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seme332

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 30, 2013
225
41
Berlin
So the WATCH is IPX7, which means (this is what the standard says) you can put the device 1 meter deep into water for up to 30 minutes. Apple on the other hand says I can walk through the rain, wash my hands and sweat with no worries but should NOT put it into water.

Basically I would never take a bath with a Apple product I paid 450€ for but could I take a shower with it? On a regular basis? And what would happen IF the watch breaks doing so. Is that warranty because IPX7 says it should hold up against that?

Thanks! :)
 

/dev/toaster

macrumors 68020
Feb 23, 2006
2,478
249
San Francisco, CA
Personally I wouldn't wear it in the shower .. for the main reason that I need to clean that part of my wrist. Its also an expensive gadget, why risk it for the extra 20 seconds it takes to remove and put back on.

But ya, I don't think warranty will cover it.
 

TETENAL

macrumors regular
Nov 29, 2014
248
274
When you submerge it 1 meter under water and keep it still for 30 minutes, that is a static pressure on the watch. And that is what this standard measures and guarantees.

However if you swim, shower or even wash your hands, there are dynamic pressures that can peek a lot higher than this. I wouldn't use it for any of this, and it's definitely not covered by the warranty.
 

Piggie

macrumors G3
Feb 23, 2010
9,117
4,016
So you are saying you should remove the watch when you wash your hands?
 

8CoreWhore

macrumors 68030
Jan 17, 2008
2,653
1,186
Tejas
Apple says they don't recommend submerging it. They are being cautious because they know if you tell a billion people it's OK to submerge 1 meter for 30 minutes, that 1 million people will take that to mean it's OK to submerge 2 meters for 15 minutes, etc.

To protect themselves and the dim, they just say to not submerge it. Done.

I suspect that these ratings are not necessarily precise. What happens at a half meter and you press a button? Bam. Ruined?

There will be lots of videos of people testing the Watch, drops, submerges, scratches, will it blend, etc.

Most people will be curious about this - "Can I do 15 minutes of laps in the pool at the surface?", "Can I splash around at the beach?", "Can I dive into a 5 foot pool and be submerged for a couple of seconds?"

People will push it, then cry foul when things go wrong, like the numbskulls who sat on their iPhone 6 plus.

This would be the ideal pool to test the Watch.
 

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8CoreWhore

macrumors 68030
Jan 17, 2008
2,653
1,186
Tejas
When you submerge it 1 meter under water and keep it still for 30 minutes, that is a static pressure on the watch. And that is what this standard measures and guarantees.

However if you swim, shower or even wash your hands, there are dynamic pressures that can peek a lot higher than this. I wouldn't use it for any of this, and it's definitely not covered by the warranty.

I'd refer to this -
 

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douglasf13

macrumors 68000
Jul 2, 2010
1,773
1,077
When you submerge it 1 meter under water and keep it still for 30 minutes, that is a static pressure on the watch. And that is what this standard measures and guarantees.

However if you swim, shower or even wash your hands, there are dynamic pressures that can peek a lot higher than this. I wouldn't use it for any of this, and it's definitely not covered by the warranty.

Dynamic pressure issues are a myth debunked on watch forums years ago. See here:

http://forums.watchuseek.com/f281/water-resistance-myth-vs-reality-239664.html#/forumsite/20758/topics/239664
 

douglasf13

macrumors 68000
Jul 2, 2010
1,773
1,077
buy the gold one and try this for us.

for science!

You're starting to get a little troll-ish about that gold Edition. Is it that hard for you to believe that people have enough disposable income to buy such a thing? Living in Hollywood for 15 years of my life, I certainly see lots of people that do.
 

8CoreWhore

macrumors 68030
Jan 17, 2008
2,653
1,186
Tejas
Rolex alone sells 800,000 watches a year. Each and every year. There are many, many, other brands most have never heard of that sell lots of watches. All of them are many thousands of dollars. The people who buy them buy several. Many watches cost over $100,000 dollars.

Several cost over $1,000,000.

There are over 16,000,000 millionaires in the world. A $10,000 watch is chump change.

http://hiconsumption.com/2014/02/the-12-most-expensive-watches-over-1-million/
 
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Julien

macrumors G4
Jun 30, 2007
11,835
5,432
Atlanta
Guys, you will be absolutely fine for casual swimming and just about every water situation other than diving with an IPx7 rating. On top of that it will be covered under warranty (2 years if you opt for the Edition:D).

The reason Apple is recommending not to swim is simple. It is economy of scale. Apple will likely sell 20,000,000 the first year. Out of that if a measly 0.01% failed if submerged that is 2000 people posting how the Apple watch is NOT water proof. If you just have 10 or so people 'confirming' a problem then it becomes a GIGANTIC problem even though it is insignificant.
 

Aces2412

macrumors regular
Mar 21, 2012
116
1
Near DC
warranty

When you first receive the watch (within30 days) I will test it in the pool within the 1meter and 30 mins. If it has issues then I will return the watch for a replacement. If they state:

**Apple Watch is splash and water resistant but not waterproof. You can, for example, wear and use Apple Watch during exercise, in the rain, and while washing your hands, but submerging Apple Watch is not recommended. Apple Watch has a water resistance rating of IPX7 under IEC standard 60529. The leather bands are not water resistant.

Then they must live up to that standard. If they fail that would be false advertisement ...
 

JayLenochiniMac

macrumors G5
Nov 7, 2007
12,819
2,389
New Sanfrakota
Guys, you will be absolutely fine for casual swimming and just about every water situation other than diving with an IPx7 rating. On top of that it will be covered under warranty (2 years if you opt for the Edition:D).

