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iPhone 13 may feature Apple Watch's Always On mode and iPad's ProMotion tech

Published: Jul 18, 2021, 3:57 PM

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iPhone 13 may feature Apple Watch's Always On mode and iPad's ProMotion tech

This year's Apple smartphone lineup, which will likely be named iPhone 13, will feature an always on mode, says Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in his Sunday newsletter.

The Cupertino giant was last year expected to bring a high refresh rate to the iPhone but allegedly dropped the idea because of battery life concerns. This year, the company will probably use Samsung's LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) tech to enable 120Hz screens on the Pro variants.

Apple introduced the tech, which it calls ProMotion, in 2017 with the iPad Pro. A refresh rate is the number of times the screen updates with new images each second and a higher number makes for more fluid scrolling, smoother gameplay, and greater responsiveness.

Having your screen run at 120Hz constantly can be wasteful as it's pointless for static content and that's where LTPO comes in. LTPO displays can dynamically adjust refresh rate depending on the content being displayed and this makes them more power-efficient than low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) thin-film transistors (TFT) screens that companies normally use.

iPhone 13's LTPO screen will facilitate Always On mode

Since the refresh rate can theoretically go as low as 1Hz, rumors had implied that LTPO would pave the way for the always on feature on the iPhone 13. The functionality first came to Apple watches with the Apple Watch Series 5.

A low refresh rate allows the display to operate at low brightness levels and this helps conserve power during times when you don't need the screen to be fully active. Most high-end Android smartphones already have this feature and Apple's implementation is expected to be similar.

Per one report, clock and battery charge will always be visible in the always on mode, and only part of the screen will light up, that too temporarily, to show a new notification.

Today's report also reiterates a lot of the same stuff that was reported earlier: the iPhone 13 will come with the A15 Bionic chip, a smaller notch, improved video recording capabilities, and longer battery life. In-display fingerprint tech did not make the cut, but there's always next year.

The iPhone 13 will reportedly be unveiled in September.

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Anam Hamid is a computer scientist turned tech journalist who has a keen interest in the tech world, with a particular focus on smartphones and tablets. She has previously written for Android Headlines and has also been a ghostwriter for several tech and car publications. Anam is not a tech hoarder and believes in using her gadgets for as long as possible. She is concerned about smartphone addiction and its impact on future generations, but she also appreciates the convenience that phones have brought into our lives. Anam is excited about technological advancements like folding screens and under-display sensors, and she often wonders about the future of technology. She values the overall experience of a device more than its individual specs and admires companies that deliver durable, high-quality products. In her free time, Anam enjoys reading, scrolling through Reddit and Instagram, and occasionally refreshing her programming skills through tutorials.