HIGHLIGHTS

Apple currently limits ProMotion displays to its ‘Pro’ iPhone models

The iPhone 17 series could be equipped with 120Hz LT PO OLED screens

LT PO OLED screens offer support for the always-on display mode on iOS Apple’s iPhone 17 series will reportedly be equipped with upgraded OLED screens that support a higher refresh rate, according to a report. In recent years, Apple’s ‘Pro’ models have featured OLED screens with low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LT PO) technology that allow the refresh rate to drop to 1 Hz, allowing the company’s premium handsets to display a nearly static always-on display mode. With the rumoured inclusion of the upgraded screens, the company’s standard models in the iPhone 17 series of smartphones could also arrive with support for this feature.

A report in The Elec (in Korean) citing supply chain reports states that Apple is planning to equip the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus — these phones are expected to debut in the second half of 2025 as the successors to the upcoming iPhone 16 series — with LT PO OLED screens. The technology was introduced by the company on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max and is also available on the current-generation iPhone 15 Pro models. Meanwhile, the inclusion of LT PO AMOLED screens should allow the entire iPhone 17 lineup to offer support for the always-on display mode that arrived with the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Unlike most Android smartphones that use a pure black always-on display with text for the clock and notifications, iOS dims the lock screen and lowers the display’s refresh rate to 1 Hz on its Pro models, allowing the wallpaper to be displayed.