iPad Air There is NO difference drawing on a 60hz vs 120hz iPad screen with the Apple Pencil

[Greenmeenie]

I am an artist, and I'm getting sick of the lies being spread online about the difference btwn drawing on a screen with a 120hz vs 60hz refresh rate. I'm here to tell you that there is NONE. You've been lied to by a bunch of tech youtubers who aren't even artists. Trust me, drawing on the iPad Air with it's 60hz screen feels EXACTLY the same as drawing on an iPad Pro with it's 120hz screen. Sure, if you're zipping the apple pencil back & forth furiously AND you film it in SLOW motion, you can see a marginal at best difference in lag. But not with the naked eye, and nobody draws like that anyway. Lol. Seriously. Go down to the Apple store & compare them side by side. Draw on both, and you'll see there is no difference in feel when drawing. Now if you prefer the brighter OLED screen of the iPad Pro, that's another matter. That's a personal preference. Get what you desire. But if you're an artist, don't feel you have to pay more because you think drawing on a 60hz screen isn't as good, cause it is.


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[badmachinery]

I went from the 2018 iPad Pro to a 13" Air and completely agree. Hobby artist or non-artist Tech YouTubers have created a whole language around art tablets of latency and lag that didn't exist when I started using screen tablets nearly 20 years ago. I started with a Wacom Cintiq 15X, which had a VGA screen and was 4-5 years old when I bought it. So crude compared to contemporary devices but I accommodated any input quirks within an hour of using it and drew several books with it over a couple of years.

 

[Steve Adams]

I completely agree. I have owned devices with 60hz and I have owned devices with high refresh rates. The only time you can notice is if you slow footage down comparing the two to rediculous levels as the YouTube Clickbaiters do. In regular real world use, you cannot tell a difference at all.

An I phone 13 reacts the same as an iPhone 17. etc.

 

[maflynn]

Tbh, I generally don't notice anything above 60hz, regardless if its a monitor, ipad or phone.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Agree with @maflynn. I can see the difference if a display has higher refresh rate, if I look for it. But it doesn't make any operational difference.

 

[dmr727]

I can't speak to drawing, but I absolutely notice a difference between 60 and 120hz while using an iPad, iPhone, MBP, or whatever. It's much smoother to my eyes.

That said, it's not a big enough deal for me to make purchasing decisions based upon it - everything else being equal.

 

[Greenmeenie]

I can't speak to drawing, but I absolutely notice a difference between 60 and 120hz while using an iPad, iPhone, MBP, or whatever. It's much smoother to my eyes.

That said, it's not a big enough deal for me to make purchasing decisions based upon it - everything else being equal.

Yeah, i agree when scrolling up & down quickly on webpages or zipping screens left & right you can see a slight difference when comparing them side by side. I was talking about drawing specifically. Artists draw lines very deliberately with an Apple Pencil ✏️ And not super quick. So in that regard you don’t see any difference with latency when drawing. That is the issue i have with some tech youtubers who are not artists being disingenuous. A lot of young people with limited funds wanting to get into digital art see that & falsely think they need the iPad Pro to draw when the iPad Air is just as good for drawing.

But don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking the iPad Pro. The OLED screen is gorgeous. And if you draw outside the brighter screen does help. So if that is important to you & you have the funds go for it. Just wanted to post for those artists who are on the fence, that for drawing ✍🏼 there is zero diff btwn the two and that going with the iPad Air will not diminish their drawing experience at all. It is an amazing tablet for drawing with just as much ram as the base pro models, a super powerful chip that will last a long time, and a great looking LED screen. 👍🏼

 

[dmr727]

Just wanted to post for those artists who are on the fence, that for drawing ✍🏼 there is zero diff btwn the two and that going with the iPad Air will not diminish their drawing experience at all.

That definitely makes sense. I have an iPad Air for work and it's certainly a nice tablet!

 

[FreakinEurekan]

The OLED screen is gorgeous

Can't argue with you there 😬

But I'm quite happy with my iPad Air.

 

[rui no onna]

An I phone 13 reacts the same as an iPhone 17. etc.

At this point in time sure. I have an iPhone SE 2020 (A13 same as the iPhone 11) though and it's gotten a lot laggier on iOS 26. I expect the iPhone 13 will start showing its age after a couple more updates.

