iPhone 6 Teardown: Rubber Gaskets Mean The Apple Device Might Survive A Fall Into The Toilet Or Sink

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus may be bendier, much to the dislike of some owners, but it may also be able to survive a brief trip into the toilet or sink. From submersions to drops, the Cupertino, California, tech titan’s smartphone was found to hold up better than its predecessors.

In a teardown performed by iFixit after the release of the iPhone 6, the repair guide website found that Apple had introduced a rubber gasket to the power button, with similar gaskets being found on the volume buttons as well. “Altogether, this seems to represent a move toward increased water/dust resistance, and therefore improved durability,” iFixit said.

The gaskets may not make the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus entirely water resistant, but they could play a role in protecting the smartphone, as demonstrated via a durability test performed by mobile insurance company SquareTrade this week.

As part of the battery of tests performed on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the company submerged both devices underwater for a brief 10 seconds. The smartphones came out mostly unscathed, save for the onboard speakers, which cut out when submerged. After a few minutes outside of the water, however, the speakers began to work again.

While that’s far shorter than ingress protection tests performed on other devices for waterproof certification, such as the Samsung Galaxy S5, those extra protections could mean the difference between just drying your iPhone off and shelling out hundreds of dollars to replace it out of warranty. Despite these results, Apple doesn't claim that the iPhone 6 is waterproof, nor does the company cover water damage under its standard one-year warranty.

As for physical durability, SquareTrade’s drop tests results were similar to a number of drop tests performed on the iPhone 6’s release day. The iPhone 6 came out with only a few nicks and scratches after six drops from four feet high. But under the same tests, the iPhone 6 Plus didn’t fare as well with its front panel partially separating from the smartphone. To Apple’s credit, neither of the smartphones’ screens were shattered in the process.