'iPhone 12' enters mass production, reportedly no 120Hz ProMotion Display

Posted:
in General Discussion edited September 2020
The "iPhone 12" family has started mass production one month from its expected release, according to a prolific leaker, athough 120Hz ProMotion Displays reportedly didn't make the cut.


"iPhone 12" not getting 120Hz ProMotion display


According to Jon Prosser, the "iPhone 12" entered mass production without 120Hz ProMotion Displays, for reasons as yet unknown. He also indicated that mass production started this week.

120hz (codename: d6x) didn't make mass production

*now* you can give up

-- Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser)


The mass production timing is nearly identical to that of the iPhone X, and iPhone XR.

Prosser has previously stated that the event would shift into early October. This was all but confirmed by Apple during their quarterly earnings call stating that the iPhone release would be "a few weeks later."

ProMotion was first introduced on the iPad Pro as a differentiating feature from budget models. A 120Hz refresh rate means more smooth screen animations, more responsive interactions, and better gaming performance. The "iPhone 12" has been rumored to have the feature for months.

Problems with battery life management with ProMotion enabled may have been the reason behind abandoning it. One rumor suggested that Apple would have to implement LTPO displays in order to get ProMotion to work so the refresh rate could dynamically adjust as needed. LTPO is used in the Apple Watch, but such a controller in the iPhone is likely not available until at least 2021.

Apple is not totally new to iPhone initial shipments after September. The iPhone X was announced in September and not released until November. Some speculation places the "iPhone 12" announcement at the "Time Flies" event on September 15, though most publications say otherwise.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 28
    That may be a deal killer. Other flagship devices, and even lower level devices have had this for many months now. For Apple not to is a big blow. For most of us, 5G is worthless. What will be the motivation then? The smaller battery if that rumor is true? Lidar which has little to no use for most people. Better cameras? The ones now are great. 

    Hoping for a good iPad or Apple Watch update I guess. 
    edited September 2020 lkruppITGUYINSDleukochemengin1
  • Reply 2 of 28
    Doesn’t mean 120Hz Pro Motion display won’t be in the 12 Pro Max model. This is only notification of the non pro model production.
  • Reply 3 of 28
    Doesn’t mean 120Hz Pro Motion display won’t be in the 12 Pro Max model. This is only notification of the non pro model production.
    From the way the article sounds, it’s the whole lineup. I never believed the lower iPhone 12 (non pro) would get it this year. 
  • Reply 4 of 28
    Doesn’t mean 120Hz Pro Motion display won’t be in the 12 Pro Max model. This is only notification of the non pro model production.
    “iPhone 12 Family” - that would include the pro max.

    I was not upgrading my XS this year under any circumstances anyway - but won’t be any other year until they have Pro Motion or lose the notch.  Could not care less about lidar or camera improvements as long my XS stays reasonably fast.
    razorpitPetrolDave80s_Apple_Guy
  • Reply 5 of 28
    llamallama Posts: 102member
    My X was feeling pretty long in the tooth, but the rumor mill isn't doing a whole lot to convince me to lay out $1250+ (using 11 Pro Max 256GB pricing) for a replacement.  5G won't be a thing for me in the exurbs of Northern Virginia and LiDAR doesn't trip my trigger.  Any I missing anything juicy besides the now expected performance and camera spec bumps?
  • Reply 6 of 28
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    That may be a deal killer. Other flagship devices, and even lower level devices have had this for many months now. For Apple not to is a big blow. For most of us, 5G is worthless. What will be the motivation then? The smaller battery if that rumor is true? Lidar which has little to no use for most people. Better cameras? The ones now are great. 

