Prosser: 120Hz iPhone 12 displays are a no-go thanks to battery life

Fake iPhone 12 concept (Image credit: Rene Ritchie / iMore - iPhone 12 concept)

What you need to know

The iPhone 12's 120Hz display has been on, then off, then on.
Now, according to Prosser, it's off for good.
The problem, as always, appears to be concerns over battery life.

Apple's iPhone 12 lineup won't have a 120Hz display after all. That's according to prolific leaker Jon Prosser. In a tweet last night he said that Apple has decided against 120Hz, or ProMotion as it would likely be called, because of battery concerns.

Apple apparently decided that it couldn't offer 5G and ProMotion in the same device without hammering battery life. 5G won.

I’m told that 120hz not being implemented in iPhone 12 Pro is 100% about battery life.

Hardware was more than capable — but it just eats through battery, and 5G drains enough battery by itself.

It was basically a choice between 120hz or 5G, and they picked 5G. Rightfully so.I’m told that 120hz not being implemented in iPhone 12 Pro is 100% about battery life.

Hardware was more than capable — but it just eats through battery, and 5G drains enough battery by itself.

It was basically a choice between 120hz or 5G, and they picked 5G. Rightfully so.— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) October 11, 2020 October 11, 2020

As Prosser points out, the decision to go with 5G over ProMotion is an obvious one for Apple. While the internet's spec-heads will roll their eyes and cancel iPhone 12 before they've even seen it, real people simply won't care. And 5G is much, much easier to market for Apple and its retail partners.

Most people won't know what 120Hz displays mean, but they'll surely know that 5G is something their $1,000 iPhone should have.

The silver lining? Apple will hopefully be able to save enough battery life thanks to the A15 and other power improvements that we'll get 120Hz ProMotion next year.

Maybe. Hopefully. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Apple will announce iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and who-knows-what during a special event tomorrow.

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.

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