NEW YORK — Despite rumors to the contrary, the iPhone 6S is not waterproof.
CNNMoney put the new iPhone’s water resistance to the test, dunking it in a vase of water for five minutes.
Remarkably, the iPhone 6S continued to operate while submerged. But within seconds of taking a dip in the water, air bubbles began streaming up from the iPhone, suggesting that water was collecting inside the device. A minute into the test, water began distorting the bottom of the screen.
The iPhone continued to function for about 10 minutes after taking it out of the water, with a few hiccups. The phone did not play any music, because it thought that headphones were plugged into the jack — possibly because the headphone port was waterlogged. Eventually, the screen went completely white, stopped functioning, and then shut off for good.
Still, lasting that long in water is an impressive feat for a smartphone. Gadget insurance company Protect Your Bubble recently tested an iPhone 5 in a similar test, and the smartphone stopped working after 10 seconds in an aquarium.
Protect Your Bubble also dunked the iPhone 6S in an aquarium, and the phone continued to operate for 45 minutes under water. The insurance company believes that the iPhone 6S tests might have produced different results because of the positioning of the iPhone: The phone was lying flat in the aquarium, but upright in CNNMoney’s vase.
Apple never actually made a claim that the iPhone 6S was waterproof.
Ahead of the iPhone 6S launch in September, some tech blogs reported rumors that the new iPhone would be water resistant. The rumors were given some validity when Apple earlier this year was granted a patent to make electronic “components within a computing device” water resistant.
An iFixit teardown of the iPhone 6S seemed to confirm that the iPhone 6S was built with water resistance. Rubber washers were placed around all of the iPhone’s ports, helping to prevent water from seeping in.
That likely could help the iPhone 6S survive a quick, accidental dunk into the toilet. But if your phone makes it into the ocean, you can probably kiss it goodbye.
CNNMoney also tested the new iPhone for scratch resistance and shatter resistance. The iPhone 6S held up pretty well in both tests.
The screen survived an onslaught of key scratches and jabs. It also survived three four-foot drops onto a concrete staircase — with some notable dings and dents.
Earlier this month, Motorola unveiled the Droid Turbo 2, with the world’s first shatterproof smartphone screen.
With water resistance, scratch resistance and shatterproof technology, our smartphones are becoming far more klutz-proof than in previous years.
Related: A look on the inside of the iPhone 6S
