iPhone 17 could finally get this Pro feature – and it could convince me to downgrade from an earlier version

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In recent years, Apple has been closing the gap between the Pro and regular iPhones. With iPhone 16, the differences between the models have been the smallest ever, and a number of impressive upgrades have made the $899 entry-level iPhone a very good buy indeed.

Now, a new report from South Korea’s ETNews suggests that next year’s iPhone 17 could inherit one of the Pro’s few remaining advantages: a 120Hz ProMotion display. The report claims that all four versions of the 2025 iPhone will feature low-power LTPO (low temperature polycrystalline oxide) panels supplied by Samsung and LG.

It’s important to note that this isn’t the first time we’ve heard this rumor. Back in September, display analyst Ross Young wrote a post on X saying that non-pro iPhones would get 120Hz panels for the first time in the 17 series.

120Hz screens have only been part of Apple’s smartphone lineup since the iPhone 13 Pro released in 2021. ProMotion-branded screens refresh up to 120 times per second instead of the previous 60, which not only looks noticeably smoother, but also opens the door to 120fps apps. The following year, Apple improved on this with LTPO technology, which allowed the iPhone 14 Pro to drop down to 1Hz and provide a low-power, always-on display.

It’s unclear whether the base iPhone 17 and the rumored iPhone 17 Slim (or maybe “Air”) will be that low on the always-on display, but it’s nonetheless a major upgrade that makes the base models even more attractive.

Is it time to downgrade?

Readers of Tom’s Guide with long memories may remember that I switched back to iPhone after 13 years of using Android back in 2022. I’m very happy with my iPhone 14 Pro and don’t plan on buying a new one until it slows down. down – which is not yet visible.

But when that happens, and assuming I haven’t been tempted to switch back to Android in the intervening months, I’m not sure I’ll feel the need to upgrade to Pro again. I’m not a particularly power user: I spend 90% of my time on my phone on WhatsApp, Safari, Instagram, Reddit and, er, Coffee Golf.

But the one thing I definitely wouldn’t go back to is the 60Hz display. No doubt I’ll get used to it over time, but whenever I have to go a long day without a charger, I always switch my iPhone to Low Power Mode, which disables ProMotion and reverts to 60Hz – and I really hate it! Everything feels much less smooth and awkward to look at, and it’s always nice to get back to full power when I’m safely within reach of the charger.

When I bought the Pro model in 2022, I assumed I was doing it for the camera and not the screen, since the 3x telephoto lens makes all the difference (and now goes up to 5x with the iPhone 16 Pro). But very few of my photos require that kind of distance (cats don’t go far!), and aesthetically, I think phones look a lot better with fewer lenses than having three to five eyes staring at you as you turn the phone over. over. Also, Apple has been doing some clever things with pixel binning on regular phones since I bought it, providing a nice 2x zoom proxy lens that should work fine for me.

With that in mind, I’ll be keeping a close eye on the iPhone 17 Slim – a thin iPhone with a bigger screen, a 120Hz display and just one camera lens? This looks like it would be perfect for me, assuming the sky-high price rumors are just that, rumors.

I doubt I’ll be ready to switch phones by September 2025, but if 120Hz screens are here to stay, then I might just be ready for that downgrade when the time inevitably comes.