OnePlus Showcases How New Touchscreens Can Work While Soaked, Come Rain Or Shine

Have you ever found yourself caught in a downpour, attempting to use your phone, only to be thwarted by rainwater hindering your swipes and interactions? With the release of OnePlus’s Ace 2 Pro just around the corner, the company is showcasing a new intriguing innovation named ‘Rain Water Touch’, poised to let you use your phone even when the elements threaten to rain down on your experience.

The video demonstration, hosted on the brand’s Weibo page, shows the new Ace 2 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro being rained on by a 360-degree jet stream. A hand reaches over and tries to navigate through both devices, and despite the assault of “rain,” the Ace 2 Pro’s screen can still easily read a user’s gestures without letting the water get in the way. 

On the other hand, the iPhone looks to have struggled a little bit, taking longer than usual to register different swipes and even glitching out when someone tried to zoom in on an image.

Behind this innovation lies a fusion of silicon technology and an algorithm that can detect finger placement and address challenges posed by water conductivity. A dedicated chip embedded within the OnePlus Ace 2 Pro’s display further enhances touch detection, filtering unwanted signals like water droplets and humidity.

Practically, the Rain Water Touch feature enables users to unlock their phones, answer calls, compose messages, and navigate their devices even in damp environments.

Of course, you’re probably not going to get caught in the rain on a regular basis, but the technology will come in handy in situations where you’ve just washed your hands while you’re cooking or out at the gym.

[via TechCrunch and ZDNET, cover screenshot via OnePlus]