iPhone 12 range could be delayed and lack a key feature

iPhone 11 Pro Max
The iPhone 12 range might have the same refresh rate as the 11 Pro Max (above) (Image credit: Future)

As exciting as the upcoming iPhone 12 range sounds, two not-so-promising rumors about it have emerged, focused on a missing feature and a potential delay of weeks or more.

First up, the feature. According to Ross Young (CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants and a major leaker of screen-related smartphone information) none of the iPhone 12 models will have a 120Hz screen.

We’d been hearing for a while that it was likely the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max would both have a 120Hz refresh rate, a feature that would help them match the likes of the OnePlus 8 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S20, but according to Young, none of his contacts could corroborate this.

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Apparently they said the feature wouldn’t arrive until 2021 (presumably on the iPhone 13) and in a follow-up tweet Young added that “we asked a lot of insiders and they all said no” to a 120Hz display on any iPhone 12 models.

While this is of course just a rumor for now, Young sounds very confident of the information, so we might be waiting a while longer than hoped for a 120Hz iPhone.

Weeks or months behind

In fact, we might be waiting a while longer than hoped for any new iPhones, as Nikkei Asian Review claims to have heard from sources that there are delays of between four weeks and two months for mass production of the iPhone 12 range. This is apparently due to issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Apple is apparently trying hard to reduce delays though, and will likely be able to ship the phones this year at the very least. In fact, Apple is said to be aiming to “keep as close as possible to the intended September release date.” So there may still not be much of a delay, and we may still see the iPhone 12 range announced in September, even if this information is right.

Curiously, Nikkei Asian Review is also specifically talking about four 5G iPhone models, but we’ve recently heard that there might also be two 4G models. So it could be that the 4G ones are further along in production, or simply that the site has omitted them from its reporting, if they exist at all.

In any case, we’d take all of this with a pinch of salt, especially as there has been lots of disagreement over whether the iPhone 12 range would be delayed and how long by.

At the very least we’d think it’s likely that we’ll hear some official news about the phones in September – but there’s a chance there’ll be a longer wait than normal to buy them, and they might all be stuck with 60Hz screens.

Via AppleInsider and MacRumors

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.