Apple adopted ProMotion displays with 120Hz refresh rate for their Pro series iPhones with the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max. While the feature has been restricted to Pro models for years now, next year could finally be the one when Apple may pack 120Hz OLED displays in iPhone 17 base models.
According to leaker Digital Chat Station on Weibo, the base models of the iPhone 17 series, which should likely include both the iPhone 17 and 17 Plus, are expected to feature a high refresh rate display. Display analyst Ross Young further corroborated the rumour by also claiming that the non-pro models could offer a 120Hz display. In other words, Apple may equip the same 120Hz OLED displays in iPhone 17 base models as it does in the Pro models.
This would eliminate the discrepancy between the displays of Pro and standard iPhones, beginning with iPhone 17 series. It would also mean that even the base model iPhones in iPhone 17 series will have support for Always-on display which Apple introduced in iPhone 14 Pro series. The current display technology used in standard iPhones, which is LTPS, doesn’t support the Always-on display feature due to which the base iPhones do not have it.
The display has been a pain point for base models iPhones for years now, where users have been demanding Apple for 120Hz OLED displays as even the cheapest Android devices come with the same. Apple seems to be finally working on that feedback and address the issue in 2025.
Aside from the four iPhone 17 models, there also seems to be an iPhone 17 Slim and it is unclear what kind of display this device will have. In other related news to iPhone 17 series, it is said that Apple has reserved all of TSMC’s 2nm capacity for the next-gen A-series processors, however, because the new process technology has low production yields, the SoC will only be featured in the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max at launch.