I went diving with the iPhone 15 Pro and it helped in more ways than one
So far I’ve been so impressed with the Oceanic+ app on my Apple Watch Ultra that I’m now using it as my secondary dive computer, alongside a Suunto D5.
Although I am satisfied with my computer setup, my search for a suitable camera was less fruitful. I’ve experienced a small handful and have been disappointed with them all so far, for various reasons including low quality and poor battery performance.
When Huish Outdoors – the same company that designed the Oceanic+ watch app – announced that they would be building a phone case designed to service my iPhone up to 200 feet away (far further than where most recreational divers would ever be), I couldn’t have been more satisfied. After all, I stopped using my DSLR on solid ground because my best camera phone now fits in my pocket.
Luckily for me, the Oceanic+ Dive Housing arrived just days before my iPhone 15 Pro, just as the diving season here in the UK is coming to an end.
What can the Oceanic+ Dive Housing do that my camera cannot?
After a fairly lengthy setup process (more about my experience with that below), you’ll be presented with a full-screen camera view where you can switch between taking photos and videos, or enter a smart mode that periodically takes a photo (you can define this) during filming.
You can also mess around with things like contrast, white balance, quality, video stabilization, focus mode, which of the lenses you want to use (including ultrawide) and file type (including RAW), all of which can be changed on camera. go underwater via the keyboard, which connects to the phone via Bluetooth.
Because the dive housing also has its own temperature, depth and pressure sensors, it acts as its own independent dive computer, separate from any Apple Watch Ultra that might also be running the Oceanic+ app (or just the pre-installed Depth app). Bluetooth signals don’t propagate well underwater, so it makes sense that the two are independent.
The current depth and non-deco time are displayed at the top right, but you can press the keyboard to enlarge this display and give you the same kind of information you’d expect from the watch app, including dive time, ascent rate and a compass, and more.
The case itself is quite large and has a sturdy grip, but you can also choose to attach a cord or use one of the three mounting wires. This is very important, because in my case the entire setup, including the titanium iPhone, weighs 1,162 grams, and if dropped, sinks to the bottom at a quite alarming rate. This is a common flaw with most underwater phone cases, but attaching a floating light arm or mounting the kit on a tray can counteract this.
When you’re done, photos and videos go straight to the app, next to the dive log, and you can pinpoint exactly when you shot something, along with your depth and temperature. They are also saved in the phone’s Photos app.
It’s worth mentioning that it charges with a USB-C connector, which made things really simple, as with the iPhone 15 Pro’s new USB-C connection, I only need to carry one cable.
Like other dive computers, the Oceanic+ watch app and Dive Housing both use the Bühlmann ZHL-16 decompression algorithm, meaning it should be as safe as purpose-built dive watches.
In terms of accuracy, I found that the Oceanic+ app on my watch, the app on my phone and the Suunto D5 were always within 0.1 meters of each other.
My dive with the Oceanic+ Dive Housing
With summer in the UK coming to an end and conditions far from exotic, my nearest dive site at a disused quarry became the testing ground for the Dive Housing.
Once I was rested, my next step was to use the iPhone 15 Pro’s Action button to start a routine I set up with the Shortcuts app. For me, this meant opening the Oceanic+ app, turning on Airplane Mode and Do Not Disturb per the app’s requirements, and remotely locking my car.
The installation process takes some getting used to and involves several on-screen steps before the iPhone is finally placed into the case. This is when the device creates a vacuum and a three-minute pressure check is performed to ensure your phone is safe before diving.
I made the mistake of putting on gloves before setting up the phone, which meant I had to remove the watches over my gloves in order to take them off so I could begin the setup. It was all a bit of a hassle, but with a little practice – and like the whole process of preparing for a dive – it becomes a perfectly choreographed routine.
To take photos with the device, my friends and I stayed close to the surface where visibility was reasonable and the light had not faded.
Even though I was wearing 5mm gloves during the dive, I was still able to use the four-button keyboard to switch camera modes and view a more detailed view of my dive. My only complaint about the physical interface is that there’s little feedback from the buttons, so while it’s easy enough to press them, it can sometimes be unclear whether that’s actually the case.
Once the photo shoot was over, we moved deeper to where the light was almost faded and visibility was three feet at best. Normally these types of conditions suck the fun out of recreational diving, and any sense of sounding out becomes a real headache.
I discovered that the iPhone 15 Pro’s camera could see more than my own eyes could, as the 6.1-inch screen turned into a television in front of my face. You will see from my photos that the blown sediment from other activities in the quarry-turned lake did not contribute to visibility. Navigating this extra set of eyes was a refreshing experience, and the on-screen compass couldn’t have been more welcome.
I’m far from a professional photographer, so I ditched the RAW format and stuck with Apple’s HEIF, which allows the software to automatically color correct photos and videos. I was happy to be able to use the iPhone’s full 4K 60fps functionality – the higher frame rate allows divers to capture photos of anything interesting during a video with great accuracy. The entire time I stuck to using the 12MP 0.5x ultra-wide lens and didn’t notice any major reduction in visibility from the 120-degree field of view compared to the 155-degree field of view of my DJI Osmo Action 3.
I did notice that in shallower water and where the sunlight is particularly strong, a reflection can sometimes appear mid-shot, as the iPhone’s lenses are a few millimeters away from the dive case body. However, conditions were poor and even the professional camera used to photograph me with blinding 20,000 lumen lights struggled. It’s not a problem unique to the Oceanic+ kit either, and many other phone cases suffer from this as well. Huish Outdoors told me that adjusting the iPhone’s position can help eliminate this, especially by moving it to the left.
Having a good idea of your surroundings, conditions and dive parameters at all times is key to a successful dive, and while staring through a screen is definitely not recommended, having that extra tool in my hands was game -changer. A regular underwater camera or action camera wouldn’t be able to store all this information in one place.
Will I continue to use the Oceanic+ dive housing?
Let’s get the price out of the way for a moment, because at almost $500 it’s an incredibly expensive device. Add that to the $999 / £999 / AU$1,849 price tag of the iPhone 15 Pro, and another $799 / £799 / AU$1,399 if you’re after the latest Apple Watch Ultra 2, and it gets expensive very quickly.
Despite this, I think the Oceanic+ Dive Housing is still good value for money. That’s because you can easily spend upwards of $300 / £300 / AU$500 on a DJI Osmo Action 3 or GoPro Hero 12 before adding dive-specific accessories, and that’s a device you’ll probably want to replace quite regularly as camera technology improves.
I replace my iPhone every year (or most years) anyway, which means I can have the latest camera technology in the same dive case several years later.
If you read about my success with the Oceanic+ dive housing If you want one, you can order the device from $490 in the US, £519 in the UK and AU$979 in Australia.