OPINION : Apple ’s latest iPad Air is a fantastic bit of kit that expect to bridge over the gap between Apple ’s even iPad solicitation and its top - oddment iPad Pro collection . It ’s the only non - Pro iPad to get a desktop - year M series chipset , and it matches the 11- and 13 - inch screen sizes of its Pro sibling too .

However , theiPad Aircan’t quite compete with its pro sibling when it comes to the screen ’s refresh rate . Like every non - Pro intersection in Apple ’s phone and tablet lines , the iPad Air refreshes at a maximum of 60Hz compared to the super smooth 120Hz of Apple ’s proprietaryProMotion display tech .

The latter essentially allows Pro - level iPhones and iPads to review the screen 120 times per second , earmark not only 120fps accompaniment in games but a generally smooth , more responsive experience using the products . Scrolling feel smooth with less jitter , and app invigoration are buttery politic too .

It ’s one of those feature article that , once you ’ve used it for a while , you simply ca n’t go back to products without it . After using 120Hz ( and higher ) screens on phones , tablets , laptops and even TVs , I sense the stuttery nature of the iPad Air ’s 60Hz screen is noticeable .

However , thelatest whispersfrom the ever - active rumour mill evoke that could alter with the next loop of iPad Air , with Apple allegedly await to increase the tablet ’s refresh rate . Now , we wo n’t be seeing the full 120Hz ProMotion technical school of the top - endiPad Promodels , but it ’ll allegedly jump from 60Hz to 90Hz .

This is a big deal , as the jump from 60Hz to 90Hz is arguably the most celebrated jump , with the deviation between 90Hz and 120Hz , and even high refresh rate , being far more trifling for anything outside of gamey frame rate play . It ’s also the first time that Apple has break forth from its ‘ 120Hz or nothing ’ stance when it comes to boost refresh rates on its product .

That ’s slap-up news for succeeding iPad Air owners of course , but I ’d argue that it ’s even more exciting for succeeding iPhone user as it opens the room access for the hypothesis of the regular iPhones – presently crest at 60Hz and one of mymain criticism of the iPhone 16 – also get a rise in refresh rate tech to 90Hz .

This would make a band of sense , as it prevent the ‘ true ’ 120Hz ProMotion technical school exclusive to the Pro - level iPhones while still offering a politic experience with a 90Hz refresh rate . It ’s similar to what we picture in the Android market when high refresh rate concealment became a ‘ thing ’ , with a move first to 90Hz before 120Hz became more omnipresent .

Apple could also tell the models by not using thelatest LTPO techon its regular iPhone assembling . This LTPO tech in question appropriate screens to dynamically change refresh rate anywhere from 1 - 120Hz , and it ’s what you ’ll discover on current ProMotion screens . Apple could opt for an quondam adaptation of LTPO for its regular silver screen where it baby-sit at one set refresh rate , or it could trench it all told – again , as we see on Android smartphones .

fundamentally , a jump from 60Hz to 90Hz would n’t necessarily cannibalise the sales of the 120Hz Pro - level iPhones depending on how Apple wants to implement the technical school – assuaging the presumptive worry over why we ’ve yet to see 120Hz screens on the regular iPhones despite being omnipresent on Androids of a like price distributor point .

Interestingly , aseparate rumourfrom display psychoanalyst Ross Young also points towards the utilization of ProMotion exhibit in the next - gen iPhone 17 , due for release in 2025 , but it ’s worth noting that Young did n’t specifically mention 120Hz ProMotion – just ‘ ProMotion ’ in general .

It ’s entirely potential that the regular iPhone 17 will let in ProMotion , but a downgraded version of the current tech cap at 90Hz . That consistency with the aver 90Hz refresh rate of the iPad Air would make a lot of mother wit , specially with hearsay that there will be an iPhone 17 ‘ Air ’ .

Regardless of how it ’s mark , if we do see a 90Hz - enable iPad Air unloose in H1 2025 as currently prognosticate , it could point towards a monumental acclivity for next year ’s steady iPhone compendium .