If there was any hope at this point that Apple Watch was waterproof, then it’s all been shattered by the small prints at the bottom of Apple Watch dedicated pages on the company’s website. With a water resistance rating of IPX7, the small prints make clear that Apple Watch is splash and water resistant, but not waterproof.
Apple Watch is splash and water resistant but not waterproof. You can, for example, wear and use Apple Watch during exercise, in the rain, and while washing your hands, but submerging Apple Watch is not recommended. Apple Watch has a water resistance rating of IPX7 under IEC standard 60529. The leather bands are not water resistant.
A quick look at details of the IPX7 water rating tells us more about what you can and cannot do with your Apple Watch when it comes to water:
- IPX7 rated devices can withstand incidental exposure to water of up to 1 meter for up to 30 minutes.
- Indoor/outdoor use in the presence of rain, snow or brief splashes of water is a suitable activity.
- Any immersion of more than 1 meter, regardless of duration of immersion, or any immersion of more than 30 minutes, regardless of depth of immersion is not a suitable activity.
In short, as Tim Cook recently said, you’ll be able to take your Apple Watch in the shower (unless it has a leather band), but don’t even think about going surfing with it.