iPhone 17 ProMotion: Why I’m Finally Upgrading My iPhone 12 (And What It Means for the iPhone Pro)

It’s 2020, and I just bought an iPhone 12, upgrading from my old Pixel 3. Fast forward almost five years, and I’m still using that same iPhone 12. Why? It works perfectly fine, but more importantly, Apple still hasn’t brought the one feature I crave most to its standard iPhone models: a ProMotion display. If you’re not familiar, ProMotion is Apple’s fancy name for a high-refresh-rate screen.

Apple first introduced ProMotion with the iPhone 13 Pro. Since then, every Pro model has boasted a silky-smooth 120Hz refresh rate display, capable of scaling down to a power-saving 1Hz for always-on functionality. This isn’t just a tech spec; it makes everything from scrolling through social media to intense gaming feel incredibly fluid and responsive. High refresh rate displays are so popular, in fact, that most Android manufacturers now offer them on their entry-level devices. Yet, if you want one on an iPhone, you still have to shell out over $1,000 for a Pro model.

To me, that’s a real problem for Apple. The closest I came to upgrading was in 2023 with the iPhone 15. It was the first standard model to get the Dynamic Island cutout, which initially debuted on the iPhone 14 Pro. The iPhone 15 brought better cameras, a nicer display, and convenient USB-C charging. But even with all those improvements, it wasn’t enough to make me ditch my iPhone 12, simply because it still lacked a ProMotion screen. I can’t imagine I’m the only one who held onto their older iPhone for the same exact reason.

Apple’s “trickle-down” strategy feels painfully slow compared to its competitors. Back in 2022, when display analyst Ross Young accurately predicted that all iPhone 15 models would feature the Dynamic Island, he also suggested ProMotion wouldn’t hit regular iPhones until 2024 at the earliest. He attributed this delay to supply chain limitations for Apple’s more affordable handsets. Whether that was truly the case, I don’t know. What I do know is that in 2020, the same year Apple released the $799 iPhone 12, Google launched the $700 Pixel 5, which already came with a 90Hz OLED display.

However, it seems my long wait is finally coming to an end. Rumors suggest that all four 2025 iPhone models – the iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and the new iPhone 17 Air – are expected to feature 120Hz displays. For me, this is the year I upgrade. But it also makes me wonder about the future of the iPhone lineup.

If I had to guess, Apple’s decision to withhold ProMotion from the standard iPhone was less about supply chain constraints and more about creating a compelling reason for people to spend extra on a Pro model. If these pre-release rumors about the iPhone 17 prove true, the iPhone Pro models could find themselves in an awkward position. With ProMotion no longer a key differentiator, and whispers that the Pro and Pro Max might revert to aluminum frames, there wouldn’t be many unique reasons to opt for the more expensive models, save for a telephoto camera or a larger screen on the Pro Max.

I suspect this could be the last year we see an iPhone Pro in its current form. During a recent episode of the Engadget podcast, Senior Editor Devindra Hardawar and I spoke with Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who mentioned Apple’s plans to go all-in on the iPhone Air. While it might start with a single camera and less battery life than its counterparts, Gurman believes Apple is confident they can shrink these components over time, making the Air eventually equal to their current flagship devices.

In essence, the iPhone Air might be a side project for now, but it’s easy to envision a future where it becomes Apple’s primary flagship. Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, but I’m hopeful Apple plans for a future where both the Air and the regular iPhone offer similar cutting-edge features, with the company charging a premium simply for a sleeker, more refined package.