What Is IP68 Rating and Do You Need It?
Every spec sheet mentions it. Most buyers glance at it and move on, reassured without quite knowing why. IP68 is one of those ratings that sounds authoritative until you start asking specific questions - like why two flagship phones can carry the same IP68 label but survive very different depths of water. The standard is real, the testing is independent, and the protection is genuine. The fine print, though, is worth reading before you decide how much to trust it.
Short answer: IP68 is a certification under IEC standard 60529 confirming full dust-tight sealing (digit "6") and continuous water submersion beyond 1 meter (digit "8") - with exact depth and duration set by each manufacturer individually. It does not cover saltwater, pressure jets, or damage from drops, and water resistance degrades over the life of the device.
- What Does IP Stand For?
- Decoding the Two Digits
- IP68 vs IP67, 5ATM, and IP69K
- What IP68 Does Not Cover
- How Different Brands Implement IP68
- Does Water Resistance Last?
- Do You Actually Need IP68?
- IP68 FAQ
What Does IP Stand For?
IP stands for Ingress Protection, a classification system published by the International Electrotechnical Commission under IEC 60529. The system was built for industrial equipment - motors, junction boxes, outdoor lighting - before consumer electronics adopted it in the mid-2010s, once manufacturers realized a lab-verified number carried more weight than vague "water-resistant design" copy.
What makes IP ratings useful is that manufacturers cannot self-certify. Devices are submitted to accredited testing laboratories that conduct standardized tests and issue certification documents. That paper trail separates IP68 from generic "splash resistant" claims printed on products with no formal testing behind them. The difference between a certified rating and a self-described one matters when things actually go wrong.
Decoding the Two Digits
The two digits measure entirely separate things. The first covers solid particles - dust, sand, fine debris - on a scale from 0 to 6. A rating of "6" means the enclosure is dust-tight: no ingress permitted under any test conditions. It is an absolute pass/fail, not a sliding scale. The second covers liquids on a scale from 0 to 9K, with higher numbers indicating more demanding conditions. An "8" means the device survived continuous submersion in water beyond 1 meter depth.
Here is where the standard introduces a variable that most product pages skip over. For the "8" rating, IEC 60529 specifies submersion under "conditions specified by the manufacturer." Depth and duration are not fixed by the IEC - each company defines its own test parameters, as long as those conditions exceed the IP67 baseline of 1 meter for 30 minutes. One manufacturer might certify to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes. Another might certify the same IP68 label to 6 meters. One designation, two meaningfully different levels of protection - which is why reading the manufacturer spec sheet, not just the rating, actually matters.
IP68 vs IP67, 5ATM, and IP69K
| Rating | What It Covers |
|---|---|
| IP67 | Full dust protection, water immersion to exactly 1 meter for 30 minutes. Standard on mid-range phones and older flagships. Sufficient for rain and accidental splashes, limited for deliberate submersion. |
| IP68 | Full dust protection, water immersion beyond 1 meter at manufacturer-defined depth and duration. Current standard for flagship smartphones, select smartwatches, and a small number of tablets. |
| 5ATM / 50m | Pressure-based standard used primarily for watches. 5ATM equals the pressure at 50 meters depth and handles the dynamic pressure of active swimming. Devices combining IP68 with 5ATM cover water sports; IP68 without ATM does not. |
| IP69K | Full dust protection plus resistance to high-pressure, high-temperature water jets at close range. An industrial standard now found on select rugged phones - devices that can survive pressure washing, something no standard IP68 device is rated for. |
| IPX8 | Water submersion tested, no dust certification. Common on earbuds and smaller wearables where the "X" placeholder means dust resistance was outside the test scope. |
What IP68 Does Not Cover
IP68 testing uses fresh, still water at room temperature. Saltwater is the most commonly misunderstood exclusion. Sea salt is corrosive at a different rate than fresh water, accelerates rubber gasket degradation, leaves mineral deposits inside speaker channels and charging ports, and can block microphone grilles after even brief exposure. If your IP68 phone ends up in the ocean, the right move is to rinse it immediately with fresh water and dry it thoroughly - the saltwater itself, not the submersion, is the threat. Several major manufacturers specifically call this out in their water resistance disclaimers.
Chlorinated pool water presents a similar issue through a different mechanism - chlorine reacts with silicone gaskets over repeated exposure. Hot shower water stresses seals by expanding device materials at different rates. And pressure is the variable that kills the most devices: waves, currents, and water jets all create dynamic pressure changes that still-water lab testing never simulates. A phone rated for 1.5 meters of still water can fail at 30 centimeters of moving water if the pressure dynamics are unfavorable.
Drop damage is the other major gap that rarely gets mentioned. Certification is performed on undamaged housings with factory-fresh seals. A cracked frame - even a hairline fracture invisible to the eye - breaks the sealing geometry entirely. A device that passed IP68 testing the day it shipped may offer no water protection at all after a significant drop, even with no visible glass damage. This is why water resistance is specifically described as a condition that "may diminish" after drops, not just over time.
How Different Brands Implement IP68
The same IP68 label covers a range of actual protection levels depending on where each manufacturer set their test parameters. These differences matter when choosing a device for genuine water-adjacent use.
- Apple (iPhone 17 Pro Max) - Tests to 6 meters for 30 minutes, the deepest manufacturer-specified depth among mainstream consumer smartphones. The iPhone 17 Pro Max uses custom adhesive systems and a portless design philosophy that reduces the number of penetration points requiring seals - fewer openings means fewer places for water to enter over time.
- Google (Pixel 10 Pro) - Tests to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes, standard for Android flagships. The Google Pixel 10 Pro pairs IP68 with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on front and back - the glass protects the seal geometry from abrasion that eventually degrades the waterproofing adhesive underneath.
