It’s been nearly a decade since the introduction of the first 120Hz ProMotion display, if you can believe that. It was one of the flagship features of the 2017 iPad Pro. However, all this time later – Apple still treats it as some form of luxury feature, and I feel like it’s holding them back.
I’ll give credit where credit is due. Apple finally added 120Hz to the base iPhone 17, four years after it was introduced on iPhone 13 Pro. That was a great change.
Loads of people will argue that 120Hz displays aren’t noticed by the “average consumer” unless you point it out to them. Even if that is true, it’s undeniable that a 120Hz display results in a smoother experience all around. The device feels faster and more responsive, even if the end user doesn’t know what’s causing it.
At the end of the day, Apple doesn’t make cheap products, barring a few exceptions like the base model iPad and potentially the upcoming budget MacBook. Why should the $599-799 iPad Air come with a 60Hz display when the $649 10.5″ iPad Pro offered 120Hz nearly a decade ago?
Apple’s mid-range products shouldn’t provide the bare minimum
iPad Air comes in at $599 for the base 11-inch version, or $799 for the base 13-inch version. iPad Pro comes in at $999 for the base 11-inch version, $1199 for the base 13-inch version. That’s a $400 price gap.
Realistically, that’s a price gap so large that very few people are truly cross shopping them. If there’s an iPad Pro feature you know you need, like the awesome Tandem OLED display or the latest Apple Silicon – then you’re probably going to buy an iPad Pro out the gate.
For most people though, they know their budget, and even if they appreciate 120Hz, it’s unlikely that they’ll choose to splurge for the iPad Pro for that reason alone. An extra $400 isn’t exactly light.
Maybe when there were much smaller price gaps, keeping small features exclusive to the Pro models made sense. For example, in 2022, the 11-inch iPad Pro was $799, vs $599 for the iPad Air.
Same is true for the MacBook Air. When the MacBook Air is $999, and the cheapest MacBook Pro is $1599, why should something like 120Hz be exclusive to the Pro model? Most reasonable people aren’t going to make a $600 jump just for that one feature, and ultimately, it’s not like $999 is a budget pricepoint.
Wrap up
I do get that there needs to be some level of feature diversity between product tiers. Apple will always want to upsell you on the higher end product when possible. However, when it’s been nearly a decade since Apple produced its first 120Hz LCD panel, I just don’t see why Apple should be nickel and diming people on a feature that makes their products feel smoother – especially when these products aren’t their cheapest.
Products like the base iPad and upcoming ‘budget’ A18 MacBook will likely always have 60Hz displays. And that’s fine, they’re ultimately at the bottom of Apple’s product lineup – and serve as cheaper offerings.
Across the industry though, most $999 laptops include 120Hz displays. Sure, most people buying a MacBook Air aren’t going to switch to Windows. Should that really be Apple’s standard though?
For a company that’s long prided itself on doing little things that contribute loads to the user experience, I just don’t get why they cheap out on display responsiveness when it likely doesn’t cost that much to incorporate a 120Hz LCD in products like the MacBook Air and iPad Air. I don’t think it’d drastically change how people view Apple’s overall product ladder.
Even if Apple still wants to further stagger its product ladder, why not at least 90Hz? All in all, 60Hz is starting to feel a bit long in the tooth for mid-range products.
My favorite Apple accessory recommendations:
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