Sony Xperia Z3 - The Waterproof Smartphone that Can't Survive in Water

My brother bought his Sony Xperia Z3 around November last year. Last weekend, he finally decided to do some photographing inside the pool. I asked if he is sure (I never trusted Sony :p) and he said "WATERPROOF PHONE" la~

I was with him when he was having fun with his toy. He took photos in the pool for around 3 ~ 5 minutes, and placed it at the side of the pool and continue to swim. After a few minutes, the phone became unresponsive and went black. He dried up the phone, checked the flaps and there were no indicators that showed the phone had leakage.

We went to Daiso to get some silica gel and buried his phone inside, hopefully it can totally dry after the incident. After a day drying in silica gel, the phone shows no sign of improving.

He complained to Sony Mobile MY and the explanation they gave is because the pool contained chlorine!!

So here I am, checking his phone specification on Sony’s website, and these are what I get (print screen from Sony website):

Very impressive! Dive into new experiences it says. The advertisement even tell you that the Xperia Z3 is the premium smartphone that you can dive into the pool on a sunny summer holiday! And the advertisement also encourage to "take your device swimming"

"If your smartphone is IPX8 standard (my brother's smartphone is IP68), you can use it in a chlorinated swimming pool." So why does Sony Mobile MY trying to shoo my brother away by saying that "because the pool contained chlorine?!

Of course, there is always a catch. They says "however, avoid keeping the device in the pool for too long and remember to rinse it off thoroughly with fresh water once you get out”. So how long is too long? How long is considered still under the period that they will honour their warranty?

See the "Highest Waterproof Rating"? I wonder what it actually means. Anyway, good enough to make layman consumers like us believe that this product is "waterproof".

Oh, and you have to read their specifications online! The specifications says waterproof too! (but with a lot of scary *****)

Here, it says you can take pictures with the best smartphone camera while swimming in fresh water for up to 30 minutes.

So, based on whatever stated in SONY official website, my brother's "waterproof" phone specification allow him to go into a chlorinated swimming pool. But why is it not working now? My non-water-resistance-iPhone 3GS survived it's toilet bowl falling!