Is the Nothing Phone (1) waterproof?

And while we will not be dropping the flashy handset from a rooftop just yet, we will try to answer a more mundane question – is the Nothing Phone (1) waterproof and, if so, to what extent?

Is the Nothing Phone (1) waterproof?

Unfortunately, the Nothing Phone is not waterproof. The smartphone features an IP53 certification rating. We will explain what these numbers stand for in detail in the next section. However, in short, the Nothing Phone (1) is only water resistant and to a limited extent at that. It offers protection from liquids sprayed on the device, but, importantly, it does not safeguard the phone if the latter is fully immersed. Hence, accidentally spilling a glass of water on the Nothing Phone (1) will not be much of a hassle, but you should most certainly not be taking your handset for a swim in the pool.

What does IP53 mean?

The ingress protection rating (i.e. IP rating) refers to the internal protection of the device from external elements – namely liquids and small particles (e.g.dust).

The first number refers to the level of the protection of the device from small solid particles. In the case of the Nothing Phone (1) that number is 5, which translates to “dust protected”. This means that ingress of dust is not entirely impossible, but it is very difficult for a sufficient amount of it to enter into the device and interfere with its internal functioning.

The second number of the rating refers to the level of protection from liquids. This is the part of the index that determines whether a device is waterproof per se. The rating of 3 indicates that Nothing Phone (1) can survive being sprayed with water over a period of time. However, in order for a device to be able to sustain full immersion, it must have an index of 7 or above.