iPhone 13 Pro range looks set to have 120Hz screens - thanks to Samsung

Apple iPhone 12 Purple
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It's been repeatedly rumored that some models in the iPhone 13 range will have 120Hz screens, and now there's even more evidence that these high refresh rate displays are destined for the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max.

According to a report by TheElec, the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max are set to feature LTPO AMOLED 120Hz displays that will be made exclusively by the Samsung Display division. As well as that, Samsung Electro-Mechanics is apparently set to supply the rigid flexible printed circuit boards (RFPCB) in the new iPhones.

RFPCBs are more expensive than traditional FPCBs, and these are used to connect OLED screens to the main internal board. RFPCBs are rigid but can still be folded, which means more sophisticated designs can be implemented.

169 million iPhones in the works

Samsung Display will apparently supply 110 million displays for iPhones this year, with another 50 million from LG Display and 9 million from BOE - the latter two are presumably only supplying 60Hz screens for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics is apparently looking to close down the business since it hasn't made enough profits in recent years. It provided boards for the iPhone 12 last year and will apparently do so again for the iPhone 13, but it might still quit the business after that, according to this report.

We expect the iPhone 13 release date to be set for September 2021, but that may be subject to change given the Covid-19 pandemic. For the last 10 years, Apple has consistently introduced its flagship phones at an event near the start of September and released the phones 10 days later. All that changed in 2020, due to the pandemic, and the phones were delayed beyond their usual window.

We'd normally expect Apple to keep to that September window, but apparently the 2020 delay resulted in increased sales for the phones. That may mean Apple decides to keep to this new window.

Another analyst has since said something similar, with the iPhone 13 range apparently going on sale in the third week of September - meaning an announcement earlier in the month. However, one or more models might not hit the stores until October.

Via GSMArena

Bodhisatwa Ray

Hardcore gamer, gadget enthusiast & cinema buff | Gaming, tech correspondent & reviewer at TechRadar