Our phones are filthy devices, what with our grubby hands grabbing and poking at it all day, and the oil from our faces being transferred to it while we talk on it, not to mention the places that we use it, like in the toilet, walking out on the streets, while we’re eating, and so on. What this means is that a simple wipe down of your phone probably won’t do much in terms of hygiene.
The good news is that over in Japan, Kyocera has announced a new rafre smartphone which is a phone that you can actually wash using hand soap and not damage it in the process. If this sounds familiar it is because back in 2015, Kyocera launched a similar phone so in reality this new device could be seen as the successor to 2015’s model.
According to Kyocera’s announcement, “The new rafre can be easily washed when it becomes dirty and possesses resistance to hot water, thus allowing use in the kitchen or while relaxing in the bathtub. Furthermore, because the touchscreen display can be operated even when the screen or the user’s hands are wet, the smartphone can be used in settings involving water or on rainy days.”
Granted most phone makers these days are looking towards making their phones waterproof, we don’t think that most of these devices can be washed with soap in the same way seen above in the video. That being said, the Kyocera rafre is a Japan-exclusive for now, but what do you guys think? Is washability a feature you’d like to see OEMs think about for future devices?