Why aren't our phones waterproof yet?

The Galaxy S4 Active might be a sign of good things to come

Water resistant mobile phone the G'zone W42CA
(Image credit: TOSHIYUKI AIZAWA/X00005/Reuters/Corbis)

On Tuesday, Samsung revealed a rugged new version of its flagship smartphone called the Galaxy S4 Active. Its defining feature is you can drop it in the toilet.

Aimed at people who spend a lot of time outdoors (or who perhaps just have clumsy hands in bathroom stalls), the Active is essentially a carbon copy of the S4 with fully sealed design that protects it from dust and water. According to The Next Web, its International Protection IP67 rating can "protect the internals against water damage for up to 30 minutes, at a depth of one meter."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Chris Gayomali is the science and technology editor for TheWeek.com. Previously, he was a tech reporter at TIME. His work has also appeared in Men's Journal, Esquire, and The Atlantic, among other places. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.