The most on-again, off-again iPhone 12 rumor seems to be back. After some industry regulators and leakers rejected the possibility that the iPhone 12 Pro will get a 120Hz display, a new feature is placed in the iOS 14 beta that a ProMotion display could happen after all.
Similar to the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, the 120Hz mode of the iPhone 12 would roll more smoothly and enable animations. But Apple’s implementation would have a downside compared to Samsung’s tech.
The Twitter user @abjornx Detect an option to limit the frame rate on his iPhone 11 Pro within iOS 14 Beta 5, which was picked up by iAppleTimes. The Limit Frame Rate option in iOS says “Sets the display’s maximum frame rate to 60 frames per second.”
If you can only choose between 60Hz and slightly higher (120Hz), then it does not mean LTPO and adaptive refresh, which is what we said 4 months ago …August 22, 2020
Since the current iPhones today are limited to 60Hz, why would Apple include this option in iOS 14, unless it planned to offer at least one iPhone 12 model with a 120Hz display?
As reported by PhoneArena, display analyst Ross Young has waited in, seems to support the idea of a 120Hz display on the iPhone 12, while also enhancing a major caveat.
Young says that this build of iOS 14 “only allows you to choose between 60Hz and slightly higher (120Hz).” That iPhone 12 would not get the adaptive refresh rate in the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, whose LTPO technology can turn the panel the Hz up or down, depending on the content on the screen.
We’ve heard previous reports pointing to the ProMotion display that works fine on the larger 6.7-inch Phone 12 Pro Max, but has issues on the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro. But we also heard that Apple may not be able to include a 120Hz panel at all, with Ross Young saying in early August that “there would be no 120Hz hardware on new iPhones.”
That these latest developments simply confuse matters further. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is not the only phone with a 120Hz display. Other flagships of Android, such as the OnePlus 8 Pro, have a 120Hz panel, and the Asus ROG Phone 3 has an even smoother 140Hz display.
The iPhone 12 Pro models will likely have other features to stand out versus the regular iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Max, including a telephoto lens and a LiDAR sensor for improved photography and better performance in iPhone AR apps. But a 120Hz display would go a long way towards better justification of the expected premium for the iPhone 12 Pro devices.