Water damage isn't covered under warranty even if it's sustained within the IPx7 specification (due to a defect), unless you buy AppleCare+.
 

Aces2412

macrumors regular
Mar 21, 2012
116
1
Near DC
Water damage isn't covered under warranty even if it's sustained within the IPx7 specification (due to a defect), unless you buy AppleCare+.

How can they state what they have stated they when you get it wet and is damaged they say not our problem. Have you seen the limited warranty verbiage?
 

JayLenochiniMac

macrumors G5
Nov 7, 2007
12,819
2,389
New Sanfrakota
When you first receive the watch (within30 days) I will test it in the pool within the 1meter and 30 mins. If it has issues then I will return the watch for a replacement. If they state:

**Apple Watch is splash and water resistant but not waterproof. You can, for example, wear and use Apple Watch during exercise, in the rain, and while washing your hands, but submerging Apple Watch is not recommended. Apple Watch has a water resistance rating of IPX7 under IEC standard 60529. The leather bands are not water resistant.

Then they must live up to that standard. If they fail that would be false advertisement ...

Static immersion. It's still not swimmable. You won't be able to return it as you'll have voided the warranty ;)
 

Julien

macrumors G4
Jun 30, 2007
11,835
5,432
Atlanta
Water damage isn't covered under warranty even if it's sustained within the IPx7 specification (due to a defect), unless you buy AppleCare+.

Do you have a source for this info? In the US if you offer a product with a published IP rating and it fails, then you MUST legally cover it under warranty.

There is no way Apple cane deny water damage warranty claims. If so they could be hit with an indefensible class action suite.
 

hufflematt

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2015
1,725
1,782
UK
I find this quite irritating.

It is obvious that people will want to know whether or not the Sport can safely be worn in the shower. Tim Cook says he does. But why isn't this made explicitly clear -- one way or the other -- on the Apple website.
 

Julien

macrumors G4
Jun 30, 2007
11,835
5,432
Atlanta
Static immersion. It's still not swimmable. You won't be able to return it as you'll have voided the warranty ;)

There is noting in the IP code about swimming. It says 1 meeter for 30 minutes. As long as you don't say you have exceeded this Apple MUST cover it.
 

JayLenochiniMac

macrumors G5
Nov 7, 2007
12,819
2,389
New Sanfrakota
How can they state what they have stated they when you get it wet and is damaged they say not our problem. Have you seen the limited warranty verbiage?

It'll be an uphill battle. Your words against theirs. Did you hear about the horror story regarding defective water sensors that triggered on their own in the iPhone 3GS? That resulted in a class action lawsuit.
 

Aces2412

macrumors regular
Mar 21, 2012
116
1
Near DC
Do you have a source for this info? In the US if you offer a product with a published IP rating and it fails, then you MUST legally cover it under warranty.

There is no way Apple cane deny water damage warranty claims. If so they could be hit with an indefensible class action suite.

Thats exactly right !!
 

Mascots

macrumors 68000
Sep 5, 2009
1,665
1,415
Do you have a source for this info? In the US if you offer a product with a published IP rating and it fails, then you MUST legally cover it under warranty.

There is no way Apple cane deny water damage warranty claims. If so they could be hit with an indefensible class action suite.

I agree with you - if it is marketed at IPx7 and failed under those circumstances due to a defect (that specific watch not meeting the IPx7 minimum that it was rated for), it is on Apple, not the consumer.

However, we're still waiting to see how Apple tests for devices with extensive water damage to determine if it was above IPx7-safe conditions to offer replacements - my bet is that if it is damaged by water, they will hotswap it just like they did with the original iPhone and broken screens.

This is Apple we are talking about, they will not make you jump through hoops unless you specifically are looking for those hoops to jump through.
 

Julien

macrumors G4
Jun 30, 2007
11,835
5,432
Atlanta
I agree with you - if it is marketed at IPx7 and failed under those circumstances due to a defect (that specific watch not meeting the IPx7 minimum that it was rated for), it is on Apple, not the consumer.

However, we're still waiting to see how Apple tests for devices with extensive water damage to determine if it was above IPx7-safe conditions to offer replacements - my bet is that if it is damaged by water, they will hotswap it just like they did with the original iPhone and broken screens.

This is Apple we are talking about, they will not make you jump through hoops unless you specifically are looking for those hoops to jump through.

Correct, Apple is NOT about to ask you swam for 31 minutes or more at the time or swam deeper than 1 meter in the pool when it failed. That is ridiculous.
 

Nothlit

macrumors regular
Sep 14, 2009
242
18
Jason Snell on his Upgrade podcast yesterday said that he and several others overheard Tim Cook in the press area after the event saying that you'd be fine to take it swimming, but not diving. Clearly Apple doesn't want to put that in writing, but if Tim said it then I'd imagine it's probably safe enough to try.
 

Julien

macrumors G4
Jun 30, 2007
11,835
5,432
Atlanta
There is not a chance in hell that after advertising the :apple:Watch as being IPx7 waterproof they would deny a water damage claim based on any technicality. There is not about to be any detailed questionnaire you must fill out about the exact usage when the watch failed. It would at the very least be a bad publicity nightmare.

Apple is just going to go the easiest and safest route.

Also I had a Garmin (210) IPx7 rated watch for almost 2 years and showered several times a week and swam with it more than several times. Also on the Garmin forum I remember at least a couple of people with water damage that had theirs replaced 'no questions asked'.
 
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