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With so many amazing smartphones on the market today, it can be challenging enough to pick the best one for your needs even without also worrying about protection from the elements. However, if you’re an outdoor adventure enthusiast, getting a phone that can handle exposure to water should also be a priority. Whether that’s simply taking a dunk over the side of your boat or being able to withstand the rigors of water sports, the last thing you want is to find your expensive smartphone acting up from water getting inside.
Is the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra waterproof?
Learn the difference between water-resistant, waterproof, and safe from water jets
The Zenfone 11 Ultra is a new addition to Asus' excellent small phone selection, alongside its ROG gaming phone and (hopefully) its small-form-factor Zenfone 10. It has impressive hardware, an excellent display, a big battery, and lightning-fast charging, among other powerful and convenient features. One surprising thing is this flagship's rare headphone jack. Additional ports can theoretically make a phone vulnerable to moisture, which raises a question. How well does the Zenfone 11 Ultra resist water?
Best waterproof headphones and earbuds for swimming in 2024
Enjoy your favorite tunes in the deep end with the best waterproof headphones and earbuds
For those looking for a way to stay motivated and focused while swimming countless laps, picking up a pair of waterproof earbuds is a great idea. However, it's not as simple as picking up any old pair of wireless earbuds; you'll need cans specifically designed for hitting the pool.
Is the Samsung Galaxy S Pen Creator Edition waterproof?
How worried should you be if your stylus gets dunked?
Alongside the Tab S9 family of tablets, Samsung dropped the latest iteration of its S Pen, the Galaxy S Pen Creator Edition. This passive stylus supports pressure and tilt functions and is well-positioned to oust those vying for its stylus throne.
Is the Motorola Edge (2023) waterproof?
Can you breathe easily with your Motorola Edge (2023) around water?
Motorola has always rested on the fringe of high-end mobile devices, allowing it to provide mid-range smartphones at affordable pricing. The Motorola Edge (2023) retains the best features of the company's other great phones, with an impressive battery and a system not bogged down by bloat and unnecessary features.
H2O Audio Tri Pro headphones review: An ill-fitting 'upgrade'
They may be waterproof, but these headphones probably aren't what you want for a triathlon (or anything else)
Swimming is a great workout, but it’s boring as dirt. At least that’s how I felt swimming all through high school. The H2O Audio Tri Pro attempts to be the ultimate answer for that boredom, promising to let you listen to music, podcasts, or whatever else while you’re swimming and, as the name suggests, running and cycling as well. Using bone conduction, they play audio through your cheek bones, keeping your ears unobstructed so you can maintain the situational awareness you need in those contexts.
If you’ve ever wondered whether you can swim with a certain pair of earbuds or headphones, the answer is usually no. Even the many that offer an IP68 rating aren’t meant for the more extreme pressures of swimming, and Bluetooth doesn’t travel through water very far. But some headphones are designed for swimming, and the H2O Audio Sonar are perhaps the best among them. With on-board storage and Bluetooth as options, these bone conduction headphones strap right onto your goggles and bring the jams along for even lengthy training sessions. They may be pretty niche, but if you’re searching for swimming headphones, these are probably just what you want.
Are the Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds waterproof?
What will happen if you drop your expensive Sony WF-1000XM5 true wireless earbuds in water?
The Sony WF-1000XM5, the latest true wireless earbuds from Sony, succeed the successful, critically acclaimed WF-1000XM4. Aside from being Sony's flagship offering in the true wireless segment, the XM5 also have big shoes to fill thanks to the sheer popularity of their predecessor.
Is Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra waterproof and dustproof?
It's water-resistant, but don’t try proving so to your friends!
Although we may not all own tablets, we all crave the productivity boost they offer. With generous displays, exceptional performance, and nifty software integrations, these devices provide a splendid solution for getting a lot done quickly. And when you have one like the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, one of the best Samsung tablets, it's a lot better!
H2O Audio Tri Multi-Sport review: Bone conduction headphones for land and sea
A great option for extreme athletes
The H2O Audio Tri Multi-Sport are a unique pair of headphones from a pretty unique company. Only a few manufacturers out there offer waterproof headphones for swimming and even fewer focus on bone conduction options for the water. Well, H2O Audio is one of them and the Tri Multi-Sport are bone conduction headphones that can spend as much time in the water as on land as they’re fully waterproof. In fact, as the name suggests, these headphones are meant for the activities involved in a triathlon, meaning you can run and bike with them and then take them into the water.
App claims to test your phone's water resistance without a plunge
It uses a phone's barometric sensor to test internal IP seals
Android developers are the best. Watch them for long enough, and they'll come up with tools that you didn't even know were possible. For example, this little app claims it can tell you whether the water-resistant seals in your phone are still intact. Water Resistance Tester is a free download in the Play Store.
