Which IP rating is best for swimming with your devices?

We’re all a little spoiled by how durable electronics are getting. As recently as a decade ago, it was reasonable to assume that most electronics shouldn’t go anywhere near water unless they were explicitly marketed around it, like a GoPro in an underwater case. More recently, however, dust and water resistance has increasingly become the standard, to the point that even folding phones with hinges are expected to have it.

If you’re looking to go swimming, you’re no doubt concerned about having total waterproofing — not just water resistance. There’s no sense dropping hundreds of dollars on a device that might break in one or two laps around a pool. So what IP rating should you be searching for if you want to break the waves?

Which IP rating is best for swimming with your devices?

It’s actually about the minimum, not the best

OnePlus

The truth is that, strictly speaking, an IP rating doesn’t indicate anything about whether you can swim with a device. The IP certification process involves testing conditions relevant to swimming, but it’s mostly about temporary exposure — say if you drop your phone in a bathtub or in beach sand, or try to spray it down with a high-pressure hose. There are other electronics ratings you should be searching for, which I’ll cover in the next section.

That said, the realistic minimum for swimming is IP68. IP67 devices can be submerged, but only to a depth of one meter (about 3.3 feet) or less for 30 minutes. That’s probably not enough for most swimmers anyway, and you’ll be in real trouble if a device sinks to the bottom of a pool. You might be able to salvage your gear, but only if you act fast and try to dry it off as soon as possible.

IP68 means a device can be submersed to a depth of over one meter for 30 minutes, and maybe longer or deeper (exact specifications are going to vary from product to product). My iPhone 16 Pro, for example, is rated to six meters (about 19.7 feet) for 30 minutes. That makes swimming with it a little more plausible, although it’s still probably a bad idea, especially if it involves salty or chlorinated water. Caustic materials tend to eat through a device’s water seals, at least if they’re not built with swimming in mind.

Even better than IP68 is IP69 or IP69K. You won’t see those ratings very often, simply because they involve exposure to high-pressure jets, and sometimes high temperatures as well. It can be difficult to build any consumer device with that level of protection, never mind a smartphone or tablet with buttons, cameras, speakers, and a USB-C port.

IP69K phones do exist, like the OnePlus 13, but they’re normally made by niche brands targeting niche markets, like the construction industry. You don’t need an IP69K rating to go swimming or even diving.

OnePlus 13

$850 $900 Save $50

The latest and greatest flagship handset from OnePlus, featuring the all-new Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and IP69 water and dust resistance. 

IP Rating

IP69

Price

$900

0:48

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So what ratings should you check for before swimming?

Think depth resistance, not water resistance

The most important one is an ATM rating, typically 5ATM, which means a device can survive depths of up to 50 meters (164 feet). You might potentially be fine with a 3ATM device, but anything below five is usually intended for lighter water exposures, like taking a shower. If you want to go diving, you’ll probably be picking up something with a 10 or even 20ATM rating, the latter supporting pressures down to 200 meters (656 feet).

There are also ISO and EN standards connected to swimming. The Apple Watch Ultra 2, for example, has ISO 22810:2010 water resistance to a depth of 100 meters (328 feet), and an EN13319 scuba rating of 40 meters (131 feet). In fact, you should never, ever dive with a device unless it’s explicitly advertised to support that, or there’s a dive-proof case available. High pressures will cause most electronics to break, possibly catastrophically — meaning they’ll shatter before you’re even aware it’s happening.

Something you won’t necessarily see in a device’s specs is whether it can handle salt or chlorine. It should if the product is marketed for swimming or diving — Apple even suggests using an Apple Watch for surfing — but double-check with the manufacturer if there’s any doubt. No matter what, repeated exposure to those substances is going to accelerate the erosion of water seals, so you might want to leave your headphones behind if you don’t need a soundtrack, and your smartwatch in the locker if you don’t need to tell the time or track your activity.

Once you get out of the water, any device should immediately be dried off. This will not only prevent any water from seeping in, but remove any contaminants, such as salt, chlorine, or sand grains. If your device has a pre-swim “lock” mode, you may be able to use that to force liquids out of speaker ports when you unlock.

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