Sony has taken a safe route after all the hassles it had to face at the service centres, from the customers who show up with dead phones after damages due to water entry into their devices. The new waterproof policy from the company clearly suggests that the user should not fully submerge the phone in water.
Most of the recent Sony devices have IP68 rating, one of the best when it comes to water- and dust-proofing, unless someone is looking at the next level industry standards used in military-grade devices. The IP68 certification means one can use their phones in water at a depth of 1 meter for 30 minutes or more.
Earlier, Sony was always happy to see people shooting underwater photos and videos, but now, the rules have changed and Sony rather suggests users not to submerge the phone under water. This is mainly to tackle the support issues, as that is quite tricky with users generally blaming the company after accidentally keeping the flaps open and seeing the device go dead from a perfectly running condition.
In a way, that is the only way Sony could take care of support issues. But, weren’t many of the users getting their hands on the Sony smartphones for this particular reason? at least for me, I’d always choose Sony only for one major reason – waterproofing!
According to the new conditions stated in the support page, one cannot do certain activities underwater, because the tests for IP rating were done at standby mode and in laboratory conditions. The second condition simply asks the users to not to use the device underwater.
The company could blame users for this, because sometimes the aggressiveness by the users could lead to what they’d not have expected, but it is the company that encouraged the users to be free and take videos underwater – with their advertisements that showed what the phones could do.
What is still allowed? you could wash your phone under tap water, if there is a need. Using the phone near a swimming pool is okay, if it is only getting exposed to splashes and not more than that. Using the phones under shower and under rain is also allowed.
Sony also smartly talks about rain and nothing else in the Xperia Z5’s page.
With a waterproof and dust-tight design, your device doesn’t need a rain coat. Rain happens. So do drops in the sink and knocked-over drinks. Xperia Z5 Dual has Sony’s leading waterproof* design and an IP68 rating. Because a little water should never ruin your day.
But then, with those things allowed, are we talking about a waterproof phone or a water-resistant one? Motorola’s mid-rage Moto G 3rd gen. also allows almost the same. Whatever happened to the USP of Sony smartphones, will now put a doubt in buyer’s mind, on whether they are making a right choice by choosing a Sony phone.
Source: GSMArena
