What does IP mean?
Those letters’ IP’ refers to “ingress protection,” which in layman’s terms means how easily dust and water can intrude on the internals of your device.
The IP part of the term will not change, so it’s the numbers you’ll need to look at to work out how resilient your device is designed to be.
The first number in the sequence refers to the solid’s protection of the device. That means it’ll tell you how likely it is for the dust to get into the machine and whether, for example, it’s expected to be a problem if you take your device to the beach and drop it in the sand.
Mostly you will only see the number five or six displayed here. The number five means the “ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment; complete protection against contact.”
However, if it’s a six, it’ll be more protective as the definition reads “no ingress of dust,” and it offers complete protection.
What does the second number mean?
The second number in your IP rating refers to how waterproof the device is, and it’s a little more complicated than the first number.
Almost all mobile devices have an IP rating with several at least three or four, which protects against splashing or spraying water and ensures your device doesn’t get instantly ruined by the rain when you’re using it.
The numbers you’ll be interested in starting at five. That is protection against “water projected by a nozzle (6.3mm) against enclosure from any direction.” If your IP rating is number six, it’ll protect against “water projected in powerful jets (12.5mm nozzle) against the enclosure from any direction.”
Truly waterproof devices are those with numbers from seven onward, but they still vary. The number seven means “ingress of water in harmful quantity shall not be possible when the enclosure is immersed in water under defined conditions of pressure and time (up to 1 m of submersion).”
A rating including an eight for the second number will refer to devices that can handle submersion beyond 1 meter, but no device is ever completely waterproof.
The official definition of the maximum water-resistant number (nine) is that “the equipment is suitable for continuous immersion in water under conditions that the manufacturer shall specify. Normally, this will mean that the equipment is hermetically sealed.
However, with certain types of equipment, it can mean that water can enter but only in such a manner that it produces no harmful effects.”
IP68 means the phones can be submerged in 5 feet of water for up to 30 minutes
IP68 certified devices include the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus, LG V30, LG G6, Sony Xperia XZ1, Sony Xperia XZ Premium, and the Samsung Galaxy S7 range.