionalityΒ are the Lightning port and headphone jack. Straley doesn’t address those features in his video and you’d think they would be the most prone to water damage. (Update:Β Straley tells us on Twitter that the Lightning port and headphone jack are fully functional.)

Either way, it’s still incredibly impressiveΒ that both the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus were able to be submerged in water for an hour and still function properly. Watch the video below:

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Comments

  1. Abdelmajid Jebeniani - 9 years ago

    he didn’t test the speakers and that’s the big problem they can break easily even apple watch is water resistant and when you swim with it works but the speakers get destroyed

    • Chance Miller - 9 years ago

      If you check the comments on the video, he says the speakers work 100%.

      • Rich Davis (@RichDavis9) - 9 years ago

        But for how long? Sometimes things work right after the test, but they may fail days, weeks, or months later.

      • Robert Dupuy - 9 years ago

        Rich, sometimes things break months later, you won’t be able to tie that to the water test, months later.

        As far as I know, Apple isn’t saying the phone is waterproof, its just kind of cool that it may survive a drop in water.

      • Kareem Haskett - 9 years ago

        I swim and bathe with my Apple Watch all of the time. My speakers still work like the day I bought it. Try again.

    • myke2241 - 9 years ago

      given time to dry they will be totally ok.

    • andynormancx - 9 years ago

      I swim with my Apple Watch all the time, the speaker is still working fine.

  2. erinsnowanmin - 9 years ago

    Cool.

  3. bogger (@alphashot) - 9 years ago

    Very impressive indeed. I expect the same thing for the headphone jack and lightning port. If there’s water damage through those, the phone wouldn’t work. They are just contacts.
    Too bad Apple would not state that officially. They almost don’t do that for their watch.

    • Rich Davis (@RichDavis9) - 9 years ago

      Because if they did and people started doing it and it did effect the lifespan of the product, then they would have to replace more product. They have to be careful as to not make statements that may impact them having to replace product. That’s why there is a big difference between water resistant and water proof. Water resistant is being subjected to water like splashes and the other is submersion into water at varying depths.

    • Christian J Harris - 9 years ago

      A company isn’t going to say that their device is waterproof unless it passes a fairly strict set of tests to be able to say so. The second you market your device as waterproof then some people would take it overboard then blame Apple for lying to them. I think this video at least helps to show that the phones are at least very reasonably splashproof, but it isn’t all that scientific. For one, different depths of water would have to be taken into account.

  4. And yet I have to wait at least 2 months to be able to get mine because it won’t be available here that soon. This is just sad. And the way he treated them, smashing with every touch, disgusting.

    • Yeah it’s an absolute disgrace that someone who has spent their own money on buying something chooses to do what they like with it isn’t it.

  5. Juan B. Sigcha - 9 years ago

    Why does he keep moving them? I don’t doubt the phones but annoys me when people affect the experiment by adjusting the subject, in this case the phones…….so annoying

    • Bria (@_xxfoxtail) - 9 years ago

      This whole video was very poorly done. Didn’t even bother to test the front cameras, both speakers, both mics and the cable inputs. Not to mention making sure all the radios inside of it still functioned right.

      • deamon8585 - 9 years ago

        It has three microphones

      • rafagon726 - 9 years ago

        There is no “both speakers.” There is only one speaker.

      • Paul Van Obberghen - 9 years ago

        @rafagon726. No. There is one speaker at the bottom of the phone and one at the top near the Facetime camera for when you use your iPhone… as a phone. That makes 2. There also 2 microphones, one at the bottom and one for ambient noise near the iSight Camera. That’s 2 speakers and 2 microphones. All 4 very sensible to water.

      • luke0626 - 9 years ago

        @Paul Van Obberghen Actually, this time 3 microphones. Cuz it has 2 at the bottom. Check iPhone6s Specs page on Apple.com

      • iPhones have had 3 microphones since the 5.

      • Richard Rosenberger - 9 years ago

        It has 3 microphones, 1 at the bottom, next to the bottom speaker, 1 at the backside near the camera, and one at the front, near the (second) ear speaker.

  6. braytonak - 9 years ago

    This is just a shallow bowl of water. The size of the openings on the device and the pressure of the air inside will surely prevent water from getting in. I’d say this video just shows that a drop in a sink will be fine. A toilet; a stream; a swimming pool? All bets are off.

