Apple Watch display tech hints at iPhone ProMotion upgrade
Advanced LTPO technology in the Apple Watch Series 10 display differs from previous generations, and future iPhone releases may get the new display.
Apple Watch Series 10 - Image credit: Apple
Apple updated the Apple Watch to Series 10 in early September, making a number of changes to the form. One of the lesser spoken-about changes is actually part of the display, with Apple upgrading a quite important element.
The low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) thin-film transistor (TFT) is a backplane technology that enables for dynamic refresh rate adjustment in an OLED screen. It's what allows the Apple Watch to have an always-on display.
Apple's website mentions a change to the LTPO used in the newest Apple Watch model, reports The Elec. The Apple Watch Series 10's display is listed as using LTPO3.
LTPO2, the previous generation, enabled a refresh range between 1Hz and 120H. LTPO3 is a more incremental change, providing further power savings while also opening the door to even higher refresh rates.
The report claims the industry is now watching to see if Apple will add LTPO3 to a future iPhone update.
Samsung Display, a key supplier of iPhone screens, is reportedly going to start working as part of the LTPO OLED development project for the Apple Watch 11. This is apparently to give Samsung experience and the ability to prepare for producing iPhone displays using LTPO3.
If true, this could potentially result in an upgraded ProMotion display with an extended refresh rate range, possibly to 240Hz. This would give the iPhone displays that are similar to some top-end Android devices that already have screens working at that refresh rate.
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