When we purchase a smartphone, it isn’t just about the feature-rich specs. This essential device that most of us carry all day long can be risky at times. Besides, no matter how careful we are, accidents do happen. Thankfully, many brands like Apple and Samsung these days have come up with cutting-edge technology to offer us water-resistant and waterproof smartphones.
From water spills to getting caught in the rain, here are the 7 best waterproof smartphones in Malaysia you should get.
Editor
Jodee Tan chevron_right
Table of Contents
5 Best Waterproof & Water-Resistant Phones in Malaysia
Gone are the days where Apple only makes expensive smartphones. Today, the beloved iPhone comes in a budget range too that rivals performance found in its fancier siblings, in the form of the iPhone SE 2020.
Features:
Offering the best value for money, this compact powerhouse has the same processor as the iPhone 11 Pro, which is a six-core A13 Bionic Chip. The phone is also available with a minimum of 64GB storage and has Touch ID but no Face ID capabilities.
With a chassis of the iPhone 8, the iPhone SE 2020's A13 Bionic Chip is future-proofed for the numerous iOS upgrades in years to come despite not having 5G connectivity. Still, there's a decent camera setup that also has stabilised 4K video recording support and portrait mode on both front and rear camera.
Its other main charm is its small screen size - a 4.7-inch screen size, which is also alongside huge bezels which can be its biggest disadvantage. So unless you don't mind the smaller screen, you may not be pleased with the slightly smaller than average screen for your media consumption and gaming.
Performance:
Despite its obvious yet charming features, the iPhone SE 2020 remains a great buy that'll serve you for the years to come. In fact, the phone's Bionic Chip does well in handling daily tasks and games too. In fact, it's astounding to find that the iPhone SE is still capable of delivering silky smooth performance in popular game titles of today.
The OnePlus 9 Pro has been touted as one of the best Android flagships around, offering a superb screen experience, fast charging, good software and just a solid build overall.
Features:
OnePlus has designed the 9 Pro to be powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 888 chipset and comes in either 8GB or 12GM RAM with 256GB of storage, so you can play many games and run your apps smoothly without many hiccups. Its body design is captivating and is equipped with a beautiful 6.7-inch AMOLED screen that supports a 120Hz refresh rate. Talk about specs that are meant for top-notch perfdormance.
The camera set-up is impressive too, utilising a quad-camera setup consisting of 48MP, 50MP, 8MP and 2MP shooters for its rear camera, and a 16MP shooter for the front. Photos are said to have good natural colours thought, night mode is inconsistent with its quality.
There's also IP68 dust and water-resistant rating that lets it go underwater with no problems for up to 1.5m for 30 mins.
Performance:
Aside from its amazing performance, the phone is said to have a pleasant user interface too, running on Android 11-based UI OxygenOS 11. This part was promising to users and fans as the phone is set to have software updates and support until the year 2024.
Another point to note is its good 4,500 mAh battery pack, which has been tested to last for nearly 11 hours when having the 120Hz panel activated.
Want a water-resistant phone that also has a formidable camera? The Samsung S21 Ultra is a worthy candidate.
Features:
The S21 Ultra’s camera is certainly the star of the show. It has a main quad-camera system, consisting of shooters with a whopping 108MP, two 10MP and one 12MP ultrawide lenses. Two of the lenses are telephoto lenses, which allows for optical zooms of 3x and 10x respectively.
The selfie camera also comes with a 40MP with 4K video recording, whereas the main camera is able to record videos in 8K.
You'll be pleased with the battery pack as it's a non-removable Li-Ion 5,000 mAh piece that supports 25W fast charging. It also supports 15W of Fast Qi/PMA wireless charging and 4.5 W of reverse wireless charging respectively.
Unlike previous generations, the S21 Ultra has S-Pen support, which was only exclusive to the Galaxy Note. Do note that there's no dedicated socket to house the S-Pen nor does the phone comes with a stylus.
Finally, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is IP68 rated and is protected with Gorilla Glass, making the phone both water and dust resistant.
Performance:
With features like 5G connectivity and an Octa-core Exynos 2100 SoC for its international models, the model has a relatively fast performance overall. Unfortunately, similar to its competitors namely Xiaomi and Apple, the phone isn’t packaged with a charger in the box.
A boon to Samsung is the fact that the S21 Ultra's battery life records a good 11 hours of average consumption level, which is fantastic considering the S21 Ultra is a 5G phone and has a 120Hz screen to feed.
For its price, the Mi 11 Ultra has one of the best hardware that’s available in the market. It sports a Snapdragon 88 SoC, a Gorilla Glass Victus front, a ceramic rear, an aluminium frame and an IP68 waterproof rating.
Features:
Its most evident star feature is the 48MP rear camera setup. The front camera is promising too, as it's equipped with a 20MP lens to capture your face as realistically as possible. Uniquely, the main camera system has a secondary display to let you use it as a time display or as a camera viewfinder.
Moreover, you'll love the Super AMOLED screen, which also has a high refresh rate, high luminosity, HDR and more.
Like many Xiaomi phones, the Mi 11 Ultra has got an IR blaster which turns your smartphone into a makeshift universal remote as well as Miracast support. And not forgetting, the device has 5G dual SIM functionality too.
Performance:
Unfortunately, the phone’s USB-C port only works at USB 2.0 speeds, which feels regressive for its highly modern standards.
Still, overall the 11 Ultra has several features for you to look forward to, such as its vast storage options with 128GB and 256GB variants, though there are no options for further storage expansion. A bonus is that the phone is said to have performed high-quality calls.
The OPPO Find X3 Pro comes with a hefty price tag. But for the price, you'll definitely be please with the brand’s flagship’s top-of-the-line specs.
Features:
Under the hood, there's a powerful Snapdragon 888 processor with 12GB of RAM and 256GB storage. It also has a beautiful 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a QHD+ resolution and a max brightness of 1,300 nits.
Despite the large screen, the phone is on the lighter side at 193g, making it comfortable enough to use for long hours even with just one hand. Of course, there's an IP68 rating to protects your phone from the likes of accidental spills and dust.
On camera; the OPPO Find X3 Pro has four lenses consisting of a 50MP main, 50MP ultra-wide, 13MP telephoto and 3MP microlens. Its selfie, in the meantime, is a 32MP shooter.
Performance:
Thanks to its Snapdragon 888 processor, performance is said to be speedy and efficient regardless of heavy daily use, playing mobile games or streaming movies. It's also helpful that the phone’s ColorOS is well-optimised in terms of its responsiveness, CPU stability and RAM management.
The phone’s display is also quite vibrant, with good colour reproduction, brightness and contrast. Also worth mentioning is its quad-camera setup, offering amazing details that maintain sharp yet natural-looking visuals.
On battery life, the OPPO Find X3 Pro's 4,500mAh capacity is able to last a day through medium-to-heavy use. And a nice feature that you may not be expecting is its Dolby Atmos supported dual stereo speakers which sound rich and crisp.
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