 

[Greenmeenie]

At this point in time sure. I have an iPhone SE 2020 (A13 same as the iPhone 11) though and it's gotten a lot laggier on iOS 26. I expect the iPhone 13 will start showing its age after a couple more updates.

My ipad mini 7 & iphone 16 pro max both have iOS 26... but my older 2018 11" iPad Pro i kept at iPadOS 16.2 and it runs great. At a certain point i always stop updating my devices operating system. I find that works best for me.

 

[rui no onna]

my older 2018 11" iPad Pro i kept at iPadOS 16.2 and it runs great. At a certain point i always stop updating my devices operating system. I find that works best for me.

I totally get it. I still have a Pro 9.7, Pro 10.5 and Air 3 kept on iPadOS 14.8.1. I'm actually keeping my M1 iPad and iPad mini 7 on iPadOS 18.

Unfortunately, while keeping older OS is better for performance, compatibility suffers eventually. Dropbox has stopped working on 14 but thankfully, iCloud still works. Particularly for phones, I use those with banking apps and you can only keep them around 1 version behind or financial apps stop working.

 

[HouseLannister]

I'm here to tell you that there is NONE.

you can see a marginal at best difference in lag.

So there IS SOME difference, right? You just said so. It is two completely different things to say there is no technical difference and that users will be unlikely to be able to notice any difference in practical application. Just stop with the hyperbole.

 

[star-affinity]

Agree with @maflynn. I can see the difference if a display has higher refresh rate, if I look for it. But it doesn't make any operational difference.

Interesting. I think there is a huge operational difference between 60 and 120 Hz. On a computer the mouse pointer moves along the screen much smoother and the input lag is noticeably less compared to 60 Hz. Also scrolling content and moving windows around is much more smooth and pleasant on 120 Hz.

I also notice an improvement going from 120 to 240 Hz, although it’s not as big of a difference compared to going from 60 to 120 Hz.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Having used an Apple Pencil on an iPad Air and an iPad Pro (with 120hz) .... I use Notability and Apple Notes. Maybe just me but I can tell a difference.

Now, can I adapt to an iPad Air and "not notice it" very shortly after and be OK with it? Yep. But comparing the two side by side, with the an Apple Pencil in Notability - you can tell a difference. The iPad Pro is smoother, faster, more responsive, and feels more natural. Is the difference huge? Nope. I would have no problem using an Air and being very happy with it.

I'm not an artist, this is just my $.02.

 

[Steve Adams]

At this point in time sure. I have an iPhone SE 2020 (A13 same as the iPhone 11) though and it's gotten a lot laggier on iOS 26. I expect the iPhone 13 will start showing its age after a couple more updates.

That's due to processor and OS bloat, not refresh rate on the display.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Interesting. I think there is a huge operational difference between 60 and 120 Hz. On a computer the mouse pointer moves along the screen much smoother and the input lag is noticeably less compared to 60 Hz. Also scrolling content and moving windows around is much more smooth and pleasant on 120 Hz.

I also notice an improvement going from 120 to 240 Hz, although it’s not as big of a difference compared to going from 60 to 120 Hz.

Maybe just a difference in what we each classify as "huge" and "operational."

Can I tell that scrolling and mouse movement is smoother at 120Hz? Sure.

Does it matter? No, not really. The mouse doesn't lag so badly that it overshoots (like it does at 30Hz, for example) and I'm not trying to READ while scrolling. So effectively, no operational difference. Gamers might see an effect from the lag, but I'm not a gamer so just guessing there.

 

[Greenmeenie]

So there IS SOME difference, right? You just said so. It is two completely different things to say there is no technical difference and that users will be unlikely to be able to notice any difference in practical application. Just stop with the hyperbole.

Not hyberbole. To the naked eye there is zero difference when drawing. I’m a professional artist buddy and if anything, I am counteracting the hyperbole coming from tech dweebs who are not artists on youtube trying to convince young artists that there is a noticeable difference when DRAWING on a 60hz screen vs a 120hz screen. And in real usage to the naked eye there is NOT. They show super slow motion video of an apple pencil racing back and forth with what looks like a few millimeter gap. But heres the thing genius, NO artist draws racing their pencil at super speed. That is not how you draw. And showing such a video in super slow motion is such utter bull crap. It’s laughable. I’m just looking out for the young artist looking to get into digital art thinking they are missing out if they get the air when professional wacom tablets have been using 60hz for decades. Are there advantages for getting the iPad Pro? Sure. Brighter screen. Faster chip. But there is zero advantage in drawing. Both ipads use the apple pencil pro. Both are waaay overpowered for drawing apps like Procreate. And Both have the same 12gb of ram which predict how many layers you can get in Procreate.

