Even though the majority of smartphones these days have some level of water resistance, you really shouldn’t take them snorkeling without an underwater housing. One such gadget that makes a variety of phones function as underwater cameras is the Universal Lite.
The Korean company Diveroid is producing the Universal Lite, which is currently the focus of a Kickstarter campaign. The company previously released the Diveroid mini, a gadget that mounts on housings from third parties and turns the phone inside into a dive computer.
The Universal Lite, on the other hand, has a polycarbonate housing that is stated to be waterproof down to a depth of fifteen meters (49 feet). This means that while it is primarily meant for use in shallower water activities like snorkeling, it could theoretically be used for some scuba diving.
The fact that the gadget isn’t restricted to a single make and model of smartphone, in contrast to some comparable products, is one of its main selling points. The housing has an adjustable rubber-padded guide that fits the sizes of different phones from Samsung, Apple, LG, Huawei, and Oppo.
The smartphone’s iOS/Android app shows a viewfinder/control screen with three touchscreen buttons that correspond to three capacitive pushbuttons that are spring-loaded and integrated into the housing. Users can choose between four camera modes—ultra-wide-angle, wide-angle, zoom-in, and selfie—as well as start and stop recording by pressing those physical buttons.
Additionally, the app reduces the blurriness that frequently ruins underwater photographs and color-corrects the images so they don’t all just look blue. The app saves all of the images and videos to a gallery where users can annotate, favorite, and share the content on social media.
The planned retail price of the Universal Lite is $199; if production proceeds as planned, you can purchase one for a pledge of US$139. The video below shows off the housing.