IP Ratings Explained: What IP67, IP68, IP54 and IPX8 Mean

An IP rating looks like a promise and functions like a footnote. The two digits after "IP" describe exactly what was tested, in a laboratory, under conditions that rarely match the way phones are actually dropped. Knowing how to read them - and what they leave out - is the difference between buying water resistance and buying peace of mind.

Reading the two digits

The format is IP followed by two digits: the first covers solids (dust and objects), the second covers liquids.

**First digit (dust and objects):**

• 4 - protected against objects larger than 1 mm, such as wire. Not dust-tight.
• 5 - dust ingress limited; some dust can enter but not enough to interfere with operation.
• 6 - dust-tight. No ingress of dust under test conditions.
• X - no dust test performed at all. The X is not a zero; it means the claim was never made.

**Second digit (liquids):**

• 4 - protected against splashing water from any direction.
• 5 - protected against water jets from a nozzle.
• 6 - protected against powerful water jets.
• 7 - immersion in fresh water up to 1 metre for up to 30 minutes.
• 8 - immersion beyond 1 metre, for a duration and depth the manufacturer specifies. This is the important nuance: IPx8 is manufacturer-defined, so the depth is not standardized between brands.
• 9 - high-pressure, high-temperature jets. Rare on phones; you will see it as IP69 or IP69K.

An IPX8 phone therefore has a meaningful water rating and no dust rating at all - a common combination where a mechanism (a hinge, a port cover) prevents a dust-tight claim.

What the tests actually are

All of these tests are laboratory procedures: clean fresh water, specified temperature, specified pressure or depth, specified duration, on an undamaged unit. They are not a simulation of a swimming pool, a shower, the sea or a pocket full of sand.

Two consequences follow. Salt water, chlorine, soap, shampoo and heat all attack seals differently from the fresh water used in testing. And a phone that has been dropped - even one that still looks fine - may no longer meet the rating it shipped with, because a slightly deformed frame compresses a gasket unevenly. Manufacturers commonly exclude liquid damage from warranties regardless of the rating printed on the box.

What our database shows

The 47 phones we track carry a spread of ratings that illustrates why one number never tells the whole story:

• IP68 on 23 phones - the flagship standard: dust-tight plus immersion beyond 1 metre as specified by the maker.
• IP67 on 4 phones - dust-tight plus immersion to 1 metre for 30 minutes. Still submersion-rated.
• IPX8 on 4 phones - immersion rated, no dust test claimed.
• IP48 on 4 phones - objects over 1 mm plus immersion. This is the foldable combination.
• IP54, IP52 and IPX4 on budget and splash-focused models - splash or jet protection, with no immersion claim (and, for the X rating, no dust claim either).
• IP65 and IP64 on a few - dust-tight with jet or splash protection rather than immersion.
• IP69 (and one IP68/IP69 dual listing) - high-pressure jet resistance, a rare claim.
• No rating listed on two phones. Absence of a rating is not a rating; treat undocumented as unknown, never as waterproof.

Why foldables carry different numbers

A folding hinge cannot be sealed the way a solid frame can: it has to move, thousands of times, and dust that enters the hinge mechanism is a mechanical problem rather than an electrical one. That is why the foldables in our database show IP48 or IPX8 instead of the IP68 their slab siblings carry. For a foldable, the honest reading is "water resistance is comparable, dust resistance is not" - and dust is the more likely enemy of the hinge over years of ownership.

How ratings degrade

A rating is a statement about the day it was tested. Seals age with heat cycles and time; drops deform frames; adhesive around the display can lift. None of this happens overnight, and none of it is visible from the outside. Practical habits that preserve it: avoid charging while the port is wet, dry the phone before it goes into a case, and skip the beach - fine sand and salt water are the two environments no rating addresses well.

Practical rules

• Fresh water only, and only if you must - a pool, the sea, a hot shower and a sauna are all outside the test conditions.
• Rinse a salt-water splash with fresh water immediately if the phone is rated for it, then dry it.
• Never assume a marketing phrase like "water resistant" equals a specific IP rating; look for the digits.
• If the phone has no listed rating, plan around water as you would with any unprotected device.

Comparing phones on water resistance

Our product pages record the published rating exactly as the manufacturer states it - IP68, IP48, IP54, or a blank where none is documented - and the Spec Comparison tool puts those rows side by side for any two models. The comparison that matters is rarely between IP67 and IP68; it is between a phone that claims immersion and one that only claims splash resistance, which is a different decision entirely.