Consumer Reports have tested Samsung’s recently launched Galaxy S7 Active waterproof capability, and their findings claim that the device cannot properly survive under the conditions the company told its customers it can.
After Samsung released the Lil Wayne ad, during which the rap artist poured champagne on the device and then dunked it in a fish tank, Consumer Reports decided to take a look at the matter on their own.
More specifically, the renowned reviews outlet submerged two units of the model in a water tank pressurized to 2.12 pounds per square inch, which is the same pressure they would experience at a depth of five feet.
The South Korean giant had suggested in the past that all three variants of the S7 meet the IP68 certification criteria for water-resistance, which requires a device to be able to survive submersion in five feet of water for 30 minutes straight.
Despite that particular claim, the test’s result seems to prove otherwise, since both units performed disappointingly. The first unit’s touch-screen was rendered useless, while the display started projecting a series of green lines. Bubbles had infiltrated its front and rear cameras as well.
When it comes to the second device, it too failed the test but reacted in a different manner, as its display turned on and off “every few seconds,”, while water infiltrated its cameras and SIM card slot too.
Consumer Reports mentioned in their article that, after the two handsets were dried out, both of them could be powered on when plugged in, though their touchscreens had been completely disabled from the water.
Samsung’s response to Consumer Reports’ test, which has now gone viral, suggests that they haven’t received any complaints from users regarding such an issue yet, and that the website might have used two faulty units.
Overall, the Galaxy S7 Active, aimed for the outdoors-type smartphone users, is the sole member of the S7 family to fail the test, as the other two, the proper S7 and the S7 Edge, have both gone through Consumer Reports’ test successfully, while they are also considered as the best phones of the year by the website.
Source: Consumer Reports