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The iPhone 13 Pro models were the first smartphones from Apple to be equipped with 120 Hz ProMotion displays. The two iPhone 14 Pro models will continue to be equipped with this technology, but their displays could have greater variability in refresh rate.
To bring the ProMotion displays to the iPhone 13 Pro models, Apple introduced LTPO panel technology with variable refresh rates, which allows for a more energy-efficient backplane - the part responsible for turning each pixel on and off. This way, ProMotion is able to dynamically produce fast refresh rates when users need them while conserving battery life when they don't. On the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, however, the ProMotion displays can only set refresh rates between 10 Hz and 120 Hz. This is in contrast to Oppo and Samsung's LPTO panels, which can drop to as low as 1 Hz when displaying a static image or when the device is inactive. The well-connected display analyst Ross Young now assumes that the ProMotion displays of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will have the same low frequency of 1 Hz.
iPhone 14 Pro: Apple could surprise us with Always-On Display
Depending on what Apple decides, the technology could pave the way for longer battery life or always-on display elements. For example, the Apple Watch Series 7 models are equipped with LTPO displays, which means that despite the always-on display, they have the same battery life of up to 18 hours as previous Apple Watch models. Similar to Android phones equipped with LTPO, the same technology on the iPhone could display the time, date and all notifications on the screen at all times without having to move or unlock the phone. Rumors about iPhones with always-on displays are not entirely new either. Bloomberg brought the whole thing into play last year. But it hasn't happened yet. Will Apple surprise us this year? It remains to be seen. (Photo by hadrian / Bigstockphoto)