    Hoping for a good iPad or Apple Watch update I guess. 
    The vast majority of customers -- outside of our little group of techies that post on forums --  wouldn't even know what a 120Hz refresh rate means. However, the cell companies have been doing a great job of telling the masses that 5G is the next big thing. So, yes, 5G will drive more sales than 120Hz displays ever will. Might not be compelling enough to drive people to upgrade from an 11 Pro, but there are millions and millions of people with iPhone X or earlier for whom it is upgrade time. A better camera array will certainly make many of them happy. So will an improved processor that makes their games run better. Lidar is just waiting for the right app/use case to make it a sought after feature.

    caladanianAlgercornchiprazorpitrezwits
  • Reply 7 of 28
    Do a lot of people see much difference with the 120 refresh rate?  Spec wise is one thing but real world is where it matters.  Any news or rumors about microLED?
    curtis hannah
  • Reply 8 of 28
    GG1GG1 Posts: 483member
    mike1 said:
    That may be a deal killer. Other flagship devices, and even lower level devices have had this for many months now. For Apple not to is a big blow. For most of us, 5G is worthless. What will be the motivation then? The smaller battery if that rumor is true? Lidar which has little to no use for most people. Better cameras? The ones now are great. 

    Hoping for a good iPad or Apple Watch update I guess. 
    The vast majority of customers -- outside of our little group of techies that post on forums --  wouldn't even know what a 120Hz refresh rate means. However, the cell companies have been doing a great job of telling the masses that 5G is the next big thing. So, yes, 5G will drive more sales than 120Hz displays ever will. Might not be compelling enough to drive people to upgrade from an 11 Pro, but there are millions and millions of people with iPhone X or earlier for whom it is upgrade time. A better camera array will certainly make many of them happy. So will an improved processor that makes their games run better. Lidar is just waiting for the right app/use case to make it a sought after feature.

    100% agree here. 5G is the buzzword now, even if the current state of actual 5G rollout (and performance) in the US is poor.

    Better battery life from a 5nm A-chip would rate higher than 120Hz, IMHO (except for techies/gamers).
    cornchiprazorpitcurtis hannah
  • Reply 9 of 28
    My iPhone X still is able to make phone calls and probably can do 98.9% of what the new iPhone 12 can do. I don't know what would make it "long in the tooth" eligible...
    I'm good until something compelling comes around - nothing on the horizon is compelling  IMO.


    mike1 said:
    That may be a deal killer. Other flagship devices, and even lower level devices have had this for many months now. For Apple not to is a big blow. For most of us, 5G is worthless. What will be the motivation then? The smaller battery if that rumor is true? Lidar which has little to no use for most people. Better cameras? The ones now are great. 

    Hoping for a good iPad or Apple Watch update I guess. 
    The vast majority of customers -- outside of our little group of techies that post on forums --  wouldn't even know what a 120Hz refresh rate means. However, the cell companies have been doing a great job of telling the masses that 5G is the next big thing. So, yes, 5G will drive more sales than 120Hz displays ever will. Might not be compelling enough to drive people to upgrade from an 11 Pro, but there are millions and millions of people with iPhone X or earlier for whom it is upgrade time. A better camera array will certainly make many of them happy. So will an improved processor that makes their games run better. Lidar is just waiting for the right app/use case to make it a sought after feature.


    edited September 2020 llamamuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 10 of 28
    We don’t know what we don’ know, this is all speculation based on leaks. We will know this Tuesday. Patience is a virtue.
    cornchipmike1rezwits
  • Reply 11 of 28
    JapheyJaphey Posts: 1,767member
    mobird said:
    My iPhone X still is able to make phone calls and probably can do 98.9% of what the new iPhone 12 can do. I don't know what would make it "long in the tooth" eligible...
    I'm good until something compelling comes around - nothing on the horizon is compelling  IMO.

    I completely agree. If 120Hz doesn’t make the cut, the only compelling things for me are the cosmetic changes with the new design and (hopefully) blue color. Unfortunately, I believed all the hype about the 2020 models and skipped the last few upgrades, waiting for this year. Now I have to upgrade and feel pretty underwhelmed with all these rumors. 

    Of course, Prosser’s “sources” have proven unreliable in the past (Steve Jobs Heritage Glasses, anybody?), so there’s still a chance that this is more of the same bs. 

