Buzz is already building around the iPhone 17, despite the iPhone 16 only recently launching.
By the sounds of things, it could be worth holding off on that upgrade because Apple’s next smartphone is expected to pack a massive new feature.
The upcoming perk is designed to make its screen more lustrous than ever, further narrowing the gap between the base and Pro iPhone models, which should be great news for budget-conscious Apple fans.
According to a tech expert, the standard iPhone 17 will sport a 120Hz display, making for faster scrolling and silky smooth game visuals.
Thus far, Apple has limited the feature to its souped-up Pro models as another in a long line of perks designed to make you part with more cash for its devices.
But, calls have been growing for the display tech to come to standard iPhones, especially as it’s become the norm on an increasing number of cheaper Android phones.
To give you an idea of just how commonplace it has become, you can even get it on the budget Motorola Moto G54 5G for just £150. Meanwhile, OnePlus has offered it since all the way back in 2020, with the release of the OnePlus 8 Pro.
What is a 120Hz refresh rate?
The quality of a smartphone’s screen rests on several factors, including the type of display technology (with OLED generally beating LCD), the number of the pixels on the screen (or the resolution), the brightness and the refresh rate.
Apple’s regular iPhone 16, with its OLED screen and 2556 x 1179 resolution, shines in almost every department barring one: the 60Hz refresh rate. In a nutshell, this is a measure of how many times its static screen changes each second, measured in Hertz (Hz).
Ultimately, that means it doesn’t refresh its frames as fast as phones with a 120Hz refresh rate, like the iPhone 15 Pro and 16 Pro models, or higher. A smartphone like the Sharp Aquos Zero 2 can even go as high as a whopping 240Hz.
Unbelievably, the refresh rates for the phones in our pockets rival the tellies in our living rooms, which top out at 60Hz-120Hz – though they can’t match top-of-the range gaming monitors that can refresh as fast as 360Hz.
Do you really need all that whizz-bang tech? Well, the truth is most apps are still stuck in their old ways and don’t support higher refresh rates. Seeing as faster displays also run down your battery, phone makers like Apple also use something called a variable refresh rate.
This allows iPhone Pro models going back to the 14 to up the pace to 60Hz or 120Hz, or slow it right down to 1Hz depending on the demand. It also means they can keep the display active at all times when it’s not in use – another feature that’s not available on standard iPhones.
Despite some of those drawbacks, high refresh rates are still a boon for people who play powerful games on the go. It can also result in smoother playback on videos, more fluid scrolling, and snappier and more responsive touchscreen inputs.
What iPhones have 120Hz displays?
The following iPhones have 120Hz displays, thanks to Apple’s ProMotion technology, which has been exclusively reserved from Pro models:
- iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max
Soon, you may be able to add the iPhone 17 to that list, along with its rumoured slimmed-down sibling, the iPhone 17 Air. That’s according to Ross Young of Display Supply Chain Consultants, who tipped off MacRumours about the change. If the rumblings turn out to be true, you could wind up paying closer to £800 for the display tech instead of almost £1,000 now.
The news hardly comes as a surprise, seeing as base iPhones typically inherit features from their souped-up counterparts the following year. By the time the iPhone 17 arrives, four years will have passed without 120Hz, making it an ideal hand-me-down.
