P2i’s ‘Dunkable’ coating promises to bring new level of water protection to mobile phones

Liquid protection provider says its coating gives more protection than usual mechanical seals

P2i says it is “confident” it has the best solution in the industry to protect devices from water damage.

Speaking to Mobile News before the liquid protection provider launches its new ‘Dunkable’ coating at MWC, P2i CEO Ady Moores said the new coating is more efficient than the current alternatives and encourages innovation.

The coating can protect a device submerged under water for up to two hours, and Moores says the feature has been rated IPX8 after various tests.

He said: “Mechanical seals use adhesives that cure and crack and allow water to get in, so they are not working for the industry today.

“The reality is that new designs are almost impossible to seal mechanically. Our customers can make bolder decisions around flexible screens and clamshells, and no longer have to build in the seals and gaskets.”

Long term

“Our coating approach provides protection not just at launch, but over the lifetime of the device, and today there is no major OEM out there providing the same level of consumer warranty for IPX8 water protection.”

Moores said the failure rate of mechanical seals is up to 15 per cent after two weeks of use and between 30 and 50 per cent after six months.

He also hinted that OEMs mechanically waterproofing devices could be considered disingenuous when quoting an IPX8 rating.

“Consumers are being marketed with the IPX8 solution, which is not right at all, and people are buying a phone thinking it’s IPX8 – but that is not the case a short period of time after purchase,” he said.

“A lot of major manufacturers are promoting a marketing message of having an IPX rating on their phones, but it is not covered under warranty because the mechanical approach only provides a certain level of protection out of the box and it does wear out with use of the phone.”