iPhone 12 Pro: Is there still a chance for a 120Hz ProMotion display in Apple's next flagship?

All fans of Apple’s buttery-soft ProMotion displays on Apple’s iPad Pro can hope again: the latest data points slightly at 120Hz on the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, even if there is a very limited high refresh rate option without Adaptive Control.

The alleged ProMotion feature in the next generation iPhone goes back and forth. Months later, most observers speculated that the popular iPad Pro feature would carry over to this year’s iPhone 12 Pro models, but the hopes of many Apple fans in this regard have recently been disappointed.

Many Leakers, from DisplaySupplyChain analyst Ross Young to XDA developer leaker Max Weinbach, have made it clear that the feature has been removed. Apple probably hasn’t achieved the desired results with it. Even if the hardware mostly supports 120Hz, Apple won’t provide smooth scrolling. However, in the past few days, the situation seems to be changing again.

It all started with a Twitter post from an iPhone 11 Pro user who rediscovered a feature in the latest iOS 14 (Beta 5) beta that had already been discovered in the first beta. This is called “Limit Frame Rate” and allows you to manually set the maximum refresh rate to 60Hz, or 60fps, as Apple calls it. Of course, this only makes sense if iPhones with refresh rates over 60Hz are also planned.

iPhone 12 60 frame rate — Why does Apple offer the option to limit the frame rate to 60Hz in the latest iOS beta?

ProMotion on the iPhone 12 Pro: Maybe it is, but without automatic adjustment

Whether Apple will activate 90Hz or 120Hz mode in the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, or activate it in the future with an update is far from decided, but at least it’s a little more likely. Renowned leader John Prosser, who discusses the same with Max Weinbach and his colleagues (see Threads below), also hits with this mark. He emphasizes that Apple has this feature working on the current iPhone 12 Pro Max prototypes. Whether the end-user can activate it, however, is a different matter, especially since calibration is problematic in a schedule that is already being affected by Corona.

Ross Young also points out that Apple probably didn’t install an LTPO backplane. But this is important for adaptive and power-saving refresh rate adjustments, especially if it also needs to drop below 60Hz. Such as the iPad Pro with an oxide LCD display. In any case, his sources emphasize that Apple will not be offering 120Hz on iPhones this year. This conclusion is probably only possible when Apple actually introduces new iPhones, which, after all, won’t take long.

Don’t give up on 120hz on 12 Pro yet…

— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) August 23, 2020

Definitely no LTPO. But I know they’ve got iPad Pro-like “Promotion” running on 12 Pro Max.

Just not sure if it’ll make launch. But there’s enough evidence from my sources not to give up on it quiet yet ?

— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) August 23, 2020

Yeah, that’s exactly it. The software and calibration just isn’t there for it. They have the hardware, that’s obvious. Its probably not what they want but its there. It’s all about the calibration and software they need to improve which isn’t possible with ‘rona and timelines.

— Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) August 23, 2020

If it only allows you to choose between 60Hz and something higher (120Hz), it means no LTPO and adaptive refresh which is the what we have been saying for 4 months…

— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) August 22, 2020

Sorry to sound like a broken record @DSCCRoss but does that mean the display could indeed be a fixed higher refresh rate without the LTPO?

As in could we see 90hz/120hz fixed with the ability to limit the display to 60hz?

— The Apple Bizz (@theapplebizz) August 22, 2020

Not clear how you can do ProMotion without LTPO. ProMotion on the iPad uses an oxide LCD. To get below 60Hz on an OLED, you need LTPO. Our sources continue to say no 120Hz this year.

— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) August 24, 2020

Ross Young, founder of research companies Display Supply Chain Consultants and DisplaySearch, said that 120Hz screens simply don’t have time to add to the iPhone 12. So fans of Apple smartphones will likely have to wait another year.

Hearing that Apple can get 120Hz Pro panels, but not 120Hz driver ICs. So they will either have to come up with a fix which will be difficult, wait for 120Hz driver ICs and delay the launch possibly significantly or launch with 60Hz. We are hearing they will launch with 60Hz.

— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) August 24, 2020

Ross Young clarified that Apple was able to get 120Hz display panels for the Pro versions of the iPhone 12, but the display driver chips have not yet arrived on assembly lines.

Now Apple will either have to push the iPhone release date even further to wait for the missing components or release the iPhone 12 with 60Hz screens. Ross Young heard from his informants that Apple chose the second option