The first flagship of 2025, the OnePlus 13, has passed with flying colors. It brings flagship performance, a versatile camera setup, and all-day battery life—all at a more affordable price than premium flagship phones. After using the OnePlus 13 alongside my iPhone 16 Pro, I’ve found two features that Apple’s next $999 flagship should borrow from this $899 Android.
To be clear from the get go, I’m not talking about specs that win on paper with bigger numbers—like more RAM or better benchmark scores. Instead, these are experiential features that significantly improve the day-to-day experience. For anyone switching from an iPhone to the OnePlus 13, these features will make a noticeable difference.
1. Aqua Touch Display
Have you ever tried using your iPhone in the rain or by the pool? It’s almost unusable, as water droplets on the screen often register false touches, and then you’re finding a dry cloth to wipe the screen. In light drizzles or while recording moments on the poolside, your iPhone becomes frustratingly unresponsive. Despite the IP rating, it lacks functionality for use when exposed to water.
OnePlus addressed this problem with its Aqua Touch display, first introduced on the OnePlus 12 and improved further on the OnePlus 13. The more affordable OnePlus 1R and OnePlus 13R also have this feature.
The Aqua Touch 2.0 display technology lets you register accurate finger touches on the screen even when it’s wet. The feature comes in handy when I need to change music in the shower—a task that’s tedious on my iPhone. It also works withoily hands, making the display more practical for everyday use.
The Aqua Touch display on the OnePlus 13 also includes a Glove Mode, allowing the phone to be used while wearing woolen or sheepskin gloves up to 0.5cm thick. This is a great feature for colder climates, and the iPhone 17 Pro could benefit immensely from such functionality.
2. Silicon-Carbon Battery
My iPhone 16 Pro’s battery life has worsened over time with software updates. Apple still seems to be fine-tuning battery optimization for its Apple Intelligence features. That being said, battery life hasn’t exactly been a strong suit for iPhones in recent years. The last iPhone that consistently lasted me all day was the iPhone 13 Pro Max. But there’s a promising solution Apple could consider.
All the recent Android flagships I;ve tested so far, including the Vivo X200 Pro, Oppo Find X8 Pro, and OnePlus 13, use silicon-carbon battery technology. It’s one of the biggest upgrades of 2025 Android flagship smartphones because the use of silicon carbide anode allows brands to pack larger batteries in smaller footprints. They also deliver greater energy density and improved resilience in extreme weather conditions.
Other than these advantages, a silicon-carbon battery is likely to offer better durability and lesser battery degradation with time– both of which could be beneficial for the iPhone 17 Pro.
I first used this tech on the Honor Magic 6 Pro and the Magic V3, and was surprised by the battery life on these smartphones. It was significantly better than the competition. Since then, more phones have adopted silicon-carbon batteries, and it seems like the best thing to have happend to phones in the recent years.
Will the Apple iPhone 17 Pro adopt these features?
It’s unlikely that the iPhone 17 Pro will incorporate an Aqua Touch-like display or adopt silicon-carbon battery technology. So far, there have been no rumors pointing in this direction.
Given that persistent issues like lens flare and iOS-related bugs remain on the iPhone 16 Pro, I’m not overly optimistic about Apple addressing these shortcomings with the iPhone 17 Pro. However, adding these features could immensely benefit and please the iPhone crowd.
