Will the iPhone 12 Gain the Apple Watch Series 5’s Best Feature?

One of the best features of the Apple Watch is its Always-on Display. When checking the time or Activity rings, you never have to wait for the Series 5’s screen to light up – the display is always on, ready at any moment.

This feature is powered by the company’s low-power backplane technology called LTPO. This display technology maximizes battery life by slowing down or speeding up the refresh rate of the display in response to usage.

Rumors suggest this technology is coming to the iPhone, but it may not debut until 2021 claims display analyst Ross Young. 

According to Young, the rumored Samsung Galaxy Note20+ will be the only flagship smartphone to feature the low-power LTPO display technology in 2020.

Apple won’t add LTPO to the iPhone until 2021, giving Samsung a “big power advantage,” claims Young.

Apple will need LTPO if it wants to add ProMotion technology to its iPhone lineup, believes Young.

ProMotion first debuted on the iPad Pro in 2017, offering improved responsiveness, smoother motion, and more fluid scrolling. Apple achieves this fluidity by allowing the device to vary the refresh rate from 60Hz to 120Hz as needed.

Two prolific Apple leakers, Max Weinbach and Jon Prosser, both claim Apple will bundle ProMotion into the iPhone 12.

Prosser wasn’t as bullish on the feature, adding that Apple may disable ProMotion technology if it drained the battery too quickly.

Apple may be looking to integrate LTPO into its iPhones to combat this power consumption. The addition of LTPO would allow the iPhone’s display to go as low as 1Hz when idle. Young points out that the potential power savings from dropping to 1Hz can be “significant.”

With all of that being said, power management is not the only advantage of LTPO. It also may make it possible to add an Always-on Display to the iPhone. Imagine a world where you could keep your iPhone’s display on all the time without sucking the life out of the battery.

Needless to say, an Always-on Display would be a considerable benefit for those who are always checking their phone for messages or working on it for hours on end.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]