Gurman: The iPhone 13 could get an always-on display

Iphone 13 Bronze (Image credit: EverythingApplePro)

What you need to know

The iPhone 13 could feature an always-on display like the Apple Watch.
The upcoming phone is also expected to finally feature a 120Hz display.

With the Apple Watch Series 5 and Series 6, one of the best features the company brought to its smartwatch has been the always-on display. Now, it appears that feature may make its way to the upcoming iPhone 13.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman talked about what to expect from the upcoming iPhone in his Power On newsletter. The journalist said that the new screen would not only be a variable 120Hz display but an always-on one as well.

Expect a faster A15 chip, smaller notch, a new display for better battery life and the potential of an Apple Watch-like always on mode and a 120Hz refresh rate and upgrades to video recording.

Gurman did not say more about the potential feature and what it might look like on the iPhone. The Apple Watch, while being always-on in the 5th and 6th generation, does dim a little in order to preserve battery life. The iPhone experience something similar where the phone would still show you all of the information in color but dim a bit so it does not kill your battery.

An always-on display came to the Apple Watch when Apple brought an LTPO display to the smartwatch for the first time. The display technology allowed the company to adjust the refresh rate of the display down to 1Hz per second, making a feature like always-on possible.

Apple Watch Series 5 (Image credit: Apple)

The company is expected to bring a new version of that technology to the iPhone for the first time which would enable not only an always-on mode but a 120Hz refresh rate. However, earlier reports say that the higher-end displays with those features may be limited to the Pro models of the iPhone 13.

Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 13 lineup in September. The new iPhone is expected to feature a new display as well as some enormous upgrades to the camera system and battery technology.

If you want to hold off on the iPhone 13 but want to upgrade your iPhone 12, check out our list of the Best iPhone 12 Waterproof Cases 2021.

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.