 

[chrono1081]

+1 for there being no difference. I draw on both my iPad Pro and Mini all the time.

 

[Greenmeenie]

+1 for there being no difference. I draw on both my iPad Pro and Mini all the time.

Exactly. Me too! My iPad Pro is my main device, but I have an iPad mini 7 also for when I really wanna travel light. It compliments my pro nicely & is the perfect size tablet when on the go. I go back & forth btwn the two iPads constantly and never notice any difference. I can appreciate that some prefer the feel of the pro when scrolling webpages, but for drawing? There is no difference. And I draw ALL the time btwn the two. ✍🏼

 

[Hajj.david]

For drawing I agree, for day to day use of the ipad, hard disagree, 120hz feels like a much faster iPad. I know its not, but perception is reality.

 

[grammatica]

Your eyes have to be next to the Apple Pencil tip to see the difference. Also, I only notice it with fast, long stroke, not slow tracing or short, slow strokes. Navigating the UI is better using ProMotion

 

[star-affinity]

Maybe just a difference in what we each classify as "huge" and "operational."

Can I tell that scrolling and mouse movement is smoother at 120Hz? Sure.

Does it matter? No, not really. The mouse doesn't lag so badly that it overshoots (like it does at 30Hz, for example) and I'm not trying to READ while scrolling. So effectively, no operational difference. Gamers might see an effect from the lag, but I'm not a gamer so just guessing there.

But there is an operational difference in that the input lag is lower and also everything on the screen updates more often so motion and animation becomes smoother. Now, if some people don’t notice that or don’t think it matters, that’s another story, but it’s still there. 🙂

For drawing I agree, for day to day use of the ipad, hard disagree, 120hz feels like a much faster iPad. I know its not, but perception is reality.

Input lag is lower, so your iPad receives your interactions quicker – I’d say this makes the iPad faster to use than if it was operating at 60 Hz, albeit only a little bit.

 

[aevan]

I am an artist, and I'm getting sick of the lies being spread online about the difference btwn drawing on a screen with a 120hz vs 60hz refresh rate. I'm here to tell you that there is NONE. You've been lied to by a bunch of tech youtubers who aren't even artists. Trust me, drawing on the iPad Air with it's 60hz screen feels EXACTLY the same as drawing on an iPad Pro with it's 120hz screen. Sure, if you're zipping the apple pencil back & forth furiously AND you film it in SLOW motion, you can see a marginal at best difference in lag. But not with the naked eye, and nobody draws like that anyway. Lol. Seriously. Go down to the Apple store & compare them side by side. Draw on both, and you'll see there is no difference in feel when drawing. Now if you prefer the brighter OLED screen of the iPad Pro, that's another matter. That's a personal preference. Get what you desire. But if you're an artist, don't feel you have to pay more because you think drawing on a 60hz screen isn't as good, cause it is.


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Yeah, the difference is not noticeable. I've had a similar discussion regarding a Wacom 60Hz pen display vs the new Huion 144Hz pen displays - a few people swore they could feel the pen feeling more responsive, which makes no sense (the lag in apps will be far greater anyway).

The only reason to get a 120+ Hz display is because general usage feels nicer. Drawing? No practical benefit.

 

[Happy_John]

The whole “I couldn’t live with 60 hz” is a YouTube clickbait invention - Yes, for some people, 120 hz is smoother, but equally quite a few people see no difference whatsoever between, say, an iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 pro screen.

Even if you notice a difference, outside of gaming, and in any area of work / productivity, the situations where “only 60 hz” would have a negative effect on the standard of your work is virtually zero.

Colour accuracy is important. Faster refresh rate, not so much. There is never a “real” case of someone not being able to live and work with a a 60 hz screen. If you want a 120+ hz screen and can afford it, go for it. But it’s a luxury, not an essential.