In 2019, Samsung Australia was sued in court by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for misleading advertising of its phones’ water resistance. The Korean tech giant has repeatedly advertised many of its Galaxy S, Galaxy A, and Galaxy Note phones as being suitable for use by the pool and in seawater in its marketing ads. Almost three years later, the Australian court sentenced Samsung Australia to pay 14 million Australian dollars (about $ 9.6 million) in fines for its misleading smartphone ads.
Australian Galaxy S8 ad example
The ACCC press release explicitly mentions a group of IP68-rated Samsung phones including Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, Galaxy A5 (2017), Galaxy A7 (2017), Galaxy S8, S8 Plus, and Galaxy Note8 as shown for use in swimming pool and sea water environments according to announcements.
ACCC states that 3.1 million combined units of the aforementioned devices were sold in Australia and that the misleading advertisements ran between March 2016 and October 2018. The regulator claims these advertisements incentivized users to buy and use their devices as illustrated in advertisements such as taking selfies underwater in the ocean for example.
More examples of “misleading” Samsung ads.
The results have been numerous complaints from users for phones damaged due to salt water corroding the charging ports and even killing the devices completely. In particular, water damage is not covered under warranty, so many consumers are left with inoperable devices.
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