ProMotion, Apple’s variable display refresh rate technology, should finally trickle down to standard models with next year’s iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus.
As an exclusive feature of Pro-branded iPhones, ProMotion is expected to appear in this year’s iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. But next year will be different.
The Elec reports that Chinese supplier BOA has been tasked with the production of advanced low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LPTO) backplane modules developed by Apple that allow a display to adjust its refresh rate on the fly.
If correct, next year’s iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus will be the first regular iPhones with ProMotion. And because the Always-On feature requires a ProMotion display, it’s likely that 2025’s standard iPhones will also have Always-On displays.
By comparison, Â the current iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus use low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) backplanes, which lack ProMotion support.
What is ProMotion? How does it work?
ProMotion is Apple’s adaptive display technology that dynamically adjusts the refresh rate for optimal performance and power consumption, based on content. It can bring the refresh rate all the way down to 1Hz, which is how Apple’s power-sipping Always-On display feature works.
But when scrolling rapidly, playing an action game or watching high-frame-rate video, ProMotion can ramp up the refresh rate to 120Hz, or twice that of regular iPhones. As a result, ProMotion brings smoother scrolling and animations.
What Apple devices support ProMotion?
ProMotion is featured on Pro-branded iPhones, from iPhone 13 Pros onward:
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
On these models, ProMotion can dynamically switch between the 10Hz, 12Hz, 15Hz, 16Hz, 20Hz, 24Hz, 30Hz, 40Hz, 48Hz, 60Hz, 80Hz and 120Hz refresh rates.
The 1Hz refresh rate required for the Always-On display functionality is only supported on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro models. ProMotion on iPad Pros supports these refresh rates: 24Hz, 30Hz, 40Hz, 60Hz and 120Hz.
ProMotion displays are also found on Retina displays used on the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro and Pro Display XDR.
On those devices, ProMotion supports the following refresh rates: 60Hz, 59.94Hz, 50Hz, 48Hz and 47.95Hz. Additionally, ProMotion on Apple silicon MacBook Pros can boost the refresh rate to 120Hz.
If you don’t need ProMotion, you can restrict the display refresh rate to 60Hz by turning on the Limit Frame Rate switch in Settings > Accessibility > Motion.