With the iPhone 12 range likely landing soon we now have a good idea of what to expect in terms of many of the features and specs - and one of those is the screen, which it’s looking increasingly likely will be stuck with a 60Hz refresh rate.
That’s despite the fact that many rival handsets – such as the Samsung Galaxy S20 and OnePlus 8 Pro – have a smoother 120Hz refresh rate. It’s a claim that Ross Young (a display industry expert and leaker) has made a number of times, and he reiterated it recently on Twitter, but with some additional details.
According to Young, Apple actually can source 120Hz panels for the iPhone 12 Pro models, but can’t get hold of 120Hz driver ICs (integrated circuits). That means the company would have to either delay the phones until it can get the driver ICs, or launch with 60Hz screens - and Young says he's hearing it will be the latter.
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Hearing that Apple can get 120Hz Pro panels, but not 120Hz driver ICs. So they will either have to come up with a fix which will be difficult, wait for 120Hz driver ICs and delay the launch possibly significantly or launch with 60Hz. We are hearing they will launch with 60Hz.August 24, 2020
As ever we’d take these claims with a pinch of salt, but all the recent leaks seem to suggest 120Hz won’t be happening, so we’d expect that a 60Hz refresh rate is likely.
Elsewhere, Reddit user Amn09 has posted a photo of what’s apparently an iPhone 12 Pro Max case. The only significant detail it shows is the layout of the camera and, well, we’d take this with a serious side of salt, as not only does it not come from an established leaker, but it also doesn’t match most of the camera leaks that we’ve seen already.
That said, we’ve previously seen multiple possible camera designs leaked, so this is one detail that we’re less clear about than most.
The design here appears to show apertures for three lenses, with one of them possibly being the rumored LiDAR scanner. Then there are a few smaller holes, likely for a flash or other sensors. But while camera design leaks don’t entirely line up, the majority suggest that the iPhone 12 Pro Max will have three lenses as well as a LiDAR scanner – so in other words one more than is shown here.
So we doubt this is an accurate camera design, but if it is it could be disappointing, since it would mean fewer lenses than we were expecting.
Still, it’s kind of nice to have some uncertainty – it means there’s a chance Apple will have at least a few small surprises for us when it unveils the iPhone 12 range, which we’re expecting it to do in either September or October.
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