ProMotion will be available on Apple’s standard iPhone models for the first time with the upcoming iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus, which will feature OLED displays with low-power backplane technology.
While Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro models use more sophisticated low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) panels, the current iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus use low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) panels. Supporting ProMotion, LTPO panels enable the display to ramp up to a 120Hz refresh rate when needed for more fluid scrolling and video content.
The iPhone 15 Pro screens have an always-on feature that displays the Lock Screen’s clock, widgets, notifications, and wallpaper even when the device is locked because ProMotion also enables the display to ramp down to a more power-efficient refresh rate as low as 1Hz.
Apple’s 2025 iPhone series will be the first to include ProMotion and always-on displays throughout the lineup, as the company is anticipated to continue using the less sophisticated LTPS panels in this year’s iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus to preserve differentiation between its standard and Pro models.
The Elec reports that Chinese manufacturer BOE hopes to provide Apple with LTPO panels for the iPhone 17 series, but it’s unclear if the company can meet Apple’s quality control requirements while producing at the necessary volume.
In the event that BOE is unable to satisfy the requirements, Apple is likely to rely on other vendors, such as Samsung and LG Display, to provide the LTPO panels, and on BOE to provide the LTPS-based OLED panels for its legacy iPhone models and the suspected iPhone SE 4.
Display analyst Ross Young reports that the iPhone 16 Pro models of this year will have a higher aspect ratio of 19.6:9, a feature that will be carried over to the iPhone 17 standard models in the following year. The anticipated increases for the devices are 6.27 and 6.86 inches, respectively, from 6.12 and 6.69 inches. This indicates a 2.5% increase in display size across both devices.
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Overall, this indicates that a significant panel upgrade, including larger sizes and LTPO for ProMotion and always-on displays, is expected for the standard iPhone 17.
