What Is ProMotion (120Hz)?
Apple’s adaptive 1–120Hz refresh rate technology — and why cheap screens revert to 60Hz.
Definition: ProMotion is Apple’s adaptive refresh rate technology used in iPhone 13 Pro and later (including iPhone 14 Pro, 15 Pro, 16 Pro series). The display adjusts between 1Hz and 120Hz depending on content — 120Hz for fast scrolling and gaming, 1Hz for static content like a lock screen — saving battery while delivering the smoothest motion of any iPhone.
Why ProMotion matters for screen repair
ProMotion requires an LTPO (Low Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide) OLED panel — a significantly more advanced and expensive display than standard 60Hz OLED. Budget replacement screens for Pro iPhones typically use standard OLED panels that cannot support ProMotion — they lock at 60Hz. The screen may look similar at first glance but scrolling and animations are noticeably less smooth. PhoneDoctor sources LTPO-compatible OEM-grade replacement panels to preserve ProMotion on all Pro iPhone repairs.
How to tell if ProMotion is working
Fast-scroll a long webpage or move the home screen — at 120Hz, motion is exceptionally smooth and fluid. At 60Hz, scrolling has a slight judder by comparison. Settings → Accessibility → Motion → there’s no Hz indicator, but you can feel the difference. The “Limit Frame Rate” toggle in Settings → Accessibility → Motion explicitly caps to 60Hz — if this is off and scrolling still feels sluggish, the replacement screen doesn’t support ProMotion.
Related terms
→ OLED — the display technology ProMotion works with
→ True Tone — another display feature requiring OEM panels to preserve
→ Screen Burn-In — OLED screens including ProMotion are susceptible
→ Face ID — all ProMotion iPhones also use Face ID
iPhone Pro screen cracked?
PhoneDoctor sources LTPO-compatible OEM-grade panels to preserve ProMotion on all iPhone 13 Pro and later screen repairs.