Apple brings 120Hz ProMotion support for third-party apps on iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max models. Hitherto, only stock iOS apps could take advantage of the higher screen refresh rate on iPhone 13 devices launched last year. Although this means smoother scrolling and browsing experience finally arrives on an iPhone, this feature has had its fair share of issues that required a permanent fix.
For example, most third-party apps could only achieve up to 60Hz and could not tap the 120Hz refresh rate. Pointing to the bottleneck, Apple acknowledged that a Core Animation bug was the culprit that the company would nail down soon, and finally, they have delivered on the commitment.
Third-Party Apps Can Now Use 120Hz For A Better Scrolling And Browsing Experience On iOS 15.4
iOS 15.4 is shaping up well in terms of new features. The few main ones include the ability to add notes to Keychain passwords, an app to trade in older devices, and unlock iPhone using a Face ID while wearing a mask. Another key addition is the opening of ProMotion to non-Apple apps.
An Apollo developer Christian Selig first identified the transition from 60Hz to 120Hz for third-party apps. He further stated in a Tweet that some at Apple personally confirmed the iOS 15.4 update puts an end to the ProMotion issue. To verify the claim, he later tested the change himself. However, he noticed that the animation still feels inferior to the ProMotion technology on the iPad.
Sharing his views that the change still needs some tweaks, he had this to say:
“So now it works seemingly just like iPads? Only change I noticed is in slow animations it’s still 60 fps because the animation is slow enough that it doesn’t need more frames, whereas iPad is *always* 120. i.e.: with this code it’ll be 60, unless you change duration to 0.5s.”
Here is the original tweet:
Yay, got a little message from someone at Apple today that this is fixed in the iOS 15.4 betas and all apps automatically get 120 Hz animations on supported iPhones going forward, and just confirmed myself. (See attached, 1/120 = 8.33 ms) 🥳🥳🥳 https://t.co/EtZ9zkrM6S pic.twitter.com/04cl8uLb11
— Christian Selig (@ChristianSelig) January 27, 2022
Although Apple delayed the fix longer than usual, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max owners can finally have the premium experience on their high-end devices.
