Display analyst pours cold water on iPhone 12 Pro 120Hz display claims

Iphone 12 Pro Everythingapplepro (Image credit: EverythingApplePro/Max Weinbach)

What you need to know

Leakers have previously claimed the iPhone 12 Pro will have a 120Hz display.
Display analyst Ross Young says he can't find a source that agrees.
If it isn't 120Hz, what is it?

Over the past few weeks there's been one iPhone 12 Pro that everyone could almost unanimously agree on – that it would feature a 120Hz ProMotion display. But there was a dissenting voice in the form of display analyst Ross Young. And now he's added further fuel to the fire by again asserting his belief that we won't see ProMotion this year.

None of our contacts could corroborate iPhone 12 Pro models as 120Hz. They told us 2021. So, they are off our latest 120Hz list.. pic.twitter.com/uTQ7uinMUQNone of our contacts could corroborate iPhone 12 Pro models as 120Hz. They told us 2021. So, they are off our latest 120Hz list.. pic.twitter.com/uTQ7uinMUQ— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) July 1, 2020 July 1, 2020

The fact that Young can't find any sources that believe 120Hz is coming in 2020 is interesting considering the number of little birdies that seem to have been speaking with leakers. Only a few days ago we saw anonymous Twitter user Ice universe say that 120Hz is confirmed – assuming nothing goes wrong.

A reliable source, if there is no accident, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max have basically determined the maximum 120Hz refresh rate.A reliable source, if there is no accident, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max have basically determined the maximum 120Hz refresh rate.— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) June 26, 2020 June 26, 2020

It was a similar story from YouTuber EverythingApplePro, too.

So what gives? Ross Young says that 120Hz will arrive in 2021 which might suggest that Apple has hit some of the snags Ice universe warned against. But at this point I'd have thought that these kinds of specifications would already have been ironed out.

Ultimately, we'll just have to wait and see how this pans out. Not all analysts and leakers can be right, meaning someone is wrong. For now, let's just hope it's the display analyst. You know, the one whose job it is to know what's happening in...displays.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.