Sony’s new Xperia Z1S smartphone can withstand being in 4.5 feet of water for 30 minutes

Stop me if you’ve heard this story before: Sony’s debuting a water-proof phone. If this sounds familiar, it’s because the company did this at last year’s CES with the Xperia Z. One year of research, experiments, and prototypes later, we have the Xperia Z1S. 

The phone has an IP58 rating, which means it’s not just splash-proof, but that it can withstand a full-on dunking in water as deep as 4.5 feet, and for 30 minutes at a time.

For those keeping track, last year’s Z model could only withstand a rather shallow 3-foot dunking. 

Worth noting is that the new model has an improved water-sealed design. Where the Z had a rubberized cover for the headphone connecter, the Z1S has a connector that is itself waterproof, so no cover is needed. This is a key improvement, especially considering one of the bigger complaints about the phone is the user’s tendency to forget to close the cover prior to entering the water.

Also added on the new model: a dedicated camera button, so as to allow for underwater picture taking (the screen doesn’t register finger taps under water) with the phone’s 20.7-megapixel camera.

While the 5-inch, 1080p Triluminos display is the same size as last year’s Z, the overall size of the device is now slightly larger to make room for a bigger battery (3,000 milliamp-hours) and 32GB of storage. It’s rated for up to 15 hours of talk time per charge, and there are modes to extend the life by two or three times.

Sony’s Xperia Z1S will be available to T-Mobile customers only. Preorders will begin January 13, and it’s expected to actually hit the shelves come January 22. The Z1S is expected to retail for $528 outright, or $22/mo for 24 months.