If you’ve been keeping up with the latest iPhone 15 news hubs then you have probably come across Apple ProMotion’s technology. Here is everything you need to know.
Apple ProMotion has been a headline feature for many years now, cropping up on all types of devices, from the iPad Pro M2 (2023) to the MacBook Pro 14-inch (2023).
But what exactly does ProMotion even do? Keep scrolling to find out all the key details about this software – including what it is, how it works and which devices it’s featured in – so you can decide if the potential iPhone 15 feature is right for you.
What is ProMotion?
ProMotion technology offers up to a 120Hz refresh rate instead of the standard 60Hz, meaning that it can work at twice the speed, refreshing the screen 120 times per second to give users smoother scrolling, improved responsiveness and better gaming performance.
The interesting thing about ProMotion is that it is also adaptive, meaning that the screen will adapt its refresh rate to suit how you’re using your phone. For example, if you’re watching a YouTube video and quickly switching between apps, the refresh rate will go as high as 120Hz to keep things running smoothly on screen.
However, if you’re staring at a wall of text and the screen is static, it will reduce the refresh rate in order to conserve battery.
The range of ProMotion is from 10Hz all the way to 120Hz, meaning that at its lowest refresh rate, the screen will update 10 times per second, giving a lot of wiggle room for the display to adapt to what you’re doing on screen for the best performance.
The technology first came out back in 2017 and was housed in the iPad Pro, with Apple calling it the ‘world’s most advanced display at the time. Since then it has been integrated into more Apple products and is one of the most well-known features of the iPad and iPhone range.
It’s important to note that this technology was not created by Apple, and you can find other mobile devices and PCs that feature an adaptive refresh rate since it helps to create a smoother experience and can be ideal for gamers.
What are the benefits of ProMotion?
The benefits of ProMotion are fairly obvious, as it provides the user with smoother motion on screen and means that you can jump between apps and scroll through articles without lagging or jelly screen becoming an issue.
This also means that gaming should be more fluid, as your screen will be able to respond to your inputs at a faster rate, giving you twice the frame output of a phone running at 60Hz and in theory, giving users an edge.
Plus, the battery life of your device should benefit as the screen can adapt to low-energy tasks, like scrolling one news article or looking at a static piece of text, allowing it to save on needless refreshes while saving the battery for more intensive activities.
We would also expect that using the Apple Pencil would be more fluid since the technology has a lower latency. This should make drawing and writing with the Pencil feel more natural and fluid than on a screen without ProMotion technology.
What devices feature ProMotion?
As of right now, the only iPhone models that feature ProMotion are the more recent Pro models. That includes the iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
If we expect Apple to keep going with this trend – and we do – then it’s very likely that the vanilla iPhone 15 will shun ProMotion, keeping it as an exclusive feature for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. This means that you will have to splash out some extra cash to be treated to smooth scrolling and adaptive screen rates, potentially making the iPhone 15 Pro line the more alluring option.
Apple also decided to include the software in a few other products; the MacBook Pro (2021) and MacBook Pro (2023) models both boast ProMotion.
The iPad range has also been introduced to ProMotion, featuring on the iPad Pro 11-inch and iPad Pro 12.9-inch models from 2021 as well as the latest iPad Pro M2 (2023).
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.