Render of a possible iPhone 17 design
A new report backs up longstanding claims that the iPhone 17 will gain the ProMotion display that previously reserved the faster, more responsive screen for the Pro models.
Apple first introduced the screen technology ProMotion with the iPad Pro in 2017. Among other benefits, it makes the display quicker and makes the whole device respond faster, but it’s been reserved for the Pro models since that iPad Pro and then the iPhone 13 Pro in 2021.
Now according to Bloomberg, the technology is coming to the base iPhone 17. This fits with how Apple has traditionally debuted new features in the Pro models and then later brought them to the base editions, though it’s unusual for it to take four years.
It’s not clear from this latest report whether the expected iPhone 17 Slim, or iPhone 17 Air, will also have ProMotion. However, previous rumors have claimed that the technology will come to every model in the iPhone 17 range.
The increased speed and responsiveness of a ProMotion display is significant, but it brings another advantage because of the way it achieves that speed. ProMotion displays can speed up the refresh rate of a portion of a screen, so for instance where there is an animation effect, without increasing it for the whole display.
That means the screen is faster only when needed, and is therefore not a constant drain on the battery. Plus as well as doubling a display’s speed from the typical 60Hz up to 120Hz, a ProMotion screen can cut the refresh rate down to just 10Hz.
This then has the concomitant benefit that an iPhone with ProMotion is able to have an Always On display. Apple introduced this to the iPhone range with the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022, and it is also what allows the StandBy feature where the phone can act as a bedside clock.
The base iPhone 17 is also now expected to gain a redesigned camera bump, plus Apple’s A19 processor.
