iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus will have the same type of screen as the Pro versions, according to a new report. That means all four 2025 iOS handsets will offer 120Hz ProMotion, always-on displays.
If true, it means Apple will have to come up with new ways to differentiate its top-tier models.
2025 iPhone 17 could include 120Hz screen
Apple brought in 120Hz ProMotion screens in the 2021 iPhone Pro models. The following year added always-on displays. Again, this is only for the two Pro versions. The panels in the two standard iPhones are beautiful OLEDs, but they lack the high-end features. That’s reportedly going to change in 2025 with the screens in the iPhone 17 series.
The Pro iOS handsets have low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) panels, while the other use cheaper low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) panels. But Apple’s supply chain is gearing up to make LTPO panels for all iPhone versions, according to a report published Tuesday in the Korean-language site The Elec.
China’s BOE Technology Group is endeavoring to supply the components, and sent samples to Cupertino in 2023. But it supposedly won’t be ready to manufacture millions of the screens for Apple until 2025 and the iPhone 17 series.
That said, Apple’s plan to extend LTPO to all its handsets next year allegedly doesn’t depend on BOE.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that ProMotion, always-on screens will spread to all 2027 iPhone models. An analyst with DSCC predicted the change a year ago.
Keeping Pro features Pro
For years, the iPhone Pro models were only modestly better than the cheaper alternatives. More recently, however, the separation has become much clearer.
In addition to always-on, 120Hz screens, today’s Pro models come with significantly better cameras. They also include newer, faster processors — the latest non-Pro iPhones use the same chip the previous year’s Pro used.
If all four iPhone 17 versions have the same type of screen, then Apple will need a new way to justify to customers the extra expense of the Pro models. A new 2nm processor will apparently help, as will a better front-facing camera.
