The iPhone 17 might have the one feature that Android users are still bragging about

Android users, your days of comparing iPhones to Android devices spec-by-spec are numbered. Once Apple adopts a higher refresh rate for its entry-level iPhone, it’s over for anyone still playing Bragging Rights Bingo.

We’re a day away from the start of the new year, usually when rumors of the “next iPhone” begin to emerge. The current leaker has roots as far back as September and claims that the iPhone 17 will have a screen with a higher refresh rate than past iPhones.

Apple uses ProMotion, or 120Hz, displays from iPhone 13 Pro. Since then, only the Pro models offer a ProMotion variant with iPhone 15 Pro being the first to adopt an always-on display. According to a leakage on the Chinese social network Weibostarting in 2025, all iPhone models will require ProMotion screens, no longer limiting them to the more expensive variant.

The leak comes from a previously cited source of information, Digital chat stationwhich also started the rumor that the iPhone 17 Pro will get a redesign on the back. We’ll see about that. This rumor is spreading because we heard it from a display analyst Ross Young. The literal supply chain offers the best insight into what lies ahead.

Apple is starting to pack more pro-level features into its entry-level iPhone. this year, surprised us with the inclusion of the camera control button on all iPhone 16 models. Apple usually releases new features such as A dynamic island, first for Pro users. The company has even made Apple Intelligence available to those who opt for the $800 dual camera iPhone 16 over the three cameras $1000 iPhone 16 Pro. That’s why the rumor makes sense. Adopting a higher refresh rate than the iPhone 17 will follow suit in this practice.

If Apple adopts ProMotion across the board, it could benefit everything that happens with the Pixel lineup, for example. The Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro have the same screen sizes, but their displays have obvious differences. The Pixel 9 Pro it has a Super Actua display with higher resolution and pixels per inch (PPI) – a numbers game we played more about ten years ago when all screens were smaller – and a faster refresh rate. By comparison, the Pixel 9 isn’t as bright and doesn’t have an always-on display.

It will be interesting to see how Apple does it. Will it follow the Pixel line and lower the resolution and brightness of the screen to support the battery of the regular iPhone 17? Or it will accept always-on display capabilities for both tiers to make iOS features like In standby mode accessible to all? We’ll find out the answers soon.