Is The iPhone 7 Waterproof? New Apple Smartphone Upgrade Expected

With Apple expected to introduce Wednesday its latest products, iPhone enthusiasts are waiting to finding out whether the tech giant's signature smartphone will be waterproof. The answer seems to be definite, as industry insiders are all in apparent agreement about what could be the worst kept tech secret of all time.

While the iPhone's level of water resistance has been steadily increased with each subsequent release, the newest incarnation could see the mobile device be the most waterproofed it has been, according to reports. This means the iPhone7 could more than likely be able to survive splashes, showers and being submerged in a little more than three feet of water, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo told MacRumors over the weekend.

The iPhone 7 is also expected to have the IPX7 rating for waterproofing, meaning, if true, the new device can be underwater for as long as a half-hour.

That would put the new iPhone 7 on a par with the Samsung Galaxy S7 — Apple's main smartphone competitor — which is the iPhone's main competition.

Smartphone users will likely be watching to see how smoothly the iPhone 7 is rolled out, considering Samsung has had its fair share of complaints from consumers about water leaking into its devices, Android Headlines reported.

A patent application filed by Apple was among the first hints that the new iPhone could be waterproof, Tech Radar reported. "The supporting structure may be coupled to the membrane and include a support structure that mates with the concave region of the membrane when the speaker is subjected to a hydrostatic load," the application read in part. "Hydrostatic" is defined as "of or relating to fluids at rest or to the pressures they exert or transmit," according to Merriam-Webster. Insiders believe the fluids are a reference to water.

Apple is also expected Wednesday to introduce an updated version of its smartwatch.