It’s generally the way with tech that high-end features filter down to the cheaper models eventually, and you see this in microcosm with Apple’s iPhone Pro and regular iPhone handsets.
Face ID, Dynamic Island and the Action Button are all perks that started as premium features, before arriving on the standard iPhones, and it sounds like ProMotion will be joining them with the iPhone 17.
This is a rumor that’s surfaced a number of times in the last few months, and has now been reiterated by Bloomberg’s well-connected Apple expert, Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Gurman writes that the standard iPhone 17 will get the ProMotion display upgrade, allowing for “smoother scrolling and animation”.
ProMotion — Apple’s own branding for its 120Hz panels — has been a feature of the premium iPhone line since the iPhone 13 Pro landed in 2021. So far, it has stubbornly remained a Pro-only feature, with even last year’s iPhone 16 sticking with a 60Hz panel.
But while Apple has remained static, 120Hz screens are no longer a premium feature in the wider world of smartphones. The best cheap phones, including the $399 Samsung Galaxy A35, the $379 Nothing Phone 3a and the $200 Motorola Moto G 2025, all include 120Hz screens, which makes its omission on any iPhone under $999 seem a bit ridiculous.
While Apple has remained static, 120Hz screens are no longer a premium feature in the wider world of smartphones.
At this point, we’ve heard that Apple will make ProMotion a part of the regular iPhone 17 so often that it feels almost inevitable. Display analyst Ross Young first made the claim back in September, and this was subsequently echoed by Korean media in November and supply chain reports in December.
With the leaker Instant Digital repeating the claim earlier this year and now Gurman backing it up, it’s harder to find people saying that Apple will keep 60Hz for another generation.
While Gurman is just talking about the iPhone 17, it’s possible that the upcoming, ultrathin iPhone 17 Air will still pack a 60Hz screen, but this seems hugely unlikely.
Not only do past reports refer to every handset in the iPhone 17 lineup getting ProMotion, but the ability to drop as low as 10Hz would be hugely helpful for battery life in a device where stamina is an ongoing concern. And would Apple really hobble its next big smartphone release with a worse screen than the cheaper model?
For Gurman’s part, despite the arrival of ProMotion, the Air is set to be the more exciting buy. “If I were springing for something in the $800 range, I’d try to reach another $100 or so and just get the skinny new iPhone 17 Air,” he concludes.
“You really won’t be losing that much in terms of the specifications, and you’ll be gaining a remarkably thin and light phone (with considerably more screen real estate).” The iPhone 17 is expected to remain at 6.1 inches, while the Air is supposed to directly replace the 6.7-inch iPhone 16 Plus.
We’re still some way from the new iPhone’s official unveiling, which almost always happens in September. Cheaper SE models and iPhone 16e aside, the only exception in the last decade was the iPhone 12, which was delayed by one month thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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