The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus could finally be set for the major hardware upgrade we’ve all be hoping for.
As good as Apple’s ‘normal’ iPhone range always is, year in and year out, there’s one hardware omission that bugs us. While even cheap and cheerful £200 Android phones get fluid 120Hz displays, the £800 iPhone 15 remains stubbornly stuck on 60Hz.
Ever since the iPhone 13 range in 2021, you’ve always had to ‘go Pro’ if you wanted Apple’s silky smooth ProMotion refresh rate. According to a recent report, that’s all set to change from next year’s iPhone 17.
Korean website The Elec claims that Apple will apply LTPO technology to the entire iPhone 17 range, not just the Pro models. These ‘low-temperature polycrystalline oxide’ panels are necessary to achieve the variable refresh rates that enable always-on display features like lock screen widgets, but they also fundamentally enable an elevated ‘ProMotion’ 120Hz refresh rate.
Translation: all of Apple’s phones will feature silky-smooth displays as of late 2025. All, that is, apart from the rumoured iPhone SE4, which will apparently utilise the same 6.1-inch 60Hz OLED panel as the 2022 iPhone 14.
That in itself would mark a major upgrade over the current iPhone SE, which utilises the 4.7-inch LCD from the ancient iPhone 8 era.
Reports suggest that this year’s iPhone 16 range will increase the size of their displays somewhat, as well as stretching out their aspect ratios. By the sounds of it, however, it’s next year’s iPhone 17 will be bringing the screen change that we all actually want.
