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LTPO Displays Supporting 120Hz Refresh Rates Again Rumored for iPhone 13 Pro Models

The two higher-end "iPhone 13 Pro" models that are coming in 2021 are expected to use LTPO display technology to enable 120Hz refresh rates, according to display analyst Ross Young.

iphone 12 120hz thumbnail feature
Young reaffirmed the detail in a tweet that said he'd heard rumors about only one model featuring LTPO, which he says is inaccurate.


LTPO OLED displays feature a more power efficient backplane able to turn the individual pixels on and off on the display, better preserving battery life. Young has previously said that LTPO technology is linked to 120Hz refresh rates and will need to be implemented before ProMotion can be brought to the iPhone, otherwise the 120Hz refresh rate would drain too much battery life.

At this point, multiple rumors have confirmed both LTPO technology and 120Hz refresh rates for the two Pro-level iPhone 13 models. 120Hz ProMotion displays were rumored for the iPhone 12 models as well, but Apple did not implement them and instead saved the feature for the iPhone 13 lineup.

Samsung will supply most of the LTPO OLED displays to Apple, with Apple also potentially sourcing displays from BOE and LG Display.

Apple has long offered 120Hz refresh rates in the iPad Pro lineup. As on the iPad, the higher refresh rate on the iPhone will make motion content on the screen smoother, crisper, and more responsive for tasks like reading, gaming, and more.

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Top Rated Comments

abowlby Avatar
64 months ago
For those asking, high refresh rates are more easily appreciated when they are gone. You notice their absence more than their presence. That alone is characteristically very much like an "Apple feature."

For those acting like it's a gimmick, come back and +1 this comment after you use one for awhile. Saying higher refresh rates are a gimmick is the same as saying higher resolution or "retina" displays are a gimmick. They objectively are not.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
64 months ago

Probably the biggest and most exciting feature for me

Scrolling with anything less is a pain in the eyes
You must have really struggled with every single iPhone then and every phone before 2018, that must be really annoying for you.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
64 months ago
ProMotion is not about 120hz refresh rate but about variable refresh rate, that’s what was revolutionary about it when it was introduced, so the display can clock down to 24hz or 30hz for video consumption or 10hz for static content.

The times the screen goes all the way up to 120hz is just here and there. So when you scroll text, it can go up and then when you stop to read or to reply a message it goes back down. This allowed Apple to introduce the technology while saving power.

This is also what set it apart from those infamous half-backed Android implementation where the user had to “choose” (sacrifice) between screen resolution, refresh rate or battery life.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
64 months ago
This makes me happy primarily so that people who constantly whine about this will move on to complain about other things that, perhaps, the rest of us can actually see.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
64 months ago
Can someone please educate me on what the big deal is about this?
I don't seem to have any issue with scrolling on my current iphone 12 Max Pro or my 2018 iPad Pro.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
64 months ago

This makes me happy primarily so that people who constantly whine about this will move on to complain about other things that, perhaps, the rest of us can actually see.
i wonder why people find this to be an actually amusing statement to make unironically. it's as if identifying oneself as having seemingly inferior eyesight is something to be proud of, while simultaneously mocking those that do. while furthermore being irritated with people who want this feature, something that wouldn't introduce a negative to their own experience, at all.

let's spit some facts for you:

high refresh rate displays have been around for a long, long time. the personal computing market has up to 360hz displays available at reasonable pricing to consumers. they're generally directed at the competitive gaming segment, but i have stood before a 240hz display and see the crisp difference in simple general, non-gaming applications. 165hz, 144hz, 120hz, 100hz, etc. displays have existed for at least 6 or so years now.

many smartphones that are not iphones have had high refresh rate displays for years now. there is a consumer market for it, and it's (clearly) much larger than you're giving any credit (see: respect) for. yes, there are people on this planet that are not *you*.

this same absurd mockery has been made by a significant segment of the console gaming market for years, mostly because consoles compete for who delivers the best fidelity, which typically requires dropping FPS. so they, much like you, have whined (that thing that irritates you) about people who wanted things as trivial as 60fps in their games more just because they *couldn't* have it.

and now we're seeing the same people begging devs to make 60 and even 120fps work on their titles because now that the hardware is physically capable of it reliably without dropping image quality significantly, they are quite literally seeing the benefit.

there are more than enough tools available right now that will show side by side comparisons about the visual differences between 15, 30, 60, 100, 120, 144, etc. hz. if you had a display in front of you capable of hitting those higher numbers, and you still couldn't see it, then you are either a) in deliberate denial because being right even in the presence of conflicting information *feels* warm and fuzzy or b) you unfortunately actually cannot see it, and that's too bad for you, but being different (incapable) does not afford you the right to mock without prejudice, or exist as a valid reason for the rest of the world abstaining from progress.

call it a gimmick, claim people can't see it, i do not care. it's just absolutely hysterical that you think it's somehow not worthy of implementing, yet the tech industry clearly has been moving on without you for quite some time.

little heads up: we're at the point now where the TV industry has native 120hz panels, not just that promotion fake frame technology.

learn a little bit about the subjects you mock, you might seem less pretentious.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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