Sony Xperia M2 Aqua review: Smartphone dressed up in a wetsuit

The Sony Xperia M2 Aqua is a mid-range smartphone dressed up in a wetsuit. Drop it in the bath or in a swimming pool and it will live to tell the tale.

The Xperia M2 Aqua comes with a waterproof rating of IP65/68 – the highest level in a smartphone. Courtesy Sony

Every week you hear someone’s sad tale of how their phone made its way to a watery grave. Whether it slipped into a toilet, took a spin in the washing machine or an impromptu swim in their morning bowl of cereal, the end result is always the same – a dead smartphone.

Yes, we should be more careful when handling high-tech gadgets, but maybe the clumsy should be more prepared and arm themselves with a phone that can withstand more than a glancing splash – like the Sony Xperia M2 Aqua.

This is a mid-range smartphone dressed up in a wetsuit. This is technology against nature.

The M2 Aqua is not too different to the previous M2 incarnation, only this time it comes with a waterproof rating of IP65/68 – the highest level in a smartphone and a feature Sony likes to make a fuss about.

This means it can handle underwater photography, so you can try to recreate the famous Nevermind album cover by Nirvana, or record yourself screaming as you hurtle down a water slide.

A word of warning, however: the waterproofing works only in freshwater, so taking it into the Arabian Gulf is not an option. Also, don’t expect to send WhatsApp messages or surf the web while underwater as the screen goes somewhat haywire the moment it is immersed. During my testing, the phone started acting as if possessed by a poltergeist. Having left it in a sink for a while I came back to find it enjoying an underwater party with the music player on full blast.

The handset has a matte finish with a rather rubbery, cheap feel and the screen isn’t particularly responsive. It would be harsh to criticise too strongly, though.

Now that the new flagship, the Xperia Z3, is on the market with the same waterproofing level there is a case for paying the extra (Dh2,999 compared to Dh1,299).

But if the Xperia Z3 is out of your price range the M2 Aqua will provide you with a decent enough phone and the peace of mind that it should survive a battle with the elements.

q&a really making splash

Ian Oxborrow reveals more about Sony’s new waterproof offering:

Say I drop my M2 Aqua off the side of a cruise ship and a diving team swims to the seabed to collect it. Will it work again?

Erm, no. Although there are online stories doing the rounds of a Sony Xperia plunging to the bottom of a lake where it took a six-week nap before being found and was able to function again. However, it is recommended that you don’t dunk it any deeper than 1.5 metres for no longer than 30 minutes.

It sounds more like a submarine than a phone. What are the specs?

The phone runs on the Google Android operating system and features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor with quad-core 1.2 GHz CPUs2 and 4G LTE capabilities and an 8MP camera with Timeshift, which allows 31 pictures to be taken in two seconds.

All this talk of waterproofing, surely there are some holes for water to get in?

Indeed, you’ll need to plug the phone in to charge it and there’s a slot for the headphones and also the Sim. These are covered by protective flaps.

We're all happy flappy then. Anything else?

Sony recently announced that it’s taking its water theme a step further by opening an underwater shop in Dubai. The Xperia Aquatech, four metres below the surface, will sell the company’s waterproof gadgets from December 3.

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