  7. SilentMajority - 9 years ago

    I’m curious if they get these phones donated to them for the purpose of test videos, or if they actually pay for them out of their own pocket and then destroy them just to film a video.

    • sulfen - 9 years ago

      It’s an investment to them. They spend $650 per phone in hopes that they’ll make a profit from the money that they get from Google advertisements.

  8. Paul Van Obberghen - 9 years ago

    Apple can’t claim about how waterproof the iPhone is because it would be liable about that claim. They make it waterproof enough but wont say how much it is because they would face expensive refund demands (trials?) from thousands of customers who would claim their iPhone is dead because it suposedly failed after being submerged for a duration and a depth that can’t be verified. They make it waterproof enough so as not to have to deal with thousands of people stup.. careless enough to let their expensive iPhone drop into the toilet (50% of demonstrated fail claim after submersion) or the kitchen sink and having the embarrasment to tell them that fail after submersion is not covered by the guarantee. It’s that simple.
    Good to know that the iPhone has indeed “some” waterproofing though, even without Apple certifying it.

  9. driverbenji - 9 years ago

    I dropped my iPhone 6 (yes, 6, not 6s) in water a few weeks ago (edge of the river, getting off boat dock), I picked it up, turned it off, took case off and shook it out. As soon as I got home I dried it off and blew it with air. I left it to air dry (in rice, debatable if that helps), for 3 full days, turned it on, it was just fine. I think both 6 & 6s have been designed to withstand a drop in the water, but, not enough to advertise and support such claim. …I have sent it to T-mo for my new 6s with their new Jump On Demand promo. I am sure I will hear back if the water sensor was tripped, but, I doubt it was.

    • PhilBoogie - 9 years ago

      A friend of mine left his 3G (so 2nd gen) on the patio. Rained all night. He put it in the oven for two hours, set to β‰ˆ 200ΒΊF with the door ajar, took it out, waited 8 hours, charged it and the phone still worked except for the vibrating thingy. Used it for another year, no problems.

    • sulfen - 9 years ago

      You weren’t supposed to mail the phone back. They sent the mail stickers on accident but you were supposed to return them in store. You might have just gotten into a huge mess with tmobiles terrible return team. I wouldn’t be surprised if it took them months to figure out where it is.

  10. PhilBoogie - 9 years ago

    The most important aspect of a video is the audio. Zach, next time you post something on YT, remember this.

  11. ishan24 - 9 years ago

    That’s really awesome!! That’s what i wanted!! Thanks!! πŸ˜ƒπŸ˜ƒπŸ˜ƒ

  12. bazinga619 - 9 years ago

    There are other videos showing a drop test in the water where both phones don’t hold up at all, if it’s set gently in water like this video or others like it, they seem to hold up, 6s plus better than the 6s. but it’s unrealistic to just set your phone in water in a gentle manner, usually it’s a holly s^** life flashes before your eyes drop into its impending doom.

  13. Dbolander - 9 years ago

    Why do all white-tech-bro stress test videos or drone flyovers always have a similar electro-trash soundtrack to them?

  14. calisurfboy - 9 years ago

    I want to see real life trials. Hand the phone to an 18 month old toddler for the day. Let a German Shepard play with it, gnaw on it, and then half bury it in the ground.

  15. Duane Wittkamper - 9 years ago

    Yeah right!! I bought my new iPhone 6 on Friday, first in line. On Saturday I slipped on a dock, fell in the water, with the new phone in my pocket. immediately got out. So the phone was submerged for perhaps one minute. It immediately went hot and burned out. So I don’t believe the video. Lesson learned – keep them out of water. And buy a water proof case, like I intend to do today when I hopefully can get a new phone.

  16. a mi iphone 6s se me mojo dentro de la cartera con una botella de agua y no funciono nunca mas….. esto es insolito….

  17. mi Iphone 6s se mojo con agua dentro de mi cartera porque se me abrio una botella y no funciono nunca mas…..

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Avatar for Chance Miller Chance Miller

Chance is an editor for the entire 9to5 network and covers the latest Apple news for 9to5Mac.

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