Many people ask me whether they can take an Apple Watch into a sauna. And, unfortunately, the answer is almost always “no”. While Apple Watches do have minimal protection against daytime water exposure, such as rain, the combination of humidity and hot temperatures make the sauna a potentially deadly combination to your Apple Watch.
In this blog post, I’ll break down my answer to the question “Can you take an Apple Watch into a sauna” step by step. I’ll tell you what temperatures most saunas get up to and whether an Apple Watch in a sauna makes sense. I’ll also give you some solutions later on in the blog post.
Before we begin, after reading this blog, you may want to check out some similar blogs that cover related topics.
Now, let’s get started:
Different Apple Watches And Water Resistance
First off, the Apple Watch waterproof guarantee - how far does that guarantee take you? Many definitions exist here that don’t even mean the same thing, such as “water resistant”, “waterproof”, and so forth.
Here’s an example:
Sure, you might be able to wear a Rolex watch in your shower. But what about if you’re deep sea diving - in that case, the risk of damage to your watch is extremely high.
What if I told you there are many different waterproof standards (1; 2; 3; 4)? Now technically, Apple Watches are water resistant or “waterproof”. But, as you now understand, I’ll have to deconstruct what that term means in the current context.
Then there’s the topic of Apple Watches. Not all Apple Watches are the same. Let’s explore that topic further:
Different Apple Watches And The Apple Watch History Of Water Resistance
The Apple Watch is produced, as the name says, by the US company Apple. The Apple Watch evolves technically constantly, and new versions hit the market regularly (4; 5). And now more than 100 million people wear an Apple Watch worldwide.
It all started with the first Apple Watch released in 2015. The very first Apple Watch wasn’t even water resistant though. So even the slightest amount of exposure to the rain or splashing water beside a pool could damage your Apple Watch if it hits the product in the wrong area.
That first iteration called the “Apple Watch Zero”, had to be taken off when you went showering or when it was raining outdoors. So it was a bit like most smartphones that you ideally don’t want to expose to water.
Right now, we’ve progressed all the way to the Apple Watch 8, Apple Watch SE and the Apple Watch Ultra. Almost every year, a new Apple Watch Iteration hits the market. We had the Apple Watch 1 in 2016, the Apple Watch 4 in 2018, and in 2023, there’s lots of speculation that the Apple Watch 9 is being built.
During that development process, many new features were added, such as sleep, workout, steps, heart rate tracking, the ability to install apps, GPS, and so forth. So technologically, the Apple Watch has become far more complex.
Now here’s the deal with different Apple Watches. Officially, the first two models, the Apple Watch Zero and Apple Watch 1, were splash resistant. But, you couldn’t take those watches with you into the shower, for instance, or swim with them.
The newer models, from the Apple Watch 3 to the Apple Watch 8, accord with the ISO 22810:2010 water resistance standard. The ISO is simply an international organisation that manages standards. This water resistance standard entails that you can swim with the Apple Watch 3 to 8 in shallow depth.
So, if you plunge into a pool while on vacation to the tropics, your Apple Watch 8 survives. But if you go deep sea diving to a depth of 100 metres, you’ll have to buy a new unit. So context matters here.
The only exception here is the newer Apple Watch 8 Ultra, the most premium model sold to date. As a result, you can dive up to a depth of 40 metres with the Apple Watch 8.
So, all good and well, right? Because of the heat and moisture, you should be fine with an Apple Watch inside a sauna. Well, not so fast. Saunas, such as a Finnish Sauna or steam room, aren’t just humid, they’re also frequently extremely hot. And those high temperatures create another problem for Apple Watches.
Apple Watches And Temperature
Did you ever take your smartphone with you to the beach on a hot summer day? You might have learned that if you kept the phone in the sand, in direct sunlight, it would eventually shut off. You then had to put the phone inside the fridge to let it cool off to start working again.
Here’s the deal:
Most modern technology doesn’t like high temperatures. Your laptop, smartphone, or Apple Watch are made to perform well at 0 degrees Celsius (32 Fahrenheit), 10 degrees Celsius (50F), and even 25 degrees Celsius (77F). But once you go over 30 degrees Celsius, problems start to emerge (86F). And over 35 degrees Celsius (95F), many devices simply start to shut down because they don’t work anymore.
Here’s what Apple states about this principle (6):
“Apple Watch is designed to work best in ambient temperatures between 32° to 95° F (0° and 35° C).
You can store your Apple Watch in ambient temperatures between -4° and 113° F (-20° and 45° C).”
These temperature maximums can be stretched a little for the more premium Apple Watch Ultra. When you’re wearing the Apple Watch Ultra, temperatures can even be slightly higher. And when you’re charging that Ultra model, temperatures need to be closer to an average room temperature.
So not anything goes. Heat will make your Apple Watch perform worse and can even damage it permanently. Let’s explore what happens to your Apple Watch when you overheat it: