As we head towards Samsung's next Unpacked event on August 11, an increasing number of details regarding the foldable devices it's expected to showcase have started to emerge.
Earlier today, an alleged price list was leaked online ahead of Unpacked that's said to offer pricing details for both the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3.
That was quickly followed by a tweet from trusted leaker Max Weinbach, who has come forward with a tantalizing piece of information regarding a long-requested feature for Samsung's upcoming foldables.
According to Weinbach, Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 will be its first foldable devices to offer IPX8 water resistance, allowing them to be submerged to a depth greater than 1 metre.
Flip3 and Fold3 are IPX8 https://t.co/Lenz8aOuCVJuly 21, 2021
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 could be surprisingly affordable
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 could get major screen upgrades
- Lots of foldables could land this year
What you need to know about IPX8
Given that Samsung's Z Fold and Z Flip devices are easily its most premium and expensive handsets on offer, it would come as a great relief to users that their costly investment should no longer be completely ruined by a splash of water or accidental drop in the sink – assuming the rumor turns out to be accurate
It would also be considered a crucial feature in this year's foldable offering – particularly as Samsung looks to sway Note users over to the Z Fold 3 with its rumored S Pen Pro support.
But while there's no denying that level 8 water resistance would be a fantastic addition to Samsung's foldable lineup, it's worth noting that the X in this particular rating means it wouldn't promise any dust resistance whatsoever.
The reason for this is that the surface tension of water (roughly 72 mN/m at room temperature) has a far stronger molecular structure than ultra-fine dust, making it more difficult for water droplets to break into tiny holes (such as those on a phone's speaker grille).
Will dust be a concern?
If you'll cast your mind back to 2019, you might remember that early Galaxy Fold review units suffered a number of durability issues – one of which was dust making its way into the hinge mechanism.
Thankfully, Samsung quickly developed a fix for that problem, implementing future Fold devices with a dust-resistant hinge that used bristles to brush dust particles out of the device. This leads us to believe the alleged lack of dust resistance shouldn't prove to be too much of a concern.
Of course, the IPX8 rating is totally unconfirmed at this stage, meaning we'll have to wait and see what Samsung has in store for us on August 11.
