How are watches and smartphones made to be waterproof?
In: Technology
Their outer shell is made out of just one piece or multiple pieces that fit together in a watertight (e.g.: they have rubber on the edges that prevent water to go in or the pieces are glued together with a strong enough glue to prevent water from going in).
But what you mean is probably “water resistant” which basically means “waterproof for 1 minute”. Everything else is basically the same except the speakers and microphone have to be exposed to the outside environment. But the holes are tight enough that if you remove it quick enough water doesn’t have time to go in in quantities enough to damage the smartphone.
There are a variety of methods which can be used to make electronic components water resistant. Conformal coating of electronic components, airtight enclosures etc. The problem with mobile phones and water resistance is the need for consumer accessories which require external connections such as conventional headphones 3.5mm jacks and charging ports which can leak water into the mobile phone assembly. Hence the push by Apple and Google et al to move along mobile telephone assemblies to all BLE and contactless charging mechanisms.
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