The iPhone 17 could have a screen upgrade we’ve been waiting years for

120Hz and always on

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Applehas never been one to follow industry trends, so while it’s not uncommon to find budget Android phones with 120Hz screens, Apple has stubbornly stuck with a 60Hz display on even theiPhone 15andiPhone 15 Plus, reserving 120Hz for its premium-priced Pro models. But this could all change with next year’s iPhone 17 line.

According to a report inThe Elec(viaMacRumors), Apple is likely to equip all four iPhone 17 models – meaning the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Plus, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max – with an LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) screen.

That would be a change for the standard and Plus models, which currently use LTPS (low-temperature polycrystalline silicon) displays. LTPO displays support 120Hz refresh rates, and can also drop as low as 1Hz, to offer more power efficiency when a high refresh rate isn’t needed. Apple uses that lower refresh rate for always-on displays on theiPhone 15 ProandiPhone 15 Pro Max, which is another feature the standard iPhone 15 lacks.

So if Apple equips the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus with LTPO screens, these phones will almost certainly also have refresh rates that can range from 1Hz to 120Hz, and in turn they’ll also almost certainly support Apple’s always-on display feature.

The Elec additionally says that Chinese supplier BOE has delivered sample LTPO screens to Apple, in the hopes of being the supplier for the iPhone 17 series. Whether it gets the green light will reportedly come down to whether it can produce enough while maintaining Apple’s high quality standards. But if not,LGDisplay orSamsungDisplay will likely be called in, so this decision shouldn’t affect whether all four iPhone 17 models get LTPO screens.

An overdue but uncertain upgrade

We’d take this leak with a pinch of salt, especially as it’s talking about phones that won’t be out for around 18 months. But this isn’t the first time we’ve heard thatthe iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus might have 120Hz displays, so it’s certainly very possible.

It’s long overdue too, but Apple will want to give people lots of reasons to choose a pricier Pro model instead – so if the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus do finally catch up on this front, we might see the gap widen in other areas. With the Pro models already having better chipsets and more cameras, it’s not clear what that would entail.

Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.

Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.

One possibility isunder-display Face ID, allowing Apple to shrink the camera cut-out on the Pro models. This is something we’ve heard rumored, though as with everything else iPhone 17-related, this is far from certain. After all, the September-boundiPhone 16line hasn’t even launched yet.

You might also like

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

A newly reported iPhone phenomenon could be bad news for both cops and robbers

The iPhone 18 series could include a variable aperture, ‘significantly enhancing’ the camera

I’ve been covering Apple Watch deals for years – This is the one model most people should buy on Black Friday