A new report from South Korea’s ETNews reports that Apple might bring LTPO displays, used in the Pro series for the past two generations, to all iPhone 17 models in 2025. If so, that would mean all the iPhones will get the ProMotion display feature for the first time-a departure from the conventional approach where Apple has traditionally kept ProMotion only on Pro models. It’s also possible that this allows for variable refresh rates, which some technology offers for smoother visuals and better energy efficiency across both base and Pro configurations.
Expansion of LTPO displays and ProMotion
Apple first introduced LTPO displays in the iPhone 13 Pro line, designing them to support variable refresh rates to help save power. By incorporating LTPO technology, the idea is that changing refresh rates depending on content will help feed a hungry phone and prolong battery life-and that’s definitely useful as more and more power-hungry features are implemented into smartphones. Samsung and LG will provide these displays for all the iPhone 17 models, which would mean expanding the ProMotion technology beyond the Pro series.
The variable refresh rate technology at work in ProMotion makes scrolling smoother, animations more responsive, and dynamically ramps up to 120Hz when needed-but could go as low as 1Hz for static content. So far, this form of flexibility in refresh rate management has been restricted to Pro models, but with LTPO displays across all its versions, the iPhone 17 may just make ProMotion standard across Apple’s lineup.
Potential impact on battery efficiency
Apple could be including LTPO displays in all models to improve power management across most, if not all, of the iPhone 17 variants. LTPO screens change refresh rates depending on what is on-screen, switching out from high-intensity gaming and video playback to more static content, which could boost battery efficiency all around.
Current Pro models with LTPO technology can ramp down their refresh rates as low as 1Hz, which allows for an always-on display mode that shows lock screen elements when the device is idle. But it’s not yet clear whether iPhone 17 models will support such minimum refresh rates across the board, or whether some features will continue to be specific to Pro variants.
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Broader adoption of ProMotion technology
Display Supply Chain Consultants CEO Ross Young has previously estimated that ProMotion could show up in both the iPhone 17 and the rumor “iPhone 17 Air.” This would be an expansion of ProMotion if true, so perhaps it hints at Apple’s strategy to provide great display experiences to all models, not just the Pro variants.
The broader use of ProMotion will be meaningful for the users who make use of smooth display performance, irrespective of model choice. The addition of features in the whole set of devices would also lead to a trend where the difference in display capabilities would be consistent across the product line of Apple.