A Russian man claims his iPhone 7 Plus he dropped in a frozen river while ice fishing was still working after it was retrieved 13 hours later.
Now if there are two kinds of stories that deserve skepticism, it would be news out of Russia or a story from a fishing trip. But a convincing looking video of the alleged recovery was posted on Instagram a few days ago. It shows a diver emerging from an ice fishing hole holding a lit-up iPhone.
The video first surfaced on Instagram, was reported by a Russian news site and is starting to make the rounds on various tech sites, including PetaPixel.
Apple proudly introduced the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus last fall with a new IP67 rating, which means it can withstand being submerged in water for 30 minutes and a depth no greater than 3.3 feet.
iPhone users, especially music lovers, groaned about not having an earphone jack, which Apple removed to make it more waterproof.
While the dual-lens camera and other photography upgrades have made the iPhone 7 Plus popular, the story of one phone’s time in a frozen river could bring added confidence to Apple fans (though users would be wise to still keep their iPhones out of the water).
According to reports, the man fishing in the town of Yakutsk allegedly dropped his iPhone 7 Plus down an ice fishing hole in water that was 39 degrees.
The hour was late and so the iPhone remained submerged overnight until the fisherman talked a friend with a wetsuit to go under the ice to find it. The diver in the video says he found it at a depth of six feet.
Allegedly, the phone still had 19 percent battery life after about 13 hours in the water.