What is an IP rating?
Various
What is an IP rating?
The water resistance of a watch is usually specified in meters or atmospheres. Some smartwatches can also be marked with the letters "IP" and digits following them. How to understand their meaning? Read on!
Table of Contents:
What does an IP rating refer to?
The IP rating indicates the level of protection that a smartwatch provides against the intrusion of solids and liquids. The abbreviation IP is nothing but ingress protection. The IP rating is typically represented by the letters "IP" followed by two numbers. The first digit ranges from 0 to 6, while the second one ranges from 0 to 9. The individual codes that IP forms with two digits are defined by the PN-EN 50629 standard, which is equivalent to the international IEC 60 529 standard.
The meaning of the individual digits in the code
Each digit of the code provides us with specific information. The first digit represents the level of protection against solid particles, while the second digit indicates the level of protection against liquids.
First digit — meaning:
- 0 - no protection
- 1 - protection against objects larger than 50mm (e.g. accidental touch by hand)
- 2 - protection against objects larger than 12.5mm (e.g. fingers)
- 3 - protection against objects larger than 2.5mm (e.g. tools)
- 4 - protection against objects larger than 1mm (e.g. small tools and wires)
- 5 - dust protected (limited ingress, but not completely prevented)
- 6 - dust tight (complete protection against dust)
Second digit — meaning:
- 0 - no protection
- 1 - protection against vertically falling drops of water
- 2 - protection against vertically falling drops of water when tilted up to 15 degrees
- 3 - protection against spraying water at an angle of up to 60 degrees from vertical
- 4 - protection against splashing water from any direction
- 5 - protection against low-pressure jets of water (12.5 l/min) from any direction
- 6 - protection against powerful jets of water (100 l/min) from any direction
- 7 - protection against immersion in water up to 1 meter deep for a limited time
- 8 - protection against continuous immersion in water under conditions specified by the manufacturer)
- 9 - protection against high-pressure (80-100 BAR), high-temperature (+80°C) jet sprays (specific conditions)
The most common standards in smartwatches
IP67 and IP68 are commonly used IP ratings for smartwatches. An IP67 rating signifies that the device has a high level of protection against dust, dirt, and sand and can be submerged in water up to 1 meter at normal temperature and normal pressure for half an hour. IP68, however, means that a device is dust-tight and designed to be submersible in water beyond 1 meter deep for extended periods of time under conditions specified by the manufacturer. Devices with an IP57, IP55 and IP54 rating are not commonly found.
Discover water-resistant smartwatches available at Watchard
At Watchard you will find plenty of smartwatches with IP67 or IP68 rating (including Garett, Huawei, Manta and Marea). You can use them on a daily basis without needing to worry about dust or splashes.
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