Skip to main content

You’ve probably never seen an iPhone case like this before

A person holding the Oceanic+ Dive Housing.
Oceanic+

You’ve probably never seen an iPhone case like this before, and there’s a very good chance you’ve never used one like it before, either. It’s the Oceanic+ Dive Housing, and it seals your iPhone in a pressured environment to keep it safe so you take photos deep underwater without risking damage. What’s more, it turns your iPhone into a dive computer, and it works alongside your Apple Watch Ultra or Apple Watch Ultra 2.

You may be familiar with Oceanic+, the app that turns the Apple Watch Ultra into a dive computer. It’s being updated to version 2.0, and along with a suite of new features comes compatibility with the new Dive Housing. Put your iPhone inside it, and an automatic vacuum pump starts to seal it safely inside, a process completed after a few minutes and various leak tests. It’s then ready to be taken underwater to a depth of 60 meters and controlled using the Bluetooth-connected physical buttons on the case.

A person using the Oceanic+ Dive Housing.
Oceanic+

It works in two different ways. First, it makes the iPhone’s camera usable in an environment that would otherwise be impossible for it to function. It works with the main and wide-angle camera, plus the telephoto camera if your iPhone has the capability. All the cameras work for stills and video, which can be shot in 4K resolution at 30 frames per second (fps) or 60 fps. The basic functionality is free, but if you pay Oceanic+’s subscription, you get special color-correcting filters and other editing tools made to make your dive videos look their best.

The other way the Dive Housing works is to display Oceanic+’s dive data. Collected from built-in temperature and depth sensors, it’s shown onscreen all the time but can be minimized to concentrate on using the camera. Everything from depth data and GPS location to surface intervals and ascent rate is shown. It’s synced with your Apple Watch Ultra, which is recommended as the primary device when you’re diving, and can either be used as a backup dive computer or on its own if you don’t own the smartwatch.

Version 2.0 of the Oceanic+ app has a new home screen view, a location planner, a weight planner to quickly generate the amount of ballast required for your dive, and user-generated data on popular dive locations. The Free Dive mode has been updated when using the Apple Watch Ultra, providing masses of data including depth, speed, and dive time, plus alarms to alert you of different events and heart rate data at the beginning and end of your dive. A new Logbook feature provides a summary of all your dives, and the photos and videos taken with the Dive Housing can be added to your logs, creating a complete overview of the experience.

Obviously, Oceanic+ is a very specialist app, and the Dive Housing will only appeal to those interested in its functionality. But that doesn’t stop it from being a very impressive piece of kit — and one that builds on the amazing ability of the Apple Watch Ultra.

The Dive Housing is compatible with a wide range of iPhone models, right back to the iPhone X and even the iPhone SE (2022). The Oceanic+ app is free, but some features require a monthly $5 subscription. This includes using it on the smartwatch, your iPhone, and the Dive Housing. The Oceanic+ Dive Housing will be available from the end of October for $490.

Editors' Recommendations

Andy Boxall
Senior Mobile Writer
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
This is what an iPhone looks like after a year with no screen protector
Ceramic Shield on the iPhone 14 Pro, with light to show scratches.

Apple says its Ceramic Shield glass over the iPhone’s screen is “tougher than any smartphone glass,” but how accurate is this statement? The Digital Trends Mobile team has each been using one of the iPhone 14 series models for the last year and two of us haven’t put a separate screen protector on, while the third member of the team has. Here’s how the screens have held up — and what we think about Ceramic Shield.

Ceramic Shield was first introduced by Apple on the iPhone 12, and it claimed it went “beyond glass by adding a new high-temperature crystallization step that grows nano-ceramic crystals within the glass matrix, increasing drop performance by 4x.” Apple worked with Corning, the same company that makes Gorilla Glass, which is used on many smartphones from other manufacturers, to produce Ceramic Shield. It’s found on all iPhone 12, iPhone 13, iPhone 14, and now all iPhone 15 models.
iPhone 14 Pro — Andy Boxall
No light shows scratches on the iPhone 14 Pro's Ceramic Shield are invisible Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Read more
I tried the iPhone’s new Journal app. Here’s what’s good (and bad)
Apple Journal app on iPhone 15 Pro.

Apple's Journal app in iOS 17 is like a basic notetaking app supercharged with AI. It offers prompts and suggestions based on what you do throughout the day to help you journal your daily entries.

While the app is a basic white screen with a “+” icon, it's what happens after you tap on that icon that sets it apart from Notes or other journaling apps. I've been using the app for a little while now, and while it's not perfect, it is off to a really interesting start.
Using iOS 17's Journal app

Read more
I reviewed 20 phones in 2023. These are my 5 favorites
A person taking a photo with the Apple iPhone 15 Plus.

This has been a fantastic year for smartphones due to the sheer variety of great devices at all prices. In other words, if you wanted a brilliant new phone this year, it didn’t have to be a $1,000-plus flagship.

I’ve used and reviewed a great many phones over the past 12 months, but the following five have left the biggest impression to become what I consider the very best you can get.
iPhone 15 Plus
Apple iPhone 15 Plus Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Read more