Is this thing waterproof?

[6GenNANO]

They didn't really say anything about that....

I hope it is or this is bad news!

I can see it now... I accidentally step into shower and forget I have my Apple Watch on.

Scenario two: I get caught in the rain, and Apple Watch goes bye bye!

Scenario three: I go to the gym, sweat like crazy, and after a week of heavy sweat buildup inside the Apple watch controls, it fails.

 

[ciberkarlos]

They didn't really say anything about that....

Think about it, it requires an iPhone, and the iPhone is not waterproof, so...

Fail for swimmers.

However, at least i assume it could resist to eventual rain, if not, it would be useless for people who lives in cities with a lot of rain like London or Paris.

 

[turtlebud]

I hear you, but it probably isn't a big deal to throw on the Shine in specific instances.

well, I was looking for the apple watch to simplify my life, not add extra steps to it (no pun intended). having to switch from iwatch to shine before I got to bed at night, then back to iwatch in the morning, then back to shine (which I hopefully remember to put in my gym bag) when I go swimming (about 4x/week), then back to iwatch after.... i already have a hard enough time remembering everything I need to do.

right now I wear the shine 24/7 and I love that I don't need to think about it. i would love if I could replace it with an iwatch but don't think I can. i realize that i'm part of a small subset of people that wasn't substantial enough for apple to deal with waterproofing the iwatch, but I can't justify spending $350+ on a device that tracks activity/sports, but not the one that I do most frequently.

----------

Think about it, it requires an iPhone, and the iPhone is not waterproof, so...

Fail for swimmers.

However, at least i assume it could resist to eventual rain, if not, it would be useless for people who lives in cities with a lot of rain like London or Paris.

it should still be able to track activity, even without the iphone - similar to a pedometer. most activity trackers work that way - tracks your steps/activity and then sync's up with your phone/app.

 

[iososx]

David Pogue said that Apple told him it is water resistant. Certainly not water proof, or a diver, but ok for rain, splashing, washing dishes, etc.

Thanks for the update.

David Pogue's info comes straight from Apple, a bed partner (in business) of Steve for years, he was one of the shills, taught to write glowing reports of all Apple products.

 

[askep3]

It should be like swimming capability waterproof, since it uses inductive charging

 

[bransoj]

From the front page of this very site :-

https://www.macrumors.com/2014/09/09/apple-watch-tidbits/

The watch is water resistant, allowing users to not worry about the device when in the rain, or washing hands. However, the watch must be taken off before going for a swim or taking a shower.

 

[JaySoul]

Water resistant, but not proof, I'd bet. Otherwise, the film would have shown someone swimming.

This.

I thought they said it, but yeah.

Maybe the Sport version might be water resistant, though, but I'd doubt it.

 

[grahamperrin]

… I'm not sure it's a deal breaker. …

I have not thought of buying one, but if I do: waterproof will be an essential.

My guesses: Apple already has waterproof models but will not release them until at least a year after the first watches are sold. Not too much excitement at once; for marketing and other reasons we'll be offered less than Apple's best when the first watches go on sale.

I can't believe that the company would put so much into design, without the ability to waterproof the devices. OK so the watch technology is extraordinarily compact, but if a human being could journey in outer space more than half a century ago, I believe that Apple can already make the watch both compact and waterproof.

… bad news!

I can see it now... forget I have my Apple Watch on. …

+1

… to simplify my life …

+1

… right now I wear the shine 24/7 and I love that I don't need to think about it. …

+1 to not requiring thought. It should just work; I should just wear it.

 

[douglasf13]

I have not thought of buying one, but if I do: waterproof will be an essential.

My guesses: Apple already has waterproof models but will not release them until at least a year after the first watches are sold. Not too much excitement at once; for marketing and other reasons we'll be offered less than Apple's best when the first watches go on sale.

I can't believe that the company would put so much into design, without the ability to waterproof the devices. OK so the watch technology is extraordinarily compact, but if a human being could journey in outer space more than half a century ago, I believe that Apple can already make the watch both compact and waterproof.




+1



+1



+1 to not requiring thought. It should just work; I should just wear it.

I'm not sure if you had a chance to peruse the long link that I posted about water resistance, but that would essentially require a 100M water resistance rating to be approved for swimming with it very long. That would be great, but it's a little optimistic at this time. Maybe in a future version.

 

[grahamperrin]

Water Resistance - Myth VS Reality (2009)

I'm not sure if you had a chance to peruse the long link that I posted about water resistance …

The 'Water Resistance - Myth VS Reality...' topic, linked from this post? No, but it's now bookmarked (with reference to your posts) – thank you.

 

[douglasf13]

The 'Water Resistance - Myth VS Reality...' topic, linked from this post? No, but it's now bookmarked (with reference to your posts) – thank you.

Yep, it's an exhaustive look at how it all works.

 

[t0mat0]

Can you imagine the iFixit folks. They'll not like the "repairability" or ease of use for a user to replace the battery hehe.

 

[Andropov]

Making it only water resistant doesn't make any sense. They encapsulated all the circuitry, effectively protecting it from water, dust or any weather element. So even if water got inside the case, the circuits shouldn't be exposed.

Additionally, they put everything: S1, sensors, speakers (which Apple already said it's water-resistant) inside an unibody case sealed at every point (the display on top, and the sensors on the bottom). Given how easy is to seal the joint between the sapphire cover and the case beneath it, I would assume that those joints are water-proof sealed.

There isn't any connector on the watch, not even for charging it, so the only thing left is the digital crown and a button. If Apple sealed those, water won't enter inside the case. So why wouldn't Apple do it? It's not difficult to do, neither expensive, and even if the seal can't be perfect, everything inside is also protected against water!

Apparently all the work has been done, why would they throw it away? I'd bet it is AT LEAST water-proof for 30 minutes of swimming (or showering), though I don't see a reason why it couldn't be water-proof up to 10m or more.

 

[askep3]

Really we don't know what can change between now and the release date, they might have just said these things like water resistant, and then could change it to water proof at the last second, after seeing feedback, or just to make people happy

 

[sviato]

That's kinda lame, don't get thrown in the pool

 

[askep3]

But if u get thrown in the pool, u get a free, brand new apple watch for free! From the person who threw u in XD

 

[Avatar74]

Apparently all the work has been done, why would they throw it away? I'd bet it is AT LEAST water-proof for 30 minutes of swimming (or showering), though I don't see a reason why it couldn't be water-proof up to 10m or more.

Most watches that people think are waterproof are only water resistant... To be able to use swimming for short periods of time, a watch has to be resistant to 50 meters or three atmospheres, typically. Even then, the manufacturer will not guarantee it in those cases.

Exceptions are diving watches like the Rolex Oyster series which are guaranteed "waterPROOF" by the manufacturer, and pressure tested for long periods of time (e.g. 72 hours).

Since the watch has to have some kind of permeability for a speaker that delivers clear audio and not just muffled beeps, and because the operation of the watch depends on capacitance, there are lots of reasons why they cannot guarantee a device such as this to be waterproof.

 

[douglasf13]

Most watches that people think are waterproof are only water resistant... To be able to use swimming for short periods of time, a watch has to be resistant to 50 meters or three atmospheres, typically. Even then, the manufacturer will not guarantee it in those cases.

Exceptions are diving watches like the Rolex Oyster series which are guaranteed "waterPROOF" by the manufacturer, and pressure tested for long periods of time (e.g. 72 hours).

Since the watch has to have some kind of permeability for a speaker that delivers clear audio and not just muffled beeps, and because the operation of the watch depends on capacitance, there are lots of reasons why they cannot guarantee a device such as this to be waterproof.

Exactly. It takes quite a bit to actually be deemed waterproof. Anything rated under the 50M-100M range shouldn't be taken into a pool. Even with "waterproof" watches, you have to make sure the seals don't wear out, which means service intervals.

The thing is, people often take their 30m water resistant watches into the pool, and everything ends up being fine, because manufacturers are conservative with the ratings, so they think their watch is ok to swim with.

I'd guess that the Apple Watch could survive a swim, it's just not guaranteed to. The question is, who is going to risk it?

 

[gugy]

I was really looking for something to use while swimming. That's a big fail on Apple's end. I guess I will need to be patient and wait for a V2 waterproof.
They sell this to track activities and water sports are huge. I hope they will fix this.