Yes! Except I wouldn’t say dizzy as it was more of a vertigo type feeling for me but I know exactly what you mean.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 13 Pro The ProMotion display is pretty underwhelming
- Thread starter alexe
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I appreciate this feature a lot, and am super happy to have it. It's why I waited instead of just getting a 12 pro (well, and the cameras, but they arent _that_ much better tbh). I haven't been upsold ****. I got exactly what I wanted.
That video is excellent and really shows how people need to be shown a difference that is so tiny that without being pointed out it is not that noticeable.
I have looked at my phone and as some have pointed out "switched to low power mode" and find that the best way I can describe it is that if I had two exact same cars, one could get from 0 to 60 in 6 seconds the other gets there in 7 seconds, sure, side by side, one could tell, but, in real life, although there is a difference, it's not that big.
Last edited:
Also I’m pretty sure if you’re on low battery mode it disabled promotion
It's hard to believe now but back when the MacBook Pro with Retina Display came out in 2012, the vast majority of my family could not notice the difference even though to me it was blindingly obvious. I'm sure to a lesser extent there were those who couldn't notice the retina display on the iPhone 4 either.
Can you imagine using a non-retina display on a new MacBook or iPhone in 2021?
All this is to say that a feature shouldn't be wrote off just because you don't notice it. I don't notice the difference in speed between the A12 chip and the A15 chip but it doesn't mean it isn't there.
Fair enough, it may not make an impact for you personally when you're using the phone (because you can't see it), but there are many for whom it will, and for the advancement of technology as a whole these features are what will become the standard in years to come.
I'm not implying that ProMotion is as big of an advancement as the Retina Display was, no way, but it's still a jump forward for iPhone and I reckon in years to come we'll expect every device to ship with 120hz minimum.
Can you imagine using a non-retina display on a new MacBook or iPhone in 2021?
All this is to say that a feature shouldn't be wrote off just because you don't notice it. I don't notice the difference in speed between the A12 chip and the A15 chip but it doesn't mean it isn't there.
Fair enough, it may not make an impact for you personally when you're using the phone (because you can't see it), but there are many for whom it will, and for the advancement of technology as a whole these features are what will become the standard in years to come.
I'm not implying that ProMotion is as big of an advancement as the Retina Display was, no way, but it's still a jump forward for iPhone and I reckon in years to come we'll expect every device to ship with 120hz minimum.
It's a nice thing to have, but honestly iPhones are so fast and smooth in general that it's not like a revolutionary thing.
I'm glad it's there though.
I'm glad it's there though.
I just turned on low powe mode and ProMotion was still active. I double checked and I could disable ProMotion separately.
I feel like some people are just more sensitive then. I immediately told my wife how awesome promotion was…her response was she couldn’t see much of a difference. It’s a VERY noticeable difference to me. The phone feels much more fluid.
The toggle in Settings-Accessibility-Motion will stay on even if ProMotion is disabled via Low Power Mode.
Just leave the toggle in Settings on, then toggle LPM on and off from Control Center. You'll see the difference even though it's "on" in Settings.
I love it, not that the display on my old XS was any bad to look at, but the fluidity of the Promotion screen on my new 13 Pro is very noticeable, just as when I went to a Pro Ipad from an Ipad with 60 Hz refresh rate.
Writing this on my M1 Air, and especially with dark mode on I can see the jarring text when scrolling through text. Not a deal breaker, the computer's screen is really good for a $999 laptop, and I will not upgrade my M1 Air just because of Promotion display (if there ever will be one), but it is really obvious to my eyes now.
For me, high refresh rate is high up on the "nice" list, bording on, but not trespassing into, the "need" list. I'm really happy to see it on my Iphone for sure!
Writing this on my M1 Air, and especially with dark mode on I can see the jarring text when scrolling through text. Not a deal breaker, the computer's screen is really good for a $999 laptop, and I will not upgrade my M1 Air just because of Promotion display (if there ever will be one), but it is really obvious to my eyes now.
