It did survive the hot coffee test; rain or damp won't be an issue provided you are sensible about it and don't pour water through the open ports. Most phones, like any electronics, don't like water. You don't turn a phone on after it's been submerged like they did; it may take a while to dry off in rice, and the battery might be drained. Mostly people drop their phones into the toilet or some similar thing, and presumably don't leave it for more than a few seconds. Even with a hydrophobic coating I wouldn't care to submerge my phone deliberately, as it's tempting fate. Still seems a good idea to have a coating provided it doesn't affect the phone's operations.
Yep, I agree with everything you're saying. However, the tech is clearly out there, and Motorola has been using it in several phones. It would have been nice if Apple did it too.