Entire iPhone 17 line rumored to use iPhone 16 Pro's 120 Hz display

While the iPhone SE 4 is just on the horizon, many eyes are already turned to the iPhone 17 line. A new rumor claims that all handsets in the iPhone 17 line will carry over the display currently used in the iPhone 16 Pro, including its refresh rate. 

This rumor comes from a user on Chinese social media site Weibo. Known as Instant Digital, the leakster claimed (in a now-removed post) that the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro (as well as their larger variants) would use a Samsung M14 OLED panel, which is the same panel currently used in the iPhone 16 Pro.  The rumored iPhone 17 Air will also get this panel, according to Instant Digital. While this panel gets quite bright, the highlight (especially for the base iPhone 17) is its 120 Hz variable refresh rate. 

If this rumor proves true, this would mark the first time a non-Pro iPhone would have a refresh rate higher than 60 Hz, which is an oft-criticized point about Apple's base iPhone models. This panel also allows for a variable refresh rate down to just 1 Hz. 

In our review of the iPhone 16 Pro, the phone's OLED panel averaged 1033 nits with a fairly good color accuracy (DeltaE2000 value of 0.98). However, it carries a downside similar to other OLED screens, namely a low PWM of roughly 240 Hz. 

Keep in mind this is just a rumor and should be taken with a grain of salt. Apple has long gate-kept its "ProMotion" displays for its Pro model machines. As such, it would be quite a shift in Apple's product lineup to offer a 120 Hz panel on a non-Pro iPhone.