Taking Apple’s iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro to extremes with an underwater drone.
The iPhone 11 and 11 Pro aren’t fully waterproof, but are water resistant enough to survive a splash of coffee or get dunked in the pool. But how much water can these phones really take? According to Apple, the iPhone 11 is rated IP68, which means it’s water resistant in up to 6.5 feet (2 meters) of water for 30 minutes. The more expensive iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max are also IP68 but can go deeper: 13 feet for 30 minutes. Outside of the official ratings, we wanted to see how deep we could take these phones.
Teaming up with Sofar Ocean Technologies (formerly known as OpenROV), we mounted a brand-new iPhone 11 and 11 Pro on its underwater drone, Trident. It can reach depths up to 328 feet and can be controlled from your phone. We sent the Trident deep down into Monterey Bay in California on a chilly fall day to see what would happen to the iPhones.
Taking the boat out into open water we plunged the Trident down 39 feet to the sea floor… After waiting the full 30 minutes (and witnessing some sea lions swim by), we brought the drone back up to see if the phones survived this final swim. To our surprise, the phones were both completely fine…
MacDailyNews Take: Obviously, this is extreme and not covered under Apple’s stated water resistance limits for the iPhones. Do not try this at home without being ready and willing to lose your iPhone(s). That said, it’s totally like Apple, as with battery life, to underpromise and overdeliver!