iPhone saves woman's life after shipwreck near Japan

The boat was overwhelmed by high seas, forcing all eight passengers to strap on life vests and jump overboard, NBC reported. Rachel — who works for FEMA in the U.S. — had an emergency "go bag" with her, in which the group kept its smartphones. While the first phone they tried didn't work, Rachel's unspecified iPhone did despite being exposed to water.

After calling an emergency number, the group was rescued by the Japan Coast Guard about 90 minutes later, airlifted by helicopter.

iPhones have had varying degrees of water resistance since the iPhone 6s. The iPhone 7 was the first model to have an official IP67 rating — the iPhone XS and XS Max go a step further with IP68 certification, meaning they can be immersed in 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) of fresh water for 30 minutes. Sea salt is incredibly conductive and highly damaging to electronics, making Rachel's case particularly lucky.

NBC was provided the story by Apple, which received a note from Rachel thanking the company for making a quality product. Apple CEO Tim Cook linked to the story on Twitter.