  • Reply 12 of 28
    cornchipcornchip Posts: 1,945member
    I thought the main benefit of the 120Hz display was for Pencil usage?
  • Reply 13 of 28
    cornchip said:
    I thought the main benefit of the 120Hz display was for Pencil usage?
    The main benefit of any high refresh rate display (phone, tablet, computer screen) is to make looking at it easier on the eyes.  Smoother scrolling (or better motion with gaming).
    edited September 2020 cornchiprazorpitPetrolDavemuthuk_vanalingamGG1
  • Reply 14 of 28
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    M68000 said:
    Do a lot of people see much difference with the 120 refresh rate?  Spec wise is one thing but real world is where it matters.  Any news or rumors about microLED?
    While it's nice, like 5G, there's always that certain group of people that complain that suddenly it's necessary for them.  Like 5G.  It won't be mainstream for years at the speeds they market, yet all the commercials say otherwise, and people now say their next phone "must" be 5G compliant.

    120hz displays are nice, but overrated for today's phone tech.  That some phones have it is irrelevant considering the balance between that and battery life.  I choose battery life.

    If Apple included 120Hz in the iPhone12 before it was truly ironed-out, I will bet money the first thing these people will demand is Apple's head on a platter.

    So best to ignore these people.

    tmayplastico23razorpitGG1
  • Reply 15 of 28
    sflocal said:
    M68000 said:
    Do a lot of people see much difference with the 120 refresh rate?  Spec wise is one thing but real world is where it matters.  Any news or rumors about microLED?
    While it's nice, like 5G, there's always that certain group of people that complain that suddenly it's necessary for them.  Like 5G.  It won't be mainstream for years at the speeds they market, yet all the commercials say otherwise, and people now say their next phone "must" be 5G compliant.

    120hz displays are nice, but overrated for today's phone tech.  That some phones have it is irrelevant considering the balance between that and battery life.  I choose battery life.

    If Apple included 120Hz in the iPhone12 before it was truly ironed-out, I will bet money the first thing these people will demand is Apple's head on a platter.

    So best to ignore these people.

    You make it sound like 120Hz displays are some sort of brand new, 1st gen technology that needs to be "ironed-out".  High refresh rate displays are very commonplace.  Dell has an Alienware gaming laptop with a 300Hz display that looks spectacular!  Just got my wife a Samsung S20 5G with 120Hz display and battery life is great!  Samsung seems to have "ironed-out" whatever issues you're talking about.

    How many phones with 120Hz displays have you used to have an opinion that they're overrated?
    edited September 2020 llamarezwitsmuthuk_vanalingam80s_Apple_Guychemengin1
  • Reply 16 of 28
    For me, the biggest and best thing about the iPhone 12 is that it will have QUALCOMM inside and not Intel. 
    edited September 2020 llamarazorpitrezwitsPetrolDave
  • Reply 17 of 28
    One thing the very few people like to mention is the mass amount of phones that Apple will sell out of the gate. The reason most Samsung, LG, Motorola phones tend to get features a head of the iPhone is the fact they don’t sell a quarter the amount of phones that Apple will in Qtr 4. When you sell millions of anything, you need that many in individual parts. This is not an easy task and why they tend to be last with features when other companies beat them to market. 
    rezwits
  • Reply 18 of 28
    ITGUYINSD said:
    cornchip said:
    I thought the main benefit of the 120Hz display was for Pencil usage?
    The main benefit of any high refresh rate display (phone, tablet, computer screen) is to make looking at it easier on the eyes.  Smoother scrolling (or better motion with gaming).
    Some of us dont play games in iphone, my ipad pro w 120hz are way better in games and sounds anyway, so yes this old timer will upgrade every freaking year...hehehe
  • Reply 19 of 28
    ITGUYINSD said:
    cornchip said:
    I thought the main benefit of the 120Hz display was for Pencil usage?
    The main benefit of any high refresh rate display (phone, tablet, computer screen) is to make looking at it easier on the eyes.  Smoother scrolling (or better motion with gaming).
    Ah k Gotchya
  • Reply 20 of 28
    Just is a bummer, when you you have an LG TV that does 120Hz, you get a PS5 that will do 120Hz games, then you want to get an iPhone, that...  :'(  bummer straight bummer.

    Reminds me of when I got my iPad 12 Pro, the 1st Gen, and then like "2 weeks" later all the screens were P3.  :'(. bummer straight bummer, all my stuff was P3, except the iPad Pro.

    That stuff will drive you nuts, but we strive to get all the devices in LINE, but Apple just keeps being OFF by 1 (device) step...

    Like some say:  "Freakin' Apple!"
    aairricccurtis hannah
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