Technologies

Is My Phone Waterproof? IP68, IPX8 Ratings Explained

What does IP67, IP68 or IPX8 mean? And can you take your phone swimming? Here’s what you should know.

This story is part of Focal Point iPhone 2023, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Apple’s most popular product.

Water resistance used to be something found on beefy, rubber-sealed rugged phones designed for construction workers or downhill mountain bikers. But things have changed, and in 2023 you’ll find some kind of water resistance built into most mainstream phones, including the iPhone 14 Pro, Galaxy S23 Ultra and Google’s Pixel 7 Pro.

The value of water-resistance in a phone is clear to anyone who’s ever spilled tea, coffee or soda over their device. It can mean the difference between a quick wipe with a napkin and an expensive trip to the store.

Not all phones can withstand a dunk in water, and some shouldn’t be near liquid at all. Almost no phones should be taken swimming in a pool, and sea swimming is out of the question. If you’ve shopped for a phone recently, then you’ll have come across terms like «water resistant» as well as the now common IP67, IP68 or IPX8 ratings. But what do those ratings really mean and, crucially, how waterproof is your expensive new phone?

Let’s break down the jargon and find out.

What does IP67, IP68 and IPX8 mean?

IP, or ingress protection ratings (aka international protection ratings), are a standard set forth by the International Electrotechnical Commission. According to the organization, the codes are designed as a «system for classifying the degrees of protection provided by the enclosures of electrical equipment.»

The first number in the rating code represents the amount of protection provided against the entry of foreign solid objects, such as fingers or dust. These protection levels range from a low of 0 to a high of 6.

The second number represents the degree of protection against the entry of moisture or liquid, with protection levels ranging from a low of 0 to a high of 8.

Nothing's earbuds in a small puddle — Nothing’s earbuds are IPX4 rated, which is enough to keep them safe from sweat during your workouts.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Sometimes you’ll see an IP rating with a number replaced with an X, such as IPX8. In this instance, a company hasn’t provided testing details so the rating number is replaced with an X. An IPX8-rated device can survive being submerged in water, then, but it hasn’t officially been rated for any protection from dust.

The iPhone 14 Pro has an IP68 rating, meaning it’s protected from dust getting inside and can withstand being submerged in water. The Galaxy S22 Ultra is also IP68 rated. So they’re equally water-resistant, right? Well, no. That’s where it gets confusing.

For an 8 on the IP rating, the IEC demands a device can withstand being submerged in at least 1 meter of water for 30 minutes. Beyond that, it’s up to the manufacturer. The S23 Ultra can be submerged in up to 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes, while Apple says the iPhone 14 Pro is safe in up to 6 meters of water for up to 30 minutes. So while any phone with an IP68 rating will have had to hit that 1 meter-30 minute minimum threshold, it’s important to check the fine print and see exactly what your phone offers.

For further details on all the IP ratings, you can see charts at the end of this article outlining the protection levels set by the IEC.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max can be submerged in water up to 6 meters deep for up to 30 minutes at a time.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Can I go swimming with my iPhone?

While the iPhone 14 Pro’s advertised 6 meters of water-resistance might make it seem like you can slip one into your swim shorts and hit the pool, you’d be well advised to leave it out of the water. The IP rating is tested in controlled conditions — in water with no movement. Moving your phone in the water will add more water pressure, making it more likely that water could find its way inside and do irreparable damage to your phone.

The IP tests are also done using fresh water; most pools will have additional chemicals such as chlorine, which could make a difference to your phone’s resistance. And you should absolutely keep your phone out of the sea: Salt water could cause a lot of trouble, including degrading the metal parts in your charging port.

Even if your phone has the top IP68 resistance rating, it’s good practice to treat the feature as a backup in case of emergencies. Your phone is not designed to go snorkeling, so don’t try using the camera to snag pictures of starfish or whatever. Nor should you try to record TikTok videos of yourself jumping off the high dive into the deep end. It’s there for accidents like spilling a drink or emergencies like making a call in the pouring rain.

The OnePlus Nord 2 does not have any stated resistance to water — keep phones like this extra safe when you’re around liquids.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

My phone doesn’t have an IP rating. Can it get wet?

In order for a company to advertise that their product has an IP rating at all, it needs to have undergone strict tests to ensure it meets the requirements. These tests can be timely and costly, so it’s understandable that some companies simply don’t want to spend the cash, particularly when it comes to budget-focused models.

Some phones — including Motorola’s Moto G50 — use terms like «water-repellent» or «water-resistant» without an official IP rating. These handsets may make use of methods like rubberized seals or water-repellent nano coating to keep moisture at bay. While these phones may well survive an accidental dunking, it’s worth keeping them safe from being fully submerged in water. But you shouldn’t need to worry too much about taking calls in the rain.

If your phone makes no mention of water resistance, then it’s best to assume that it has none and you should take as much care as you can around liquids.

