Peli Marine smartphone pouch ZDNET's key takeaways The perfect way to protect your smartphone from water and dust
The touchscreen, camera, and Face ID are still operational when the phone is in the pouch
The pouch adds a fair bit of bulk to a smartphone. $29.99 at Amazon
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The modern smartphone is quite water-resistant. Take my iPhone 17 Pro Max, which has an ingress protection (IP) rating of IP68. That 6 means it is totally dustproof (but there is a "but" that I'll get to later), and the 8 means it is water-resistant in up to 6 meters of water for 30 minutes. At least when it's new.
Knocks and dents, and general wear and tear, can diminish this protection. And no matter how much manufacturers like Apple tout water resistance, if it's not covered by the warranty, they clearly expect it to fail.
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I like to have a little more protection for my smartphone when I'm out in Mother Nature, and an accessory that I've been using for a while now, and that I'll be taking with me on my trek in northern Spain later this year, is the Peli Marine phone pouch.
The Marine case is a pouch made of high-quality, soft yet super tough black and clear TPU polymer. It's rated IP68 for submersion in up to one meter of water for up to an hour.
There's a window on the front that allows operation of the smartphone (the smartphone is incredibly responsive to touch in the case), and a smaller window on the back to allow the camera to work. I was surprised to find that Face ID continued to work when the iPhone was in the case.
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