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Samsung Galaxy S7 Active Fails Consumer Reports Water-Resistance Test (consumerreports.org)
An anonymous reader writes: The Samsung Galaxy S7 Active is apparently not-so-active. It should be the more durable version of the Galaxy S7 family but apparently it's not. Because of this, Consumer reports is not going to mark it as "Recommended" even though it performed very well in all the other tests it ran. [Jerry Beilinson writes from Consumer Reports:] "Consumer Reports technicians placed a Galaxy S7 Active in a water tank pressurized to 2.12 pounds-per-square-inch, the equivalent of just under five feet of water, and set a timer for 30 minutes. When we removed the phone, the screen was obscured by green lines, and tiny bubbles were visible in the lenses of the front- and rear-facing cameras. The touchscreen wasn't responsive. Following our standard procedure when a sample fails an immersion test, we submitted a second Galaxy S7 Active to the same test. That phone failed as well. After we removed it from the tank, the screen cycled on and off every few seconds, and moisture could be seen in the front and back camera lenses. We also noticed water in the slot holding the SIM card. For a couple of days following the test, the screens of both phones would light up when the phones were plugged in, though the displays could not be read. The phones never returned to functionality." Samsung has said "The Samsung Galaxy S7 active device is one of the most rugged phones to date and is highly resistant to scratches and IP68 certified. There may be an off-chance that a defective device is not as watertight as it should be." Although, given the fact that Consumer Reports tested multiple devices, Samsung could have a widespread issue on their hands. They company said it is investigating the issue.
The key is in the design. The S5 is waterproof but not rugged. Mine joined me in my pocket during an unintentional trip in the swimming pool and survived just fine. My girlfriend is one of those WTF people who managed to drop hers not once but twice into the toilet and it was also fine, as it was with the subsequent scrub down in the bathroom sink.
These phones have very small seals. A lot of consumer stuff does. Have a look at the actual sealing surfaces and you'll see that they typically build up dirt right to the outside edge. Take the back cover off, put it on, and now that .4mm sealing surface has dirt in it and lets water through. The other water entry path is through the screen edge. Remember this is glued. Also remember how many people you see with broken screens. Drop the phone once or twice on it's edge and it's unlikely to be very water tight.
It's deceptive marketing. You can't go swimming with these devices. But they do work well to fend off unintentional splashes and if looked after will survive a full dunk as well. I wouldn't take it SCUBA diving and critically absent from the devices are actual specifications for the pressure rating of how water proof it actually is.
Consumer Reports AFAIAC is a borderline scam.
Consumer Reports used to be an unimpeachable source of reliable information, but now they are, as you said, a borderline scam.
Their car-buying info service used to be great, but car manufacturers changed the rules so that Consumer Reports couldn't provide the same level of useful "inside" info. Rather than drop the service and admit defeat, Consumer Reports contracted with a crap-ass web company that *claims* to provide the same info but in fact is just a shill for local dealers.
It's called "TrueCar", and they're just another bunch of shitballs who want all your info so they can shop you to the car dealers in your area. (Consumer Reports gets paid for this by the dealers, of course.)
What this means is that they have your number before you even get started, which puts you at a huge disadvantage. The moment you give a dealer your phone number they look in the TrueCar database for the bullshit prices you've been quoted and you lose most of your bargaining advantage right there. You're screwed before you start.
You don't need their lame service and you can do just as well on your own by following a few simple rules:
Find the MSRP and use that as a starting point. You may even be able to bargain below MSRP if you know what you're doing.
Call dealers and get quotes, don't ever waste your time going to them in person and letting them ratfuck you for hours. You have better things to do, right? Instead, make the dealers fight each other and go with the one that gives you the best quote. Get quotes, call them all back with the lowest quote, and let them try to beat that. Lather, rinse, repeat until you've hit rock bottom.
Always ask for the "out the door" price, i.e. the car plus taxes, license, etc etc. This is what you care about, the final *real* price.
Never EVER bargain for a lower payment, bargain for a lower price on the car. A lot of people fall for this one.
Be aware of holdbacks, dealer fees, dealer incentives, advertising fees, and the add-on crap dealers will always try to stick you with. For example, $545 for a "Lexus Dealer Advertising" fee? Fuck no, make them take it off. Why should YOU pay for dealer advertising, that's part of their business expense. $350 for floormats? Fuck no, take them out. Undercoating? No. Anti-chip coating? No. Pay for 2 years of oil changes up front? No no NO.
$150 for a "Document fee"? Fuck no, that's just them filling out the paperwork, WHICH IS PART OF THEIR FUCKING JOB, HELLO? They have to fill out the paperwork to sell you a car, so why in the world would YOU pay for THEM to do this?
And so on. I saved ~$3800 buying my wife's car recently just by pitting the dealers against each other and striking off these bogus charges. You can too.
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...