iPhone 17 insider information leaked, saying goodbye to 60Hz

iPhone 16 was just released yesterday (September 20th), and rumors about the next generation iPhone 17 series have already surfaced. Although the standard version of iPhone 16 has upgraded to the A18 chip in line with the Pro models, the screen still remains at 60Hz, which has received criticism from many netizens. However, the traditional 60Hz screen may see a turning point in the upcoming iPhone 17 series next year. Let's take a look at it together with IT Home. 01. Saying goodbye to 60Hz for real With the launch of the iPhone 16 series, the one-year iPhone 17 leaks have officially begun. Analyst Ross Young revealed that Apple plans to use a 120Hz ProMotion screen on the iPhone 17 standard version and the new Air ultra-thin model. ▲ Currently, only the Pro/Max models of the iPhone are equipped with 120Hz ProMotion technology. For comparison, the current Apple iPhone 16 standard version/Plus models are equipped with 6.1-inch 2556 x 1179 resolution and 6.7-inch 2796 x 1290 resolution LTPS OLED panels, both with a refresh rate of 60Hz. In addition to higher smoothness, ProMotion technology will also support lowering the refresh rate to 1Hz on the iPhone 17 standard version and iPhone 17 Air to achieve lower power consumption, bringing features like AOD. This rumor is not new. As early as February this year, Korean media The Elec reported that all four models of the iPhone 17 series will feature LTPO variable refresh rate screens. The hardware that Apple's ProMotion variable refresh rate technology relies on is the LTPO screen. 02. What is an LTPO screen? LTPO stands for Low Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide, which is a combination of the mainstream LTPS (Low-Temperature Polysilicon) and IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) solutions for OLED screens. Its working principle involves the interaction of organic semiconductor materials and luminescent materials under electric current drive. From an effectiveness perspective, LTPO screens can automatically adjust the refresh rate based on the dynamic changes in screen content, with the lowest being able to drop to 1Hz. This significantly reduces power consumption when displaying static images, while providing a smooth visual experience for dynamic videos or games. The first phone to feature an LTPO screen was the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra released in August 2020 Apple, on the other hand, first adopted LTPO screens on the iPhone 13 Pro series released in September 2021. In the three generations of iPhone 13, 14, 15, and 16 series, Apple chose to equip the higher-end two Pro series models with LTPO variable refresh rate screens, while continuing to use traditional LTPS screens on the two standard iPhone models. 03. BOE screens may really be coming IT Home previously reported that BOE provided LTPO iPhone OLED samples to Apple by the end of 2023, and the industry expects that it will supply LTPO OLED screens to Apple as early as the iPhone 17 series. According to South Korean media The Elec citing industry sources, "Due to the small changes in last year's iPhone 15 and this year's iPhone 16 series products, the iPhone 17 series should seek differentiation by applying LTPO to lower-end product lines," and predicted that "if BOE's LTPO technology is insufficient, Apple will apply LTPO to all four iPhone 17 series phones without BOE." While whether the iPhone 17 series will use BOE OLED screens remains a major unknown, rumors of the iPhone SE 4 featuring a BOE screen have already been confirmed by multiple sources. According to Nikkei Asia, Apple plans to use an OLED screen on the iPhone SE 4 to be launched early next year, marking a comprehensive shift of Apple's iPhone product line to OLED screens. iPhone SE 3 According to The Elec, BOE will be the main supplier of the iPhone SE 4 screen, with LG Display as the second supplier. Concept image of iPhone SE 4 The fourth-generation iPhone SE is rumored to feature a design similar to the iPhone 14, USB-C interface, operation buttons, Apple's self-developed 5G baseband, A18 processor, and 8GB of memory. 04. What other changes will the iPhone 17 series bring Currently, various sources such as Mark Gurman and Jeff Pu indicate that Apple will introduce a brand new iPhone 17 Slim or iPhone 17 Air phone to replace the existing Plus models. Jeff Pu believes that in addition to a new design, the iPhone 17 series will also see significant upgrades in specifications, mainly including: Upgrading all front cameras to a 24 million pixel sensor The all-new 48 million pixel periscope lens brings better optical zoom effects to the iPhone 17 Pro series models. A narrower dynamic island, at least on the iPhone 17 Pro series models. The iPhone 17 Pro series models come with 12GB of memory. According to Guo Mingchi, in the 2025 new iPhone models, only the iPhone 17 Pro Max will have 12GB of memory. While the memory capacities of the ultra-thin iPhone, iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and SE4 remain at 8GB. Furthermore, following the improved heat dissipation strategy of the iPhone 16 series, the iPhone 17 Pro Max will eventually be equipped with a VC thermal plate. The several major challenges faced by the iPhone - fast charging, heat dissipation, signal, high refresh rate - finally have hopes of improvement in these two years. I wonder if Apple can still win back the hearts of those who have been disappointed with the standard version of the iPhone under the blessing of 120Hz?