4 ms·

It isn't a dive watch - the touch screen wouldn't work under water - so regular water resistance is fine (and industry standard). It's safe to be worn in the s

It isn't a dive watch - the touch screen wouldn't work under water - so regular water resistance is fine (and industry standard). It's safe to be worn in the shower, that's enough for most people. Edit: having looked into it a little more (not very knowledgeable about waterproofing, I dislike dive watches), there's no such thing as a "waterproof" watch, just a watch that is resistant to water at certain levels of water pressure. Information about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Resistant_mark http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Resistant_mark

subnaught 12y ago
Indeed, engineering is about tradeoffs.
Animats 12y ago
No, "industry standard" for sport watches is 50-100 meter depth.[1] All Casio's sport watches can handle that. Rolexes are generally good to 100 meters. Apple's watch can't handle a shower, let alone a bathtub. There are touch screens that work when wet.[2] [1] http://www.casio.com/products/Watches/Sports/ http://www.casio.com/products/Watches/Sports/ [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVPku-xItv8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVPku-xItv8
- kaolinite 12y ago
  Apple Watch has a water resistance of IPX7, that's the same as a Garmin, for example. It is fine in a shower. There's no point comparing it to other sport watches because unlike the Apple Watch, they can actually be used under water. A smart watch (at least one with a capacitive touch screen) cannot. Why make trade-offs (e.g. making it bulkier, perhaps) when there's no benefit? Addressing your second point, there certainly are touch screens that work whilst wet - however I suspect there will be significant draw-backs, such as responsiveness, colour clarity, etc. Again, I don't have the details but if Apple could make Apple Watch usable underwater without any compromise, I'm sure they would have. However, it would have been interesting if they had released the "Sport" model as a bulkier, water-proof version, leaving the regular Apple Watch as the dress watch. There certainly could be interesting applications for divers, etc. Edit: check out this review of the CAT phone you linked. http://www.cnet.com/uk/products/cat-b15/ http://www.cnet.com/uk/products/cat-b15/ "Very poor screen" and "The screen has been designed to operate when wet, too. You can't use it underwater, but it's fully functional when covered in flecks of water". As subnaught says, it's all about trade-offs.
  - SamReidHughes 12y ago
    You can't use typical sport watch underwater either -- the instructions say not to press any of the buttons.
- jws 12y ago
  Watch depths on watches are basically lies. Look at the "Water Resistance Classification" table in the linked "Water Resistance Mark" Wikipedia page. 50m means you can barely submerge it. 100m is snorkeling. I learned this the hard way when I got a new 30m watch for a sailing trip and it died the first time I stuck my hand in water. Timex even used to print something like that table in the paper that came with the watch. So I'll upgrade my "lies" characterization to "shameless lies". (That said, I want Apple to do better, and I expect they will in the future. Underperforming on the first products would be a disaster. Better to under promise.)
  - sanoli 12y ago
    It means that in a sealed water resistance test thing, the watch, sitting there surrounded by water, will still function when subjected to, in the case of your watch, 3bar of pressure. That is without moving the watch, with the crown fully tightened/pushed in, etc. Yours was probably defective, or was advertised in bad faith, even though by those water resistance tables they say 30m isn't suitable for swimming. However, I've taken both 3 bar and 5 bar watches to the sea many times with no problem. It's supposed to handle shallow swimming
- threeseed 12y ago
  Tim Cook said he wears it in the shower but to what extent we won't know until launch. http://www.techradar.com/au/news/wearables/apple-watch-is-showerproof-says-cook-but-is-it-waterproof--1286029 http://www.techradar.com/au/news/wearables/apple-watch-is-sh...
Dylan16807 12y ago
I would interpret "fully" waterproof as meaning that at the rated depth it won't leak, no matter how much you swirl it around and push the buttons, and that you can leave it there all day. Most water-resistant devices do not attempt this. You can put them under water, but if you bump them wrong you can ruin them.

subnaught 12y ago

Indeed, engineering is about tradeoffs.

Animats 12y ago

No, "industry standard" for sport watches is 50-100 meter depth.[1] All Casio's sport watches can handle that. Rolexes are generally good to 100 meters. Apple's watch can't handle a shower, let alone a bathtub. There are touch screens that work when wet.[2] [1] http://www.casio.com/products/Watches/Sports/ http://www.casio.com/products/Watches/Sports/ [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVPku-xItv8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVPku-xItv8

kaolinite 12y ago
Apple Watch has a water resistance of IPX7, that's the same as a Garmin, for example. It is fine in a shower. There's no point comparing it to other sport watches because unlike the Apple Watch, they can actually be used under water. A smart watch (at least one with a capacitive touch screen) cannot. Why make trade-offs (e.g. making it bulkier, perhaps) when there's no benefit? Addressing your second point, there certainly are touch screens that work whilst wet - however I suspect there will be significant draw-backs, such as responsiveness, colour clarity, etc. Again, I don't have the details but if Apple could make Apple Watch usable underwater without any compromise, I'm sure they would have. However, it would have been interesting if they had released the "Sport" model as a bulkier, water-proof version, leaving the regular Apple Watch as the dress watch. There certainly could be interesting applications for divers, etc. Edit: check out this review of the CAT phone you linked. http://www.cnet.com/uk/products/cat-b15/ http://www.cnet.com/uk/products/cat-b15/ "Very poor screen" and "The screen has been designed to operate when wet, too. You can't use it underwater, but it's fully functional when covered in flecks of water". As subnaught says, it's all about trade-offs.
- SamReidHughes 12y ago
  You can't use typical sport watch underwater either -- the instructions say not to press any of the buttons.
jws 12y ago
Watch depths on watches are basically lies. Look at the "Water Resistance Classification" table in the linked "Water Resistance Mark" Wikipedia page. 50m means you can barely submerge it. 100m is snorkeling. I learned this the hard way when I got a new 30m watch for a sailing trip and it died the first time I stuck my hand in water. Timex even used to print something like that table in the paper that came with the watch. So I'll upgrade my "lies" characterization to "shameless lies". (That said, I want Apple to do better, and I expect they will in the future. Underperforming on the first products would be a disaster. Better to under promise.)
- sanoli 12y ago
  It means that in a sealed water resistance test thing, the watch, sitting there surrounded by water, will still function when subjected to, in the case of your watch, 3bar of pressure. That is without moving the watch, with the crown fully tightened/pushed in, etc. Yours was probably defective, or was advertised in bad faith, even though by those water resistance tables they say 30m isn't suitable for swimming. However, I've taken both 3 bar and 5 bar watches to the sea many times with no problem. It's supposed to handle shallow swimming
threeseed 12y ago
Tim Cook said he wears it in the shower but to what extent we won't know until launch. http://www.techradar.com/au/news/wearables/apple-watch-is-showerproof-says-cook-but-is-it-waterproof--1286029 http://www.techradar.com/au/news/wearables/apple-watch-is-sh...

Dylan16807 12y ago

I would interpret "fully" waterproof as meaning that at the rated depth it won't leak, no matter how much you swirl it around and push the buttons, and that you can leave it there all day. Most water-resistant devices do not attempt this. You can put them under water, but if you bump them wrong you can ruin them.