Consumer Report says a
Samsung phone that's advertised as being "water resistant" actually
isn't.
The problem appears limited
to the Galaxy S7 Active, a rugged model available only through AT&T in the
U.S. The standard S7 and S7 Edge models have the same claims on water
resistance and passed tests.
Consumer Reports, a
non-profit organization that is well respected for its product testing, said
Friday that it can't recommend the Active because it doesn't meet Samsung's own
claims. By contrast, Consumer Reports rates the S7 and S7 Edge phones as
"Excellent" for their displays, battery life and cameras.
Maria Rerecich, Consumer
Reports' director of electronics testing, said she was surprised the Active
failed. She said Samsung's claims are usually "fairly good."
Samsung said it has received
very few complaints and had subject the phone through strict testing for
quality assurance, but "there may be an off-chance that a defective device
is not as watertight as it should be." The company said it was in touch
with Consumer Reports to learn more about its tests.
Samsung says all S7 phones,
including the Active, are designed to survive in up to 5 feet of water for 30
minutes. Consumer Reports says that after a half-hour in water, the Active's
screen flashed green and other colors and didn't respond to touch. Tiny bubbles
appeared on the camera lenses. Consumer Reports tested a second Active phone to
verify results and it also failed.
Rerecich said it's likely
that the problems affect only some of the units manufactured, but "we
bought two and they both failed." Both units were bought online.
Samsung says the Active can
withstand drops of up to 5 feet on a flat surface, though Consumer Reports did
not test those claims.
In the U.S., the Active
phone costs $795, which is the same price as the Edge, and $100 more than the
regular S7.
Credit:AP
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