Apple limits the iPhone 13 Pro’s 120Hz display to third-party apps and annoys users

Apple has formalized the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max as new 120Hz LTPO displaysWhich is great for gamers, but today the developers of the App Store pointed out that not all apps will be able to take advantage of all these capabilities. Now understand why this is happening.

In more detail, 9to5Mac notes that the screen runs at 120Hz when using full screen apps, but animations are limited to 60Hz. This has led to complaints from users of some iOS apps, such as Apollo, a well-known alternative app for Reddit.

Am I right to see UIView.animateWithDuration APIs not clocking at 120Hz on iPhone 13? On the UIScrollView, the system ones, and the metal by their looks, is the rest still 60Hz? pic.twitter.com/t3MeM9cj0E

– Christian Selig September 24, 2021

Above, you can see a comment from a Reddit user complaining about Apollo not showing 120Hz in some listings. Christian Selig, Apollo developer, responds by saying that the limitation is caused by iOS, not the app.

Note that this is not the case on the iPad Pro, these use 120Hz for all animations. See the attached file.

I suppose this is a purposeful choice to improve battery life on iPhones. 🔋 pic.twitter.com/Utg0oaDzdi

– Christian Selig September 24, 2021

Selig did more tests which showed that the iPad Pro with Pro Motion display runs all apps at 120Hz, so this may be an improvement for the iPhone 13 Pro to avoid excessive battery consumption, after the tablet has a larger power cell.

However, it’s worth noting that the native iOS apps seem to run at 120Hz all the time, so this could be a system bug on the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro Max that Apple should address in a future update.

• Apple iPhone 13 Pro is not yet available in Brazilian stores. To be notified when he arrives.
• Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max is not yet available in Brazilian stores. To be notified when he arrives.