Earlier this week, we commented on some rumors about the «IPhone 12» released by the duo Max Weinbach and Filip Koroy, from the channel EverythingApplePro. Among the speculations, they pointed to the implantation of the technology ProMotion (present on iPad Pro) on future iPhones – possible from a screen with a variable refresh rate (60Hz ~ 120Hz).
In reality, the rumors about the implantation of this feature on iPhones are not exactly unheard of: last year, a leaker suggested that this year’s iPhones would gain this technology, and since then, the buzz has only increased.
However (and as we have seen with increasing frequency), a new claim refutes the rumor that this technology will be deployed on iPhones in 2020.
Who threw the bucket of cold water this time was the analyst Ross Young, founder and CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, stating that the next flagships Apple will not be equipped with LTPO – a feature (present in Apple Watches) that, according to him, is essential for screens with a variable refresh rate.
I meant only one flagship in 2020 will have LTPO
– Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) May 11, 2020
For 120Hz, you need LTPO, which allows for variable update, so you can operate at 1Hz-120Hz and optimize battery life. Just a phone flagship will have LTPO. I will release it tomorrow with display specifications. […] I meant that just one flagship in 2020 it will have LTPO.
Such technology is responsible for a lower energy consumption, which allows new features, such as the Apple Watch Series 5 Always Active Screen, to consume not so much battery. On the iPhone, the adoption of LTPO would join forces with ProMotion technology to allow both effectiveness and efficiency.
With that in mind, Young suggests that Apple will not deploy screens with variable refresh rates on the iPhone unless LTPO technology comes along – which, he says, could happen only next year.
About Display Technology. With LTPO, you can vary the display refresh rate from 1Hz to 120Hz based on the content. In always on mode, 1Hz. In gaming modes, 120Hz. Big power advantage for Samsung. Apple won’t have LTPO until 2021.
– Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) May 11, 2020
@SamGuichelaar: What are you talking about, battery information (especially related to the new chipset) have not yet been revealed.
@DSCCRoss: About display technology. With LTPO, you can vary the display refresh rate from 1Hz to 120Hz based on the content. In always active mode, 1Hz. In game modes, 120Hz. Great power advantage for Samsung. Apple will not have LTPO until 2021.
There are already rumors, including, that iPhones would inherit this technology from the Apple Watch at some point in the future; one thing, however, does not depend on the other: iPads Pro have 120Hz screens and do not have LTPO displays, so the same could be true with the iPhone – unless this is in fact an OLED screen limitation.
Still on that, the leaker Jon Prosser mentioned that Apple could use 120Hz screens on the iPhone, but it would put the “limiter” of this technology by software – disabling it if it proves to really consume a lot of battery.
Considering the possibility of Young being really right, and adding that to what Prosser said, perhaps the ProMotion of the “iPhones 12” only automatically switches between 60Hz and 120Hz, instead of working super dynamically as in Apple Watches and iPad Pro – which in fact, they can range from 1Hz to 120Hz. But that is merely our speculation, of course.
In the end, rumors are just … rumors. There is no way of knowing for sure whether Apple will use 120Hz displays in the next iPhones, let alone if it will implement LTPO technology – as always, we can only wait.
via MacRumors