Solid protection

IP Code	Protection	Object size
0	No protection.	N/A
1	Protection from contact with any large surface of the body, such as the back of a hand. But no protection against deliberate contact with a body part, such as a finger.	Less than 50mm
2	Protection from fingers or similar objects.	Less than 12.5mm
3	Protection from tools, thick wires or similar objects.	Less than 2.5mm
4	Protection from most wires, screws or similar objects.	Less than 1mm
5	Partial protection from contact with harmful dust.	N/A
6	Protection from contact with harmful dust.	N/A

Moisture protection

IP Code	Protection	Test duration	Usage
0	No protection.	N/A	N/A
1	Protection against vertically dripping water.	10 mins	Light rain
2	Protection against vertically dripping water when device is tilted at an angle up to 15 degrees.	10 mins	Light rain
3	Protection against direct sprays of water when device is tilted at an angle up to 60 degrees.	5 mins	Rain and spraying
4	Protection from sprays and splashing of water in all directions.	5 mins	Rain, spraying and splashing
5	Protection from low-pressure water projected from a nozzle with a 6.3mm diameter opening in any direction.	3 mins from a distance of 3 meters	Rain, splashing and direct contact with most kitchen and bathroom faucets
6	Protection from water projected in powerful jets from a nozzle with a 12.5mm diameter opening in any direction.	3 mins from a distance of 3 meters	Rain, splashing, direct contact with kitchen and bathroom faucets, outdoor use in rough sea conditions
7	Protected from immersion in water with a depth of up to 1 meter (or 3.3 feet) for up to 30 mins.	30 mins	Rain, splashing and accidental submersion
8	Protected from immersion in water with a depth of more than 1 meter (manufacturer must specify exact depth).	At least 30 mins	Rain, splashing and accidental submersion

This article is updated periodically to include new devices.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for May 18, #707

Hints and answers for Connections for May 18, #707.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections puzzle is a mix of difficult and easy. The purple category does what most purple categories do, and makes you really break down how you think about the words. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: School days.

Green group hint: About there!

Blue group hint: Sure, let’s go.

Purple group hint: The Scarlett Letter.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Tasks for a student.

Green group: Encouraging responses in a guessing game.

Blue group: Up for anything.

Purple group: What «A» might mean.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is tasks for a student. The four answers are assignment, drill, exercise and lesson.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is encouraging responses in a guessing game. The four answers are almost, close, not quite and warm.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is up for anything. The four answers are easy, flexible, game and open.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is what «A» might mean. The four answers are area, athletic, excellent and one.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for May 18, #441

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 441 for May 18.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands will probably be easier if you have some basic knowledge about a certain type of vessel. You don’t really need to have ever been on one, since the answers show up in books and movies all the time. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Riding the wind.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: famed song by Christopher Cross.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

DULL, TILE, TILER, SEER, GALE, GALES, HAIL, SAIL, LEEK, GLUE, HALL, TALL, HEAT

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you’ve got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

HELM, HULL, KEEL, MAST, STERN, RIGGING, RUDDER, TILLER

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is SAILBOAT. To find it, start with the S that’s four letters down on the farthest row to the left, then wind across, up and down.

Technologies

Google I/O 2025: How to Watch and What to Expect

With Android 16 out of the way, Google I/O will certainly be all about AI.

Google I/O 2025 takes place on May 20 and 21 with Google’s big keynote happening on day 1. We expect Big G to talk about its myriad innovations across its ever-expanding portfolio of products — almost certainly with a huge focus on AI every step of the way. If we collectively cross our fingers, promise to be good and eat all our vegetables then we may even be treated to a sneak peek at upcoming hardware.

Read more: Android 16: Everything Google Announced at the Android Show

Google also hosted a totally separate event that focused solely on Android. The Android Show: I/O Edition saw the wrappers come off Android 16, with insights into the new Material 3 Expressive interface, updates to security and a focus on Gemini and how it’ll work on a variety of other devices.

By breaking out Android news into its own virtual event, Google frees itself to spend more time during the I/O keynote to talk about Gemini, Deep Mind, Android XR and Project Astra. It’s going to be a jam-packed event, so here’s how you can watch I/O 2025 as it happens and what you can look forward to.

Google I/O: Where to watch

Google I/O proper kicks off with a keynote taking place on May 20, 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT, 6 p.m. BST). It’ll almost certainly be available to stream online on Google’s own YouTube channel, although a holding video is yet to be available. There’s no live link on the I/O website yet, either, though you can use the handy links to add the event to your calendar of choice. Expect links to a livestream to be available closer to the day.

What to expect from Google I/O 2025

Little chat about Android 16: As Google gave Android 16 its own outing already, it’s likely that it won’t be mentioned all that much during I/O. In fact at last year’s event, Android was barely mentioned, while uses of the term «AI» went well over a hundred.

Android XR: Google didn’t talk much about Android XR during the Android show, focusing instead on the purely phone-based updates to the platform. We expected to hear more about the company’s latest foray into mixed-reality headsets in partnership with Samsung and its Project Moohan headset, so it’s possible that this is being saved for I/O proper.

Gemini: With Android being spun out into its own separate event, Google is evidently clearing the way for I/O to focus on everything else the company does. AI will continue to dominate the conversation at I/O, just as it did last year (though hopefully Google can make it more understandable) with updates to many of its AI platforms expected to be announced.

Gemini is expected to receive a variety of update announcements, including more information on its latest 2.5 Pro update which boasts various improvements to its reasoning abilities, and in particular to its helpfulness for coding applications. Expect lots of mentions of Google’s other AI-based products, too, including DeepMind, LearnLM and Project Astra. Let’s just hope Google has figured out how to make this information make any kind of sense.

Beyond AI, Google may talk about updates to its other products including GMail, Chrome and the Play Store, although whether these updates are big enough to be discussed during the keynote rather than as part of the developer-focused sessions following I/O’s opening remains to be seen.