Will the iPhone 18 Pro have a 120Hz display?

Yes. The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will use LTPO 3 ProMotion displays with a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate. This is the same ProMotion technology that has been on Pro iPhones since 2021, now in its third generation with better power efficiency. The base iPhone 18, iPhone 18e, and iPhone Air 2 are expected to remain at 60Hz.

What is ProMotion?

ProMotion is the iPhone Pro's high refresh rate display technology. It means the screen refreshes up to 120 times per second (120Hz), twice the rate of standard 60Hz displays. The result is smoother scrolling, more responsive gaming, and better-looking animations. The 2021 iPhone 13 Pro was the first iPhone with ProMotion, using LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) backplane technology to vary the refresh rate dynamically — dropping to 10Hz for static content to save battery, then ramping up to 120Hz for scrolling and animations.

The iPhone 18 Pro uses LTPO 3, which can drop the refresh rate all the way to 1Hz when the display is showing static content. This is the same 1Hz minimum that Apple introduced on the iPhone 14 Pro and continued on the iPhone 15 Pro and 16 Pro, and it enables the always-on display feature. The ProMotion range on the iPhone 18 Pro is therefore 1-120Hz, with intermediate rates at 10Hz, 24Hz, 30Hz, 48Hz, 60Hz, and 80Hz selected based on what is on screen.

Why does the iPhone 18 base model not have 120Hz?

Apple has been splitting the display feature between Pro and base iPhone models for five generations. The 60Hz vs 120Hz split is a deliberate product segmentation choice. There are two reasons:

1. Cost: LTPO displays cost roughly $30-$50 more per unit than standard LTPS 60Hz displays. Apple can charge $300-$400 more for the Pro model and capture that margin.
2. Battery life: LTPO saves battery by varying the refresh rate, but the underlying panel is still more power-hungry than a 60Hz LTPS panel. A 60Hz base iPhone gets 1-2 hours more battery life than a hypothetical 120Hz base iPhone with the same battery.

Apple has not signaled any plan to bring 120Hz to the base iPhone in 2026 or 2027. Industry analyst Ross Young (Display Supply Chain Consultants) expects 120Hz to remain a Pro-exclusive feature at least through the iPhone 19 generation.

What about the iPhone Air 2?

The iPhone Air 2 is the successor to the iPhone Air launched in fall 2025. The original iPhone Air had a 6.6-inch ProMotion 120Hz display despite its mid-tier positioning — a one-time exception Apple made to differentiate the new Air product line from the base iPhone 17. The iPhone Air 2 will continue this, with a 6.7-inch LTPO 3 panel at 1-120Hz. The 60Hz limitation applies only to the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e.

Is 120Hz noticeable compared to 60Hz?

Yes, especially in three areas:

• Scrolling: Web pages, social feeds, and text scroll much more smoothly at 120Hz. Text remains readable while scrolling on a 120Hz display; on 60Hz, text can blur slightly.
• Gaming: Games that target high frame rates (Genshin Impact, Call of Duty Mobile, Alto's Odyssey) look noticeably smoother. Many iPhone games are now capped at 60fps anyway, but 120Hz-capable games benefit.
• Apple Pencil-like interactions: Drawing, writing, and the new Genmoji and Image Playground previews all feel more responsive at 120Hz.

For most other interactions (reading static text, viewing photos, watching 30fps video), the difference between 60Hz and 120Hz is small. Apple's variable refresh rate system means the iPhone 18 Pro drops to 10Hz or 1Hz when displaying static content, so battery impact is minimal.

What is the resolution of the iPhone 18 Pro display?

The iPhone 18 Pro has a 6.3-inch OLED display with 2622 x 1206 resolution (460 ppi). The iPhone 18 Pro Max has a 6.9-inch OLED display with 2868 x 1320 resolution (460 ppi). These are the same pixel densities as the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max. The peak brightness is expected to be 2,500 nits for outdoor use and 1,600 nits for HDR content, also unchanged from the iPhone 17 Pro generation.

Will the iPhone 18 Pro have a smaller Dynamic Island?

Yes, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will have a 30% smaller Dynamic Island, made possible by shrinking the front-facing camera and Face ID components. The smaller cutout gives more usable screen area and a less interrupted look when watching video or playing games in fullscreen mode. The smaller Dynamic Island is a Pro-only feature; the iPhone 18, 18e, and Air 2 keep the standard-sized Dynamic Island.

Is ProMotion the same as "high refresh rate"?

Yes, ProMotion is Apple's marketing name for the iPhone's high refresh rate display technology. The underlying hardware is an LTPO OLED panel with a variable refresh rate from 1Hz to 120Hz. Android phone makers typically call this "high refresh rate" or "smooth display" rather than using Apple's term. Samsung's equivalent is "Super Smooth," OnePlus's is "Fluid AMOLED," and Google's is "Smooth Display."

Bottom line: Yes, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max have 120Hz ProMotion displays, with 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate via LTPO 3. The base iPhone 18, 18e, and Air 2 stay at 60Hz. The 120Hz feature will remain Pro-exclusive at least through 2027.

What about the iPhone 18e display?

The iPhone 18e uses a 6.1-inch OLED display at 60Hz, with 2532 x 1170 resolution and 460 ppi. The 18e does not have ProMotion. The peak brightness is 1,200 nits (typical) and 1,600 nits (HDR), lower than the Pro models. The iPhone 18e is positioned as the budget option in the lineup, and the 60Hz display is one of the trade-offs. For users who care about display smoothness, the iPhone 18e is not the right pick — the iPhone Air 2 at $899 has 120Hz ProMotion and is a more affordable way to get the smoother display than the iPhone 18 Pro at $1,099.

Does ProMotion affect battery life on the iPhone 18 Pro?

Slightly negative, but mostly offset by LTPO 3 efficiency. A 120Hz display uses more power than a 60Hz display when showing motion, but LTPO 3 drops the refresh rate to 1Hz for static content, which is most of what you look at. Apple claims the iPhone 18 Pro gets the same video playback battery life (28 hours) as the iPhone 17 Pro, despite the new 2nm A20 Pro chip. In real-world mixed use, the iPhone 18 Pro's battery life is within 1 hour of the iPhone 17 Pro. The bigger battery improvements come from the A20 Pro's 30% power efficiency gain, not from the display.