5 things Android should steal from Apple's iPhone 17 event

Android users are famously unimpressed when Apple reveals its new iPhone and Apple Watch each year. The company calls it the "best iPhone ever" with catchphrases like "it's unlike everything we've ever created," but many of our readers aren't buying it.

This time around, it's a little different. There were quite a few feature reveals and announcements that made our team at Android Central genuinely impressed, and Android users should take notice.

From a reimagined front-facing camera sensor that made us ask, "Why hasn't anyone done this before?" to blood pressure monitoring on Apple Watch, these are the Apple event features the best Android phones and watches should quickly take inspiration from.

A square selfie camera

There are rarely new iPhone features that make me feel the need to upgrade, but Apple's new front-facing camera sensor on the iPhone 17 is one. The CenterStage camera now uses a square aspect ratio, a deviation from the 4:3 size we usually see on most front-facing smartphone cameras. With a 1:1 aspect ratio, the camera can crop in to provide portrait or landscape shots without the user needing to physically rotate their device.

If you've tried to hold a big flagship in landscape orientation one-handed while trying to get a group selfie, you'll know why this matters. It's easier to corral your phone in portrait orientation, and you can get the best of both worlds with the redesigned CenterStage camera. A simple tap of the screen will rotate the selfie orientation in software, simplifying the experience.

CenterStage can also use AI to expand the typical field-of-view to make sure everyone fits inside the photo. The resolution is up to 18MP for photos and 4K HDR for videos, so you don't trade versatility for quality. I want every Android flagship to explore using square sensors next upgrade cycle.

Higher base and max storage configurations

Is 128GB of base storage enough in 2025? We think not, and Apple didn't think so either. It raised the base storage for the iPhone 17 lineup across the board, with its newly announced phones starting at 256GB. Amazingly, even considering tariffs and inflation, Apple didn't raise the price of a single model to deliver higher base storage.

Meanwhile, we're still waiting for Google and Samsung to take the hint and remove the 128GB storage configuration from their flagship lineups. This year, the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Galaxy S25 all start with just 128GB of storage space.

Apple also raised the storage ceiling on the iPhone 17 Pro Max. You can now equip the smartphone with up to 2TB of storage. The price is a bit laughable at $2,000, but it is a nice option for people who want to use the "pro" camera system for high-quality video recording formats with extreme storage demands.

Dual Capture recording

When Apple does something, it often becomes mainstream. That's what we're hoping to see happen with Dual Capture recording on the iPhone 17 series. It allows users to record both the front- and rear-facing camera views at the same time, which is great for POV-style videos that also provide insight into what the person is actually seeing in their surroundings.

Samsung actually already offers this feature in the form of Director's View on select Galaxy phone models. With this tool, you can simultaneously record both camera views or switch between them on your Samsung phone. But it's a relatively unknown feature among casual users, and other Android phone brands haven't been quick to borrow it. As such, we would like to see OEMs like Google add options like Dual Capture or Director's View soon.

Blood pressure monitoring

The Galaxy Watch has featured blood pressure monitoring for years now. However, U.S. availability has become a major hurdle. The Galaxy Watch 8 has all the sensors for it, but the brand won't flip on the feature in this region, presumably for regulatory reasons. Well, this is a problem Apple officially solved with hypertension warnings on the Apple Watch Series 11 and Ultra 3.

It's not replacing medical-grade detection methods, but blood pressure monitoring and hypertension warnings could literally save lives.

"Hypertension is the leading modifiable risk factor for heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease, and impacts approximately 1.3 billion adults globally," the company explains in a press release. "It is frequently undiagnosed because it often has no symptoms, many people do not see a doctor regularly, and even during a clinical visit, it can be easily missed with a single measurement."

For these reasons, we're thrilled to see Apple Watch support blood pressure monitoring in the U.S., and we want to see Wear OS watches get on board sooner rather than later.

An affordable smartwatch with current specs

Affordable versions of Wear OS smartwatches usually cut quite a few corners to hit an approachable price point. Samsung's Galaxy Watch FE, for example, uses recycled and older hardware to hit an affordable cost. You can always buy older models, like a Galaxy Watch 7 or Pixel Watch 3, but we want something better. Apple's newly announced Apple Watch SE 3 strikes the perfect balance of modern feature set and affordability.

It costs just $249, and doesn't sacrifice much in terms of hardware. There's the Apple S10 system-in-package (SiP) processor, 5G cellular connectivity, and an always-on display (AOD). Offered in 41mm and 44mm sizes, it's a versatile smartwatch that runs the latest watchOS 26 operating system.

In fact, the Apple Watch SE 3 supporting 5G is notable because most flagship Wear OS watches are limited to just 4G LTE connectivity. We'd like to see more Android watches adopt 5G, and we'd also like to see better value-oriented wearables on the Wear OS side.

Features Apple "Stole" from Android

Apple also "borrowed" a handful of Android features and characteristics, most notably the camera bar, which it's eloquently calling the camera plateau. Check out everything the company finally brought inside the walled garden here.