Apple’s iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air Could Get Smoother Screens But There’s a Hitch

Apple will unveil the iPhone 17 series most likely in September this year. The series is said to have four phones this year- iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max. According to a leak by the Chinese tipster Fixed Focus Digital, Apple may finally be putting smoother screens on its regular iPhones.  The iPhone 17 and the new phone called the iPhone 17 Air are claimed to have screens that refresh at 120Hz. 

This is a big advance above the 60Hz screens used in the basic models. But here's the catch: they won't include Apple's ProMotion technology, which is usually only seen in the more expensive Pro models.

What is refresh rate, and how does it matter?

Let's make this clear in simple terms.  The refresh rate of a screen is how many times it refreshes the image in one second.  A 120Hz panel refreshes the display twice as fast as a 60Hz screen.  That makes everything on the screen, like animation, scrolling, and movement, look a lot smoother. Think of it like flipping through a flipbook: the faster you flip, the smoother the action looks. That's very much what's happening with a 120Hz screen. 

Apple used to only provide this rapid refresh rate on its Pro models.  The iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 are still restricted to 60Hz, which can be a little slow, especially after you've used a faster screen. 

No ProMotion, so what? 

Apple calls its adjustable refresh rate technology "ProMotion."  It doesn't just operate at 120Hz all the time, it changes the refresh rate based on what you are doing.  It goes up to 120Hz when you watch a video or navigate through Instagram.  But if you are merely reading or looking at a still picture, it can decrease to as low as 10Hz to preserve battery. 

Without ProMotion, the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air could only run at 120Hz or switch between a few predefined settings.  That will still give you smooth performance, but it could eat up your battery life. 

Even if this leak is real, it is still good news for regular people.  When you use your phone, you will notice that scrolling is smoother, animations are better, and everything feels faster.  This is most obvious when you play games, switch apps, or read through social media feeds.  But your battery life will surely go down a little, especially if the refresh rate is high all the time.  That is where ProMotion comes in. It finds a balance between smoothness and speed.  Still, this would be a big step up for Apple's base models, filling the gap between the standard and Pro iPhones.  If Apple does make this modification, the iPhone 17 will be substantially speedier, even if the technology behind the scenes isn't as smart as that of the Pro models.

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