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No ProMotion Displays For iPhone 14 / iPhone 14 Max
Apple display supplier BOE has all but confirmed there will be NO 120Hz ProMotion displays on Apple’s 2022 base model iPhones…
In a market where even relatively cheap Android phones are now shipping with 120Hz displays, Apple will once again miss the boat with its base model iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max later on this year.
As expected, both of Apple’s base model iPhone 14 handsets will ship with the same, older display tech as the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13, while the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will get the company’s excellent 120Hz ProMotion screens.
This isn’t really a leak either, not in the traditional sense anyway, as it comes directly from Apple’s screen supplier, BOE. According to The Elec, BOE “will be supplying 6.06-inch low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) thin-film transistor (TFT) OLED panels for the upcoming iPhone 14 series”.
The key phrase here is LTPS. An LTPS display is the tech used inside Apple’s iPhone X, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, and its base model iPhone 13 models. Apple’s ProMotion screens use LTPO technology. And up to now (and including 2022, seemingly), LTPO panels are and will remain exclusive to Apple’s Pro models.
iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max Will Have 60Hz Refresh Rate
Apple’s newer and more advanced LTPO panels allow for variable refresh rates, up to 120Hz. By allowing the refresh rate to be variable, Apple can leverage the technology to improve the iPhone’s battery life by using lower refresh rates for things like web pages and reading text messages and higher ones for videos and games.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max, however, will only support up to 60Hz refresh rates. For whatever reason – it cannot be supply issues, as plenty of cheaper Android phones now run 120Hz screens – Apple is locking away higher refresh rates on its most expensive, Pro models. Not that this should come as a surprise to anyone. Apple has a long history of locking away its best tech inside its most expensive, flagship models.
What Does This Mean?
If you want an iPhone with a 120Hz ProMotion display, you’re going to be limited to the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max. That’s if you want a brand new iPhone. If you want to save some money, do yourself a favor and pick up the iPhone 13 Pro or iPhone 13 Pro Max once the iPhone 14 has launched – the prices will drop almost instantly.
Or, if you don’t want or care about 120Hz displays, just go with one of Apple’s base model iPhone 14 phones – either the standard (and cheapest) iPhone 14 or the new, larger iPhone 14 Max which will be the same as the iPhone 14 just with a 6.7in display like the Pro Max model.
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