For many of us, an external battery pack comes in near the top of our accessory priority list. Whether you travel for work or pleasure, topping up your gadgets on the go can be important, and that need can extend into durations or locations that require a few extra features or added durability. So, for all you outdoorsy types prepping for summer trips, we're taking a quick look at two new RAVpower batteries. One is "waterproof," both are solar-powered, and they clock in at 10,000mAh and 25,000mAh respectively. Before you get too excited about harnessing the functionally infinite power of the sun for yourself, keep in mind that the small size of the solar panels equates to a pretty slow charging speed. You won't be topping either of these batteries up to full just laying them out in the sun for the day. At the fastest possible speeds, it might give you, say, an extra 800-1200mAh per day. They're more perk than point if you decide to pick one up. Even so, it's an extra free bit of power that could make a difference out on the trails, giving your electronic safety net the ability to replenish itself without an outlet.The larger 25,000mAh battery offers a durable rubber-encased "waterproof" design with plenty of capacity, while the smaller 10,000mAh battery brings solar power to a pocketable form-factor. In my opinion, it's the bigger battery that's worthy of your attention, but either way, we've also got a pair of exclusive coupons (good until the end of July) that make them both a little cheaper.
Anker's latest addition to its Soundcore line of audio products, the Flare, is available now. The Flare is a cylindrical Bluetooth speaker that pumps out sound in all directions. It's water resistant and has a customizable light strip around the base, if you're into that sort of thing. Anker purports the Flare can manage up to 12 hours of continuous use on a charge.
The holidays are fast approaching and Amazon seems to be announcing one new product or service every day, so it's hard to keep up. The latest, however, is a waterproof Kindle with a larger 7" display that has us really jealous and itching for something like it but also compatible with Play Books.Unlike its predecessors, the Oasis doesn't sport a 6" display, but takes it up a notch to 7". And it does that while reducing most bezels and thus still being roughly the same height and weight as the Paperwhite or Voyage. Only the width is larger, mainly thanks to that big black bezel on one side. It doesn't look pretty, but it should provide a nice place for your hand to rest in while you hold it.
Unlike some other flagship phones, Google's Pixel and Pixel XL are not officially water-resistant - their Ingress Protection rating is a mere 53, much less capable than some Samsung and Motorola designs. If you're left feeling a little exposed, LifeProof has a case to sell you. Previously only available on the manufacturer website, the FRĒ series of cases are now being sold on the Google Store alongside the phones themselves. The good news is that the cases have an IP68 rating, meaning they're dust-proof and submersible for up to two hours in 2 meters of water. The bad news is that the cases cost $89.95, for either the Pixel or Pixel XL.
For the past 4 years, I've been wearing a Fitbit device of some sort. I started with the One, which stuck with me for the better part of 3 years, then I tried the Blaze, the Alta, and the Charge 2. My main complaint with each of these trackers was the lack of water-resistance, which meant that I couldn't wear them in the pool or track my swims with them. I've tried several swim trackers including the Misfit Shine 2 Swim Edition and Amiigo, looking for something that could replace Fitbit, but the best that I found was the Garmin vivoactive, which has excellent swim tracking and can send the main stats to Fitbit through MyFitnessPal. It's not an elegant solution, but it worked for me for the past year or so.So you can imagine my joy — better yet, you can read it — when Fitbit announced the Flex 2 with water-resistance and swim tracking. At last, I wouldn't have to go through workarounds to get all of my swims to show up in the Fitbit app, and I could keep it on in the shower and the pool without worrying about it.I've been wearing the Fitbit Flex 2 for the past month or so, and using it exclusively for over two weeks. The result is a little mitigated. Several compromises had to be made with the Flex 2, and that's understandable but only to a certain point. The Flex line is one of the most basic Fitbit models, so you expect it not to come anywhere near the capability of the Alta, Charge, or Blaze line, but in some respects, the Flex 2 even feels like a step back from my 4 year-old Fitbit One, which is slightly disheartening.
With Bluetooth speakers so common these days, it is pretty easy to find one that fits in almost every price bracket. One of the more popular ones that I see around my hometown is the UE Roll line, due in no small part to its portability and water resistance (Colorado folks like to go outside, what can I say). The Roll 2 brought some improvements, including a longer range and louder output than its predecessor, but it maintained the utter simplicity that makes this speaker iconic. Coupled with the UE Roll app, you can set up an alarm, adjust EQ settings, remotely power on the device, and connect up to three phones to it.On Amazon today, you can get this for $20 off, totaling $79.99 before any shipping or relevant taxes. The deal is good on all four colors of the device, which is nice for some choice options. As for how long this deal will last, I cannot say. So don't wait too long if this is something that catches your fancy.
There are a lot of sports-oriented tech products, but not many are aimed squarely at surfers, skiers, and snowboarders. Which is why this new Android Wear smartwatch from Nixon – a major Californian manufacturer of watches and accessories – is so fascinating.
Saygus, the company that really will have an actual smartphone for sale any day now, they totally promise, has some more promises for you. A press release issued at Mobile World Congress lays out a series of improvements to the crowdfunded V-Squared phone, which should be easy to implement since the phone still isn't finished despite a first quarter manufacturing target. No less than four, count 'em, four new features have been introduced since... last year's Mobile World Congress. The fact that Saygus has missed multiple ship dates between now and then is conspicuously absent from the press release.