Is the Galaxy Z Fold 4 waterproof?
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Samsung's 2022 foldable beast - the Galaxy Z Fold 4 - brings a refined experience, an upgraded main camera, a variety of multitasking improvements and a powerful processor, all wrapped up in an eye-catching foldable form. Despite the phone already having a successor in the face of the Fold 5, it's still a great choice in 2023.
If you're here, chances are you're ready to spend at least $1,799 to get this ultimate 2-in-1 phone and tablet (or you've already bought it) - and you would not want to get such an expensive phone damaged, right? Well, if that's you, you've come to the right place!
As you may know, dust and water can be damaging to tech. Here, we examine the IP rating, or the level of protection against dust and water, that the Galaxy Z Fold 4 comes with and we explain what it all means. This way, you can fully know how protected your new expensive toy is against the elements.
By the way, the Z Fold 4 is also one of the best foldable phones you can buy this year. So you do want to make sure you know its level of protection.
Buy the Galaxy Z Fold 4 here
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is available for purchase from Samsung.com:
Is the Z Fold 4 waterproof?
Nope, the Z Fold 4 comes with an IPX8 rating, which means it is water-resistant – but not wateproof. However, the phone can be submerged in up to 1.5 meters of freshwater for up to 30 minutes.
The foldable beast has no number certified for dust protection (the X in the IP rating stands for no number indicated), meaning it has not been tested, and basically, to be better safe than sorry, it's good to assume the phone is not protected against dust.
What does IPX8 on the Z Fold 4 mean?
Now, onto the details. These IP ratings reflect the level of protection of a device against dust particles and moisture (water). The first number in the IP rating is related to dust, and the second is to water protection. With the Z Fold 4, the first "number" is an X, which could very well be a 0, meaning it has not been tested against dust damage and there are no guarantees it is safe to use in dusty environments. The second number is 8, meaning water-resistant (details of how water-resistant it is, below).
The first number, as we already mentioned, is related to dust protection. In our case there's an "X" in the IP rating of the Z Fold 4 means the device has not been tested for dust damage. Said in simple words, Samsung does not promise the foldable beast is dust tight, so our advice here is to be careful with your expensive device when there is dust involved (in dusty environments, for example, the safest bet is to not use it).
The second number in the IP rating is related to protection against water. Here, the number is 8, the highest we see on smartphones nowadays, seen in flagships like the Galaxy S22 or iPhone 13 models. 8 means the phone is water-resistant (again, this doesn't mean waterproof though, so don't go swimming with it!). Submersion in up to 1.5 meters of freshwater for no more than 30 minutes should theoretically not do any damage to the device.
All this means is that if you get some splashes of water on it, you're most probably fine and you shouldn't worry. However, given this device's quite high price tag, we would air on the side of caution. And, it's important to mention that the 8 in the IP rating doesn't mean the phone was tested against salty water or chemically-enhanced pool water – not tested means (as we said multiple times in this article, but better be safe than sorry!) that there are no guarantees everything will be fine.
By the way – check out our Galaxy Z Fold 4 cases selection to add protection against scratches or drops to your new phone as well.
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