A Galaxy S7, an Edge and an Active walk into a pool...
After Samsung said it fixed a flaw that drowned the S7 Active, we took the whole S7 family through another underwater ordeal.
Hey, remember when the water-resistant Galaxy S7 Active failed two of our four dunk tests and slayed our review phones? Since then, Samsung said it found a problem that affected a small batch of phones, then fixed it. Then they sent us a brand new unit and we decided to hightail it back to the pool. This time, that S7 Active got company: an equally brand new S7 and S7 Edge.
They all survived.
What we did
We charged each phone and skipped through the setup process to get to the home screen. Otherwise, these fresh-from-the-box puppies remained untouched until we got them into the pool.
The phones' IP68 rating means they're supposed to withstand 5 feet of water (Okay, technically 4.9 feet, or 1.5 meters) for up to 30 minutes. We used a tape measure to find the right spot on the sharply sloping pool floor, and lined them up underwater against heavy landscaping rocks, so the phones wouldn't skid into deeper water. Then we set the timer and filmed what happened.
Just like last time, we left the S7 phones at the bottom of the pool for 28 minutes. Why not the full 30? Simple: the goal is to push against the failure point, not past it.
Life after submersion
As soon as we saw the Always-On display, it was clear all three handsets survived their day at the pool. There was water in each port and grille, but none invaded the camera like on the flawed S7 Active we tested before. While checking for damage, we navigated around, rebooted the phone, took photos. So far, they worked as any new phone should.
Does this mean Samsung has definitely fixed the problem? We hope so, because water-resistance is a great feature for peace of mind. Here's my advice: You won't want to purposely velcro your phone into your swim trunks on a snorkeling trip, but if you happen to butterfinger your S7, Edge or Active off the side of a kayak, you probably won't have sent it to a watery grave.