Display analyst Ross Young and Mizuho Securities claim that Apple will include 120Hz ProMotion displays on its iPhone 13 lineup for 2021. The analyst also claims that the next iPhone SE refresh from Apple will now arrive in 2022 Spring instead of 2021.

There were rumors of Apple including a 120Hz ProMotion display on the iPhone 12 lineup this year itself but recent leaks have confirmed this is not happening. Mizuho Securities claims that Apple will be including a 120Hz high refresh rate panel on the 2021 iPhone 13 lineup. Ross Young also claims that Apple will be using variable refresh rate ProMotion displays on the iPhone 13 that will be achieved via LTPO technology. Right now, while there are plenty of Android smartphones with 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rate displays, only the Galaxy Note 20+ from Samsung features a variable refresh rate panel.

Most important development on the iPhone 13 models from my perspective will be ProMotion with variable refresh rates through LTPO adoption on the Pro models.

— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) October 2, 2020

Mizuho Securities analysts also expect the lineup to look similar to Apple’s upcoming iPhone 12 lineup, with four models starting with a 5.4-inch display size and going all the way up to 6.7-inches. It is expected that LG Display and BOE will join Samsung Display in supplying OLED panels for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro. Apple has so far been primarily sourcing OLED panels for its iPhones from Samsung Display itself. LG Display and BOE have tried to get into Apple’s OLED display supply chain but have had very limited success so far.

Our Take

With almost every other Android smartphone now shipping with a high refresh rate display, the lack of it on the iPhone 12 lineup might stick out like a sore thumb for many. However, the addition of a high-refresh rate panel has led to a decline in the battery life of most flagship Android devices this year as well. If Apple ends up going with a variable refresh rate panel on the iPhone 13 lineup, it would avoid such pitfalls.