iPhone 16 leak suggests the Apple flagship will be stuck with an outdated display

60Hz again?

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

If you were hoping that theiPhone 16would make the leap to a 120Hz refresh rate display – pretty much standard now on flagship handsets – you may have to temper your expectations ahead of the phone’s 2024 launch.

According to a post on South Korean platformNaver, backed up by tipster@Tech_Reve, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are going to stick with the same 60Hz refresh rate as theiPhone 15and theiPhone 15 Plus.

Considering that theSamsung Galaxy S23, theGoogle Pixel 8, and even theiPhone 15 ProandiPhone 15 Pro Maxall hit 120Hz – as indeed do plenty of other phones –Applewould remain stuck in the past with one half of its premium phone series.

A faster refresh rate – which means the screen is updated more times per second – means a more fluid user experience whenever anything is moving on screen. There is a battery life trade-off, but several phones (including the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max) are able to mitigate this by dynamically ramping up the refresh rate only when it’s needed.

Yes… The iPhone 16/16 Plus has been reconfirmed to have an LTPS 60Hz display…iPhone 16: 6.12-inch LTPS 60Hz iPhone 16 Plus: 6.69-inch LTPS 60Hz (Dynamic Island)Partial improvements in display components.iPhone 16 Pro: 6.27-inch LTPOiPhone 16 Pro Max (Ultra): 6.86-inch… pic.twitter.com/BTJCxSiTXONovember 19, 2023

Same old story

We’ve been here before: earlier this year we weredisappointedwhen rumors began swirling that the iPhone 15 would only have a 60Hz refresh rate for its display. While it didn’t affect the verdict of ouriPhone 15 reviewtoo much, it does make the iPhone 15 something of an outlier in terms of premium handsets.

In fact, it was something of a surprise that theiPhone 14andiPhone 14 Plusdidn’t bump the refresh rate up to at least 90Hz. Apple introduced 120Hz tech, which it calls ProMotion, with the iPhone 13 Pro models in 2021.

Admittedly, that higher refresh rate does also bump up the price, because it needs an LTPO Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide)OLEDdisplay for the necessary trickery. It’s also possible that users ultimatelydon’t care as much as we doabout this spec.

Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.

Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.

We’ll have to wait and see what Apple decides for the iPhone 16. Previously, industry analystRoss Younghas predicted that Apple won’t introduce a 120Hz to the standard iPhone until 2025 and the iPhone 17.

Follow TechRadar on TikTokfor news, reviews, unboxings, and hot Black Friday deals!

You might also like

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

A newly reported iPhone phenomenon could be bad news for both cops and robbers

The iPhone 18 series could include a variable aperture, ‘significantly enhancing’ the camera

Belkin’s Travel Bag for Vision Pro has pockets and is way cheaper than Apple’s own case