iPhone 12 won't have 120Hz screen after all, says analyst

The iPhone 12 is possibly (although unlikely) only hours away from being unveiled, but whenever it finally arrives it seems its screen won't be as good as we hoped. According to noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via MacRumors), Apple's new iPhone will have a 60Hz refresh rate, not 120Hz.

That would make it inferior in terms of display response and smoothness compared to the Samsung Galaxy S20, Note 20, the OnePlus 8 Pro and a handful of other high-end Android handsets.

A higher refresh rate makes fast-moving images like gaming and action movies look smoother. The iPhone 12 range was expected to have a variable refresh rate, meaning it could switch from the standard 60Hz to 120Hz as required. This was expected to feature on at least the pricier model(s) of iPhone 12. But if Kuo is correct, none of the new iPhones will have this ability.

Kuo reckons the feature won't come to iPhones until 2021.

In the same research note, Kuo says that the 5.4in iPhone 12 will have a slightly narrower notch in order to adequately show info at the top of the screen like signal strength and the time. The other iPhone 12s, he adds, will have the same size notches as the iPhone 11 range.

There's a chance we will see the iPhone 12 revealed today, although some industry watchers have poured doubt on that, saying that Apple's Time Flies event will focus on the new Apple Watch and iPad Air instead.