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Sensamic

macrumors 68040
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Mar 26, 2010
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What do you guys think? Will M3 be the only upgrade or can we finally expect 90/120hz screen?
 
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It depends when its released. If the iPad Air 7 is released next month, then it will will probably be the same 60 hz display. If released after the iPhone 17 series which will all have Promotion displays, then good chance the iPad Air 7 will possibility get a 90 hz display (MR article recently reported Apple developing 90 hz displays for iPad and MB Airs, as well as iMacs).
 
I really don’t see what the excitement is for high refresh rate displays on tablets or phones. It’s great if you’re playing FPS games but for normal use it doesn’t improve the experience for me. Maybe it looks different to other people though. I can only say my experience.
 
I really don’t see what the excitement is for high refresh rate displays on tablets or phones. It’s great if you’re playing FPS games but for normal use it doesn’t improve the experience for me. Maybe it looks different to other people though. I can only say my experience.
Absolutely there are many people who are not bothered about the refresh rate at all, with many saying they cant see any difference between 60 hz and higher (or Lower). However there are equally as many people who specifically buy devices based on their refresh rate alone, and Apple know this very well, which is why they have kept Promotion as a premium 'Pro' feature up until now. Personally I cannot go back to fixed 60 hz screens anymore (fine with desktop monitors though). .
 
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Absolutely there are many people who are not bothered about the refresh rate at all, with many saying they cant see any difference between 60 hz and higher (or Lower). However there are equally as many people who specifically buy devices based on their refresh rate alone, and Apple know this very well, which is why they have kept Promotion as a premium 'Pro' feature up until now. Personally I cannot go back to fixed 60 hz screens anymore.
I wonder how many people buy it just because it has a higher number. I can see a difference but one doesn’t look better or worse to me.

It reminds me how Apple trained people to think stainless steel was “premium” when in reality it has more downsides than benefits on an iPhone.
 
Yeah, I’m not like wow that looks better. I wouldn’t pick one device over another just because of the refresh rate. I have an iPad Air with a 60 Hz display, and it doesn’t seem any better or worse than my iPhone display. You know I had to look it up, but I thought the high refresh rate screen came with Apple going to OLED. Apparently it did not start till the iPhone 13 Pro. I swear it was before that.

Maybe it’s because I use the devices for YouTube and web browsing. I don’t do a lot of gaming or at least gaming that would benefit from high refresh rate display.

In some ways, I feel like I like the look of my iPad Air or MacBook Air display over my iPhone. Maybe that’s LCD versus OLED rather than a refresh rate issue.
 
I have an iPad Air with a 60 Hz display, and it doesn’t seem any better or worse than my iPhone display.
for me the iPhone 120hz doesn't matter so much, but the larger the screen the more noticeable it is. on my iPad Pro it is very unpleasant to see it at 60hz after using 120hz.
 
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My MacBook Pro has ProMotion, and I can only tell it is working by recording the screen with my iPhone on slow motion while scrolling on my MacBook. I have tried many times, but I can't tell whether ProMotion is on or off by looking, so the refresh rate of the screen means absolutely nothing to me after 60Hz.

I'm aiming to get an iPad Air later in the year, and will do so irrespective of the refresh rate.
 
To me there is a huge difference between a tablet on 60hz vs 120 hz. The iPad Pros with 120hz scroll so smooth it’s such a nicer experience than scrolling with the 60hz, which feels so choppy in comparison
I can only assume most that say they are ok with 60hz haven’t really used 120hz much for comparison
 
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To me there is a huge difference between a tablet on 60hz vs 120 hz. The iPad Pros with 120hz scroll so smooth it’s such a nicer experience than scrolling with the 60hz, which feels so choppy in comparison
I can only assume most that say they are ok with 60hz haven’t really used 120hz much for comparison

Same here. Some people really can't tell the difference though. Oddly enough we're all different!
 
I have no idea what Apple does. I would like them to keep an LCD screen or my wish would be for them to give mini led with pro motion to air models and OLED for pro. 90 hz or more would be a big deal for the iPad where scrolling can blur text on 60 hz screens pretty badly.

If M3 iPad Air kept the same LCD tech and gave us 90 hz I would be very happy and consider upgrade otherwise holding onto my M1 air as long as possible!
 
To me there is a huge difference between a tablet on 60hz vs 120 hz. The iPad Pros with 120hz scroll so smooth it’s such a nicer experience than scrolling with the 60hz, which feels so choppy in comparison
I can only assume most that say they are ok with 60hz haven’t really used 120hz much for comparison
I know you said “most” people, but I used an iPad Pro with 120hz for two years. Went back to an iPad Air, then an iPad mini, and now am using a 13” iPad Air. Also had an iPhone 14 Pro Max for 2 years. I went back down to a base iPhone 16.

Back when I used to play games I had dual 144hz monitors and played a lot of FPS games. I don’t really play games outside of Nintendo Switch now and use an Apple Studio Display.

I can see the difference, I’m just not bothered by it. During the time I had my 14 pro max, my work phone was (still is) an old iPhone XR. Maybe because I was using both a 60hz and a 120hz screen daily I just became desensitized to the difference.
 
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I know you said “most” people, but I used an iPad Pro with 120hz for two years. Went back to an iPad Air, then an iPad mini, and now am using a 13” iPad Air. Also had an iPhone 14 Pro Max for 2 years. I went back down to a base iPhone 16.

Back when I used to play games I had dual 144hz monitors and played a lot of FPS games. I don’t really play games outside of Nintendo Switch now and use an Apple Studio Display.

I can see the difference, I’m just not bothered by it. During the time I had my 14 pro max, my work phone was (still is) an old iPhone XR. Maybe because I was using both a 60hz and a 120hz screen daily I just became desensitized to the difference.
I think I'm the same. My iPhone 14 Pro Max has 120Hz, but my other main devices; my Macbook Air and iPad Air, are both 60Hz. While I can see the difference, I really only notice it if I think about it. There's not really any practical difference to me. I think that for people who say things like 60Hz is "unusable" or "looks choppy" it's more psychological than anything.
 
well now that it's announced, we know it doesn't. But tehre's just no way apple introduces a new "thing" to the iPad air lineup.

Look for macbook or phones to be the first to experiment with 90hz
 
NO,while the new M3 chip will boost performance, Apple might stick with the current 60Hz display on the Air, reserving higher refresh rates like 90Hz or even 120Hz for the Pro models.
 
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