What do the abbreviations ATM mean in a smartwatch?

With the popularization of smart watches, terms such as ATM or IP have become a standard within the smartwatch market. Both acronyms refer to the level of protection that the watch has, although they are generally used to indicate indicative data, never to establish a real limit. While IP certification (IP67, IP68, IPX8…) is known within the telephony sector to define the level of resistance to dust and water immersion, the term ATM has not ended up catching on among the general public like the latter. What does ATM really mean on a watch? We see it below.

What does ATM mean on a smart watch?

ATM? Automated system? Nothing is further from reality. ATM refers to atmosphere , which is the most popular unit of pressure in physics.

In smartwatches and sports watches it is generally used to indicate resistance to immersion in water . One atmosphere (1 ATM) is equivalent to ten meters (10 m) deep. It also equates to approximately one bar (1 bar) of pressure. In the watch industry, it is common to use all three units as reference measurements. In fact, most devices have resistance to 3, 5 and even 20 ATM in the most resistant models. Does this mean that the watch is capable of withstanding dives of up to 30, 50 or 100 meters under water? Nothing is further from reality.

As we were mentioning at the beginning of the entry, the use of this type of certification is merely indicative. That a watch has 5 ATM does not imply that it can be submerged in water at a depth of 50 meters , but that it can withstand up to this amount of pressure.

So much so that manufacturers recommend not to dive for long periods of time. After all, the atmosphere is a unit of pressure that sets the amount of water supported in a column whose volume varies depending precisely on that unit. We leave you below with an indicative table: