However, Apple has never really been one to bow to convention, and a new report from Jon Prosser has suggested that the main reason why is because of battery life. Prosser’s tweet claims that Apple’s hardware was more than capable of supporting 120Hz displays, but apparently battery life was terrible as a result.
I’m told that 120hz not being implemented in iPhone 12 Pro is 100% about battery life.
Hardware was more than capable — but it just eats through battery, and 5G drains enough battery by itself.
It was basically a choice between 120hz or 5G, and they picked 5G. Rightfully so.
— jon prosser (@jon_prosser) October 11, 2020
This isn’t to say that 5G is better in terms of battery efficiency, but it seems like it was perhaps the lesser of two evils. It is also possible that 5G would offer more tangible gains compared to a 120Hz display, where some might not even be able to tell the difference. Of course, it’s hard to say if these claims are accurate, but given that the iPhone’s battery life is usually rather contentious, we suppose Apple doesn’t really need to give people more reasons to criticize its products.
In the meantime, we have heard that the iPhone 12’s battery life is expected to be slightly better than its predecessors, where the Pro models (the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max) could come with batteries that last up to 1 hour longer compared to 2019’s iPhones.