Apple’s brand-new smartphones of 2024 have been announced and there are many cool things with the iPhone. Of course, it’s got iOS 18 and the Apple Intelligence AI and as it has been with the recent models, you get to choose from iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
As seen with recent releases, Apple has ensured that its pro models i.e., the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max have all the bells and whistles of what a Pro model iPhone should be. It’s got the A18 Pro Bionic, comes with a titanium build, and of course all the pro-level camera upgrades including the ability to shoot in 4K 120 FPS.
Coming to the display, many people love to rave about how good the display looks and feels on iPhones. Of course, there is a difference between the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus when you compare them to the Pro models. The difference comes in the refresh rate department. Want to know what Apple has stuck with this time? Let’s take a look.
Does the iPhone 16 Come with a 120Hz Display?
Let’s first talk about the non-pro models, i.e., the iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Plus. These are the base models of the iPhone 16, and they come with the basic 60 Hertz refresh rate in 2024. Yes, Apple seems to be the only brand sticking with old-school refresh rate screens for its non-pro models.
Here’s a quick run-up of the tech specs for the displays on the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus.
- Screen Size: 6.1 inches (15.49 cm) and 6.7 inches (17.02 cm).
- HDR Display
- Refresh rate: 60Hz
- True Tone supported
- 1000 nits max brightness, 1600 peak brightness (HDR), 2000 nits peak outdoor brightness
- Display Type: Super Retina XDR OLED
The fact that even the cheapest Android smartphones out there have at least a refresh rate of 90 hertz, makes the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus display a laughable matter, especially in 2024.
Now, let’s take a look at what the Pro models have to offer.
The ProMotion display is only available for the premium lineup of Apple devices. Whether you have a top-end MacBook, iPad, or iPhone, only these premium devices get access to the ProMotion high refresh rate display.
With such ProMotion displays, your iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max get a 120Hz refresh rate. With a higher refresh rate, scrolling through the UI and apps on your iPhone will feel very smooth. These variable refresh rate displays are perfect depending on what you are doing. If the Always-On display is enabled, the refresh rate will drop to 1Hz. Here is a quick rundown of the display on the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max displays.
- Screen Size: 6.3 inches (16 cm) and 6.9 inches (17.53 cm)
- HDR Display
- Refresh rate: 120Hz
- True Tone supported
- 1000 nits max brightness, 1600 peak brightness (HDR), 2000 nits peak outdoor brightness
- Display Type: Super Retina XDR OLED
So yes, Apple continues to follow the trend of making its base model iPhones feel like an older smartphones, whereas the Pro models of the iPhone 16 line get treated with the best features. Of course, there needs to be a difference between the features and hardware but keeping the refresh rate for all the models should have got the 120 Hz refresh rate ProMotion display.
If you’re planning to upgrade to a new iPhone, either for last year’s iPhone 15 pro models if you can still get them, or choose any of the iPhone 16 pro models.
Will we get to see the ProMotion display on the base model iPhones starting with the iPhone 17? Only time and Apple can give us such information.
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