- Samsung (Galaxy S25) - Tests to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes. The Samsung Galaxy S25 represents the practical midpoint of IP68 implementation - solid protection for everyday accidents, without the engineering investment Apple puts into a 6-meter rating.
- CAT (S75) - Goes significantly further with IP68 tested to 5 meters for 35 minutes, plus IP69K for high-pressure water jet resistance. The CAT S75 is designed for construction and industrial environments where IP68 alone would not be enough - and where the device may actually need to survive pressure washing with soap and disinfectants.
Does Water Resistance Last?
IP68 describes the device at the point of sale. Rubber and silicone gaskets lose elasticity over time. The adhesive bonding glass to frame develops micro-gaps under the thermal cycling of daily use - devices heat up during heavy tasks, cool down in pockets, and repeat that cycle thousands of times per year. Manufacturer documentation across the industry acknowledges this directly: water resistance will "diminish or be lost over time due to normal wear and tear, device repair, disassembly or damage." That is not legal hedging - it is an accurate description of how gaskets age.
Repair work resets the equation. Any service requiring the device to be opened - screen replacement, battery swap, port repair - breaks the factory seals. Professional shops can re-seal with appropriate materials, but the result rarely matches original certification parameters. Once opened, the IP68 designation on the box no longer applies to the physical device. Portless designs have a structural advantage here: fewer openings to seal means fewer seals to lose.
Do You Actually Need IP68?
It depends on where the device actually goes, not on abstract peace of mind. Phones used in kitchens near sinks, at pools and beaches, during outdoor workouts in unpredictable weather, or by anyone who has previously killed a phone with water - for these users, IP68 reduces the probability of a complete loss from one of the most common types of device damage. That risk reduction is real and worth factoring into a purchase.
For devices that live in a case on a desk and travel only between a bag and a meeting room, the rating adds less practical value. The manufacturing cost of tight enclosures shows up in the price. When water contact is genuinely unlikely, that premium could go toward battery life or camera quality instead.
Always check the manufacturer-specified depth alongside the IP68 label. The same two characters can mean 1.5 meters or 6 meters depending on who built the device - a fact the label alone does not communicate.
For tablets specifically, IP68 is rare enough to be a real differentiator when the use case warrants it. Kitchens, workshops, homes with kids, outdoor use - these are all environments where a certified IP68 tablet changes the risk picture compared to any unrated alternative. Most mainstream tablets in the category carry no official IP rating at all. Primary specs still drive the buying decision, but when water is a realistic variable, the rating earns its place in the comparison.
IP68 FAQ
Is IP68 the same as waterproof?
No. "Waterproof" implies unconditional protection with no defined limits. IP68 has clearly stated ones: fresh still water, manufacturer-defined depth, standard temperature, device in factory-condition with undamaged seals. Every major manufacturer avoids the word "waterproof" in formal specifications - the standard language across the industry is "splash, water, and dust resistant," always accompanied by a disclaimer that liquid damage is not covered under warranty. That is not coincidence - it reflects exactly what IP68 does and does not guarantee.
The practical gap shows up at the edges. Saltwater at the beach, pool water with chlorine, a phone already cracked from a prior fall, hot shower pressure - all of these are outside the test conditions the certification was based on. IP68 is a specific, verifiable claim with known parameters, which actually makes it more trustworthy than a vague "waterproof" assertion - but only if you understand what those parameters are.
Can I swim with an IP68-rated device?
Not reliably, unless the device also carries an ATM water resistance rating. IP68 uses still-water testing with no dynamic pressure changes - the opposite of what happens during active swimming. Freestyle strokes create pressure variations at the wrist and body that still-water certification does not replicate. The standard for swimming is 5ATM (equivalent to 50 meters depth) or higher. Some smartwatches carry both IP68 and 5ATM specifically to cover this gap: one rating handles incidental submersion, the other covers actual pool use.
For smartwatches marketed for swimming, always verify the ATM rating alongside IP68. For phones, even a 6-meter IP68 rating does not make the device suitable for lap swimming - manufacturer spec sheets explicitly list high-speed water sports as a scenario to avoid. IP68 on a phone covers accidents. It is not a clearance for recreational aquatics.
Do manufacturers cover water damage under warranty?
Standard warranties do not, at any IP rating. Every major manufacturer excludes liquid damage from warranty coverage regardless of what the spec sheet says. Devices contain internal liquid contact indicators - sensors that permanently change color on contact with moisture - and those indicators do not distinguish between "within rated depth" and "misused." The IP68 certification is a product feature, not a warranty commitment. Standard device footnotes make this unusually clear: "liquid damage voids the warranty."
Manufacturer protection plans are different. AppleCare+ and Samsung Care+ both cover accidental damage including water damage, each for a per-incident deductible. For devices used in environments where water contact is a realistic scenario rather than a theoretical one, these plans fill the gap that IP68 certification alone leaves open. That cost belongs in any honest comparison when water resistance is a meaningful factor in the purchase.
The Bottom Line
IP68 is a useful specification when you know how to read it. The "6" for dust protection is absolute - every certified device met the same pass/fail standard. The "8" for water resistance contains a manufacturer-defined variable that makes comparing across brands necessary: a device tested to 6 meters and one tested to 1.5 meters carry the same label with meaningfully different protection behind it. Check the stated depth. Check for ATM ratings if water sports are part of the picture. Rinse with fresh water after ocean or pool exposure and dry before charging.
The rating is a starting point, not the end of the conversation. It documents how a specific device performed under specific conditions on a specific day. What happens six months later, after drops and thermal cycles and daily wear, is a different question - and no lab certification can answer it in advance.