Nowadays, more and more people would buy a waterproof phone. The reason why people choose waterproof phones are: Exercise Friendly, Underwater Photography, and most importantly: protecting your phone from water damge. Moreover, the waterproofness of a rugged phone is defined by the IP rating. But do you really know the meanding of IP rating of rugged phones?
Here in this article, we will make a detailed introduce to the IP rating and related information.
What is an IP Rating?
An IP Rating represents the level of protection provided by a device against the intrusion of solid objects and liquids. An IP Rating usually has two numbers: The first number represents the level of protection from solid materials and the second number represents the level of protection from liquids. A third letter describing other information can be used but is often omitted.
Benefits of a Item with IP Ratings
Protection against solids
The first digit of an IP Rating is a number that describes the object’s protection against solids, with 0 offering no protection and 6 offering the most protection.
Protection against liquids
The second digit of an IP rating is a number that describes the level of protection against liquids, with 0 offering no protection and 9K offering the most protection.
Other protections
A letter can describe other information related to the protection of the enclosure. This is optional and not commonly used.
Decoding the IP ratings
As aforementioned, the first digit denotes intrusion protection and the second number signifies safety against moisture.
First Digit – Solids
- 0 – No unique protection.
- 1 – Protection from large body parts, like hands and legs.
- 2 – Safety against fingers or objects not higher than 80mm (length) and 12mm (diameter).
- 3 – Protection against wires or tools with a 2.5mm diameter or higher.
- 4 – Safety against rigid bodies that are bigger than 1mm.
- 5 – Protection from dust that could harm machinery.
- 6 – Completely dustproof.
Second Digit – Liquids
- 0 – Zero protection.
- 1 – Condensation protection.
- 2 – Protection from water droplets that have a 15-degree vertical deflection.
- 3 – Protection from spray with 60-degree vertical deflection.
- 4 – Safety from water sprays.
- 5 – Safeguard against water jets (low pressure) flowing from all directions.
- 6 – Security against waves and string water jets.
- 7 – Protection against non-permanent immersions.
- 8 – Safety from prolonged immersion effects.
The actual IP numbers or range may vary across products and their typical usage scenarios – the common IP ratings generally are IP65, IP66, IP67 and IP68.
Why is an IP Rating important?
When a manufacturer desires an IP Rating for their product, they must have it tested by an independent and certified company. That company assigns a numerical IP Rating to the product to signify how well the item protects against intrusion of solids and liquids.
Having a certified IP Rating means manufacturers can confidently make product claims about the level of protection their product provides. It legitimizes the item, offering assurance to the customer that they can determine if a product meets their needs.
Additionally, a user of IP Rated equipment is fully aware of its protective measures (or lack of), so they can work more safely, with less risk of injury to themselves or damage to the equipment.
Hidden Truths of IP Rated Phones
Ratings range from 1 to 6 for protection against dust and dirt, followed by 1 to 9 for water. Both the numbers are written one after the other as “IPxy,” where x means rating for dust protection, and y denotes rating for water ingression.
The most common IP ratings for smartphones and other consumer devices are IP68 and IP67. For IP68, six means total protection against dust and dirt, while 8 means protection from water up to a depth of 1.5m for about 30 mins. For IP67, the depth is capped at 1m.
So, even if your phone has a high IP rating like IP68, it still has limitations and may suffer from liquid damage if exposed to water with high velocity/ pressure for longer than what it’s built for.
Also, high IP ratings don’t mean that the water or dust won’t enter at all- it’s just that it won’t ingress in sufficient quantities to cause damage.
Best 4 IP68/IP69K Rated Rugged Phones from Ulefone
Ulefone Power Armor 13
Brand: Ulefone
Model: Power Armor 13
System: Android 11
Processor: Helio G95
CPU core: Octa-core 2.0GHz
GPU: Arm Mali-G76 720MHz
RAM: 8GB
ROM: 256GB
Max Extended Storage: 1TB
SIM Card Type 1: Nano sim*1 + Nano sim*1
SIM Card Type 2: Nano sim*1 + TF card*1
I/O Interface:Type-C
USB: Type-C
Audio Jack: 3.5mm CITA
Screen info of Power Armor 13 Rugged Phone
Size(inches)：6.81-inch FHD+
Resolution: 1080*2400
Battery info of Power Armor 13 Rugged Phone
Capacity: 13200mAh
Standby Time: 370-600H