For me, high refresh rate is high up on the "nice" list, bording on, but not trespassing into, the "need" list. I'm really happy to see it on my Iphone for sure!
on my Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, it allows 120Hz to be disabled... and I always kept it off. I don't really notice the 120Hz unless I"m holding my other phone, the iPhone 12 Pro. the Note 20 Ultra's screen is much nicer than the iPhone 12 Pro or the current iPhone 13 Pro Max. even then, I don't really do much on my phones that cause me to want to keep 120Hz on. come to think of it, does the iPhone 13 Pro Max allow 120Hz to be disabled by the user? guess I'll find out when mine gets delivered after November 2..(hopefully)
Keep in mind that the ProMotion is variable from 120Hz to 10Hz. If you disable ProMotion then you get no benefit with battery life. Having the display refresh at 60Hz vs 10Hz for a imagine that is static. It is more then just smoothing out scrolling and graphic transistions. I see no downside to using ProMotion given the benefit with battery life.
Disable ProMotion: Settings->Accessibility->Motion->Limit Frae Rate
on my Note 20 Ultra, disabling 120Hz and staying at 60Hz 24/7 gets me almost 3 hours of screen time... (which is significant because the Samsungs are not that good with batteries to begin with) Can't wait for my iPhone 13 Pro Max to arrive in November and compare....
I am getting a good 2 days of battery life between charges with my 13 Pro Max. And that is with ProMotion enabled. I am charging 20% to 85%. That is tremendous battery life.
They need to up up it too 240hz or 144hz to see a huge difference but they won't or a new ProMotion display not some recycled screen from an iPad
But at your also using this on iOS 15 GM well the "Pro Motion" might not even be working at all tbh might be capped at 60hz and bugging tf out so I would wait a few updates and come back to the thread
Nothing is recycled from an iPad. How can it be?! Nor does it need to be anything more than 120hz.
And nothing is capped at 60hz, and nothing is “bugging tf out” either. Apps simply need updating, which is nothing to do with Apple, but solely the job of the app developers.
Yes, I think you may be right, admittedly, my eyes are the wrong side of 60 and may not see what you do. I have always thought that the iPhones have been silky smooth, I wonder how the first one I got would fare now (iPhone 3GS). As a piece of technology, I think we can all agree, it’s just fabulous.
Got my 13pm yesterday. I can see the ProMotion in action but I wouldn’t say I am wowed by it. Flicking between my iPad mini, xs max and 13pm and just using them rather than looking for how smoothly they scroll,and how apps open up or page changes happen, I can’t say i notice too much. But that could just be me.
It’s unfathomable to me that people can’t tell the difference between 60hz and 120hz. Literally (and I mean literally) everyone I have showed the 13 Pro Max to has been wowed by the difference. I’m giving the 12 Pro Max to my brother, and he lost his mind seeing the 13 Pro Max display.
That’s not to say that people are “wrong” if they don’t see the difference. If you don’t see it you don’t see it (like when the high-res Retina displays came out for iPhones and some people swore there was no noticeable difference, - crazy!).
I’ve said it in other threads but I’d have upgraded just for ProMotion.
That’s not to say that people are “wrong” if they don’t see the difference. If you don’t see it you don’t see it (like when the high-res Retina displays came out for iPhones and some people swore there was no noticeable difference, - crazy!).
I’ve said it in other threads but I’d have upgraded just for ProMotion.
lol who reads texts when scrolling we scroll to get to the text we want to read then its static on screen so 120hz is not noticeable, for gaming i agree it makes a difference
Yeah it was very noticeable from the moment my phone set up FaceID and I swiped up. I’ve been wowed every time I’ve used my phone since. Even showed it to my buddy who has an 11 Pro and a 13 Pro on order, and he was also blown away. It’s just really smooth and lifelike.
Last edited:
Uh I do? Scrolling headlines on news sites etc or thread titles on forums etc. Has made life much easier on my eyes.
I think the biggest issue for some is if you’re upgrading just for promotion you’re really not getting 200 dollars in value compared to the base model which is smooth as 60hz can be thanks to apples animations.
Where did you get the idea that this option fixes the refresh rate at 60Hz? The description states that it limits it to a maximum of 60Hz.