Kuo says no 120Hz iPhone 12, 5.4-inch model gets smaller notch, more
- sep
- 14
What you need to know
- Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has a new note out on the eve of Apple's September 15 event.
- He says we won't see a 120Hz iPhone this year.
- One iPhone will get a smaller notch, but not all four.
There's some good news and some middling news.
Apple isn't expected to announce any new iPhones during its September 15 event tomorrow, but that doesn't mean that we aren't all keen to see what Apple has in store for us when they have their big day. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has a new research note out with some expectations and it isn't all good news. In fact, a lot of it is bad. Starting with the lack of a 120Hz screen.
In the note, seen by iMore today, Kuo says that he doesn't expect there to be a new 120Hz screen this time around, thanks in part to the amount of energy such a screen will require. Instead, next year's iPhone will make use of LTPO technology to reduce the amount of power required. Then, and only then, should we expect a 120Hz iPhone.
In terms of 5G, Kuo says that all the new iPhones will feature 5G this year, although it isn't as simple as that. There will be four new iPhones with Sub-6GHz 5G support that will ship next month, with a whole new round of iPhones shipping at a later date with mmWave 5G support. Production of the mmWave iPhones will be in lower numbers, and it isn't clear whether Apple will market them differently or if they will only be available in specific regions.
Interestingly, Kuo also notes that he expects the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 to feature a smaller notch than the other two screen sizes we expect across iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro. The reason? It's thought that the smaller notch is required to make space for things like the time and WiFi/5G indicators in the iPhone's status bar.
That does of course leave an obvious question. If Apple can make the notch smaller, why not do it across all models? Kuo's note doesn't address that, unfortunately.
As for tomorrow's event, Kuo says the updated iPad Air will feature Touch ID built into the Side button, as we've heard in recent leaks and rumors. That also suggests we might once day see the return of Touch ID to iPhone.
Apple will hold an event tomorrow with Apple Watch Series 6, a new low-cost watch, and iPad Air likely to be announced. There could also be more on the horizon but at this point, nobody knows for sure.