IP68 and IP48 describe identical water protection. The difference sits in the first digit. Per Samsung's support documentation, foldables from the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Flip6 onward carry IP48, where the 4 means "protected against solid objects 1mm and larger." Sand grains and fine dust are not covered by that rating.
The same document lists the Galaxy Z Fold3 through Flip5 as IPX8. The X does not mean zero protection; it means no data exists to assign a rating. So the dust digit on foldables went from unrated to 4, and still has not reached the 6 (fully dust tight) that bar-type phones commonly carry.
The two digits are two separate tests
IP ratings follow the IEC 60529 standard, where the first digit covers solid particle protection and the second covers liquid ingress. According to the IP rating reference, the first digit climbs through 1 (objects over 50mm), 2 (over 12.5mm, fingers), 3 (over 2.5mm, tools), 4 (over 1mm), 5 (dust may enter but does not impair operation), and 6 (no dust ingress). Because the two digits come from separate tests, a low first digit says nothing about the second, or vice versa.
Setting the four published markings side by side:
| Marking | First digit (solids) | Second digit (liquid) test | Objects over 1mm | Fine dust and sand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPX8 | No test data | Continuous immersion under maker-defined conditions | Not covered | Not covered |
| IP48 | Blocks objects 1mm and larger | Continuous immersion under maker-defined conditions | Blocked | Not covered |
| IP67 | No dust ingress | 1m depth, 30 minutes | Blocked | Blocked |
| IP68 | No dust ingress | Maker-defined (Galaxy: 1.5m fresh water, 30 min) | Blocked | Blocked |
The takeaway is that IP48 and IP68 differ over powder, not water. In environments where particles smaller than 1mm are the real hazard — beach sand, construction dust, pocket lint — the two markings describe genuinely different devices.
Where a foldable loses the 6
A bar-type phone is close to a sealed box. A foldable has parts that travel along a hinge axis, and sealing that gap completely would stop it from folding. Full dust tightness collides head-on with the mechanism, which is why foldable markings have settled at water 8 with dust capped at 4.
That structural trade-off shares a root with the durability specs written as 200,000 folds and UTG. Permitting a fold means conceding sealing and surface hardness, and the spec sheet is simply where that concession becomes a number.
IP48 is not a weak water rating. It is a weak dust rating. Collapsing the two digits into a single notion of toughness throws away everything the marking encodes.
How much pressure is 1.5 meters, really
Samsung states that the Galaxy IPX8 classification was tested by "submerging the device in 1.5m of fresh water for 30 minutes, leaving it still, without any movement." The hydrostatic pressure that produces follows from density times gravity times depth, at 1,000 kg/m³ and 9.807 m/s².
| Condition | Depth (m) | Hydrostatic pressure (bar) | Relative to the Galaxy test |
|---|---|---|---|
| IPX7 standard test | 1.0 | 0.098 | 0.67x |
| Galaxy IPX8 test condition | 1.5 | 0.147 | 1.00x |
| Deep end of a pool | 3.0 | 0.294 | 2.00x |
| Shallow freedive | 10.0 | 0.981 | 6.67x |
| IP69K high-pressure wash (8 MPa) | — | 80.0 | 544x |
At 1.5 meters the pressure is 0.147 bar, under 15% of atmospheric. The hot high-pressure wash IP69K assumes runs at 80 to 100 bar — the same substance, more than 500 times the pressure. Reasoning from an IPX8 marking that a device will survive a strong jet or fast-moving water steps outside what was tested. Still immersion and pressurized spray are different test items to begin with.
The same 8 can mean different conditions
A second digit of 8 only means "continuous immersion under conditions specified by the manufacturer." The standard does not fix a depth or duration. A phone-focused IP rating explainer makes the same point: IP67 is pinned to 1m for 30 minutes, while IP68 leaves depth and time to the maker. So one IP68 phone rated to 1.5m and another rated to 2m share a label without sharing a spec.
Liquid type falls outside the test too. Samsung's document explicitly warns against "salt water, pool water, soapy water, oils, perfumes, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, chemicals," because testing uses fresh water only. Nor does the rating last forever: the same page states that "the water resistance of Galaxy phones is not permanent and may be naturally weakened over time or through natural wear and tear." The out-of-box spec and the two-year-old state are not the same number.
In that sense it behaves like the 800-cycle, 80% battery longevity spec. Both are conditional figures measured at shipment.
Choosing on this basis
Judged on published specs alone, the environment decides.
- If fine particles are part of daily life — beaches, construction sites, homes with shedding pets — a leading 6 (IP67, IP68) covers more ground on paper. IP48 makes no claim below 1mm.
- If water is the main worry — with an 8 in the second position, IP48 and IP68 state the same immersion condition. There is no basis in the marking for calling a foldable weaker against water.
- Check conditions before comparing — read the depth and duration printed next to IP68. Different conditions mean different values behind the same label.
- Non-fresh liquids are outside every rating — sea water and pool water are untested even on IP68 devices.
- Used or long-serving devices — water resistance degrades. The shipping rating is not the current state.