Talk Time: 11-17H
Battery Type: Li-polymer battery(Non-removable)
Wireless charging: Yes, 15W
Wireless Reverse charging: Yes, 5W
Fast charging: Yes, 33W
Camera info of Power Armor 13 Mobile Phone
Rear Camera Pixel: 48MP(F/1.8)+8MP wide angle lens(F/2.2)+2MP macro lens(F/2.6)+2MP
Front Camera Pixel: 16MP F/2.2
Video Recording Resolution: 4K
Flash: Rear Flash
Touch Focus: Support
Sensors of Power Armor 13
G-sensor, Acceleration Sensor, L-Sensor, P-Sensor, Gyroscope, E-compass, baroceptor, coulombmeter, as well as infrared distance meter
Other Features of Power Armor 13
Endoscope supported? Yes
Infrared Distance Measurement: Yes
Blinking Notification Light: Yes
Battery Status Light: Yes
Fingerprint ID: Yes
Face Unlock: Yes
OTG: Yes
FM Radio: Yes
Ulefone Power Armor 14 Pro
Specifications of Ulefone Power Armor 14 Pro
Color: Black
Weight: About 358 grams
Dimension: 175.6*82.5*17.2mm
OS: Android 12
CPU: MTK Helio G85
Sim: Dual Sim
RAM: 6GB
ROM: 128GB
Max. Expansion Supported: 1TB
Screen Size: 6.52-inch HD+
Screen Resolution: 720*1600
Front Camera: 16MP
Rear Cameras: 20MP Main Rear Camera+2MP Macro Lens
Battery: 10000mAh
Wireless charging: Yes, support
Fingerprint ID: Yes
Face Unlock: Yes
I/O Interface: Type-C
USB: Type-C
Audio Jack: 3.5mm CTIA
Navigation: GPS, GLONASS, Beidou as well as Galileo
Sensors: P-Sensor, L-Sensor, Acceleration Sensor, E-compass as well as NFC
Ulefone Armor 11T
Parameters of Armor 11T
Hardware
●OS: Android 11
●CPU: Dimensity 800 (MT6873) Octa-core, 2.0GHz
●RAM: 8GB
●ROM: 256GB
Display
●Display Size of Ulefone Armor 11T: 6.1 inch
●Type: HD+ Capacitive Touch Screen
●Resolution: 1560*720 pixels
●Multitouch: 10 points
Camera
●Front camera: 16MP
●Video Recording Resolution: 1080P/720P/480P
●Rear Cameras: 48MP main camera+2MP macro lens as well as 2MP sub-camera
●Thermal Imaging Module: FLIR Lepton 2.5+5MP (FOV76°, F/2.2)
●Rear flash, Touch Focus: Support
●Video Recording Resolution: 4K/1080P/720P/480P
Battery
●Capacity: 5200mAh(typ), Built-in Li-polymer battery
●Wireless Charge: Yes, 10W wireless charging
●Charge Interface: USB Type-C
●Charger Type of Ulefone Armor 11T: EU Type, 9V/2A, 100~240V
●Battery Status Light: Yes
Other Info
●Material: TPU+10%GF
●Product Size: 163.8 x 81.6 x 14.2mm
●Product Weight: 293g
●VoLTE: Whether you can use VoLTE depends on the local carriers, because not all of the local carriers can support this function.
●Bluetooth: BT5.0
●Positioning: GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou as well as Galileo
●Sensors: Acceleration Sensor, G-sensor, P-sensor, L-sensor, E-compass, gyroscope, Fingerprint sensor, NFC, Baroceptor, Face Unlock as well as OTG
●FM Radio: Yes
●Waterproof: IP68/IP69K Waterproof
●Audio Chipset: FS1894
●Notification Light: Yes
Ulefone Armor 9
Parameters of Ulefone Armor 9 Rugged Phone
OS: Android 10
Color: Black
USB: Type-C
CPU: MediaTek Helio P90
Memory: 8GB ROM+128GB RAM
Display: 6.3‑inch (diagonal)
Resolution: 2340 x 1080 FHD+ 410 PPI
Front Camera: 8MP selfie camera
Rear Camera: 64MP super Camera
Battery of Ulefone Armor 9: 6600mAh Battery
Charging: Supports 18W fast charging
Battery Standby Time: Up to 510 Hours
Talk Time: Up to 42 Hours
Fingerprint Unlock: Yes
Face Unlock: Yes
SIM Card: Dual Nano-SIM slots
Other Functions of Ulefone Armor 9 Rugged Phone
Integrated FLIR® Thermal Imaging
✔FLIR Lepton with MSX® technology
✔Measurable Temperature Range: -10℃ – 400℃
✔5MP Auxiliary Imaging Camera visualizes heat that is invisible to the naked eye, highlighting temperature contrasts.
✔Pre-install MyFLIR2 App
Underwater Photography of Armor 9
✔Take photos and video recording
✔Start or end operation underwater
✔Quickly switch shooting modes underwater
Navigation and Positioning of Armor 9
✔GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BEIDOU as well as Digital Compass
NFC
✔Google Pay, Transit, Loyalty Cards, Gift Cards as well as Plane tickets
Heart Rate Function of Armor 9
✔Supports real-time heart rate detection
Armor 9 Sensors
✔Acceleration Sensor, G-sensor, P-sensor, L-sensor, E-compass, Gyroscope, NFC, Baroceptor as well as coulomb meter.
Wrapping up
So these were some introduction of the meaning of IP rating of rugged phones. What’s more, we also made some recommendations about ulefone rugged phones with IP68 ratings.
All-inclusive, it’s good to have water resistance or IP rating on phones for added peace of mind, especially if you’re buying a premium category device. However, taking it for granted and intentionally exposing the device to liquids may cause damage.
It is about time all smartphones get waterproofing out of the box. This makes your phone lot more durable and protected against day-to-day threats. How has your experience been with waterproof smartphones? Share with us in the comment section below.
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