The iPhone 12 was recently rumored to feature a smooth 120Hz ProMotion display on the high-end Pro model, but now this important feature is being called into question.

Display analyst Ross Young claims that Apple lacks the technology necessary to achieve this high refresh rate on its phones (via iMore). Young has recently revealed interesting details about Samsung's Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Fold 2, and is seen as one of the most reliable sources of information on smartphone displays.

Young's exact claim, which can be read verbatim in the embedded tweet, is that there will only be one phone this year with the LTPO technology necessary to provide a 120Hz refresh rate and decent battery life, and that is Samsung's Galaxy Note 20 Plus which will be the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Plus. He predicts that the technology will not be available in Apple products until 2021.

LTPO is a display backing component. It allows the device to operate at a variety of refresh rates. That is, the power-hungry 120 Hz mode should be used only when necessary and defaults to a lower refresh rate for most activities.

Young stressed on Twitter that only the Galaxy Note 20 Plus will feature LTPO and a 120Hz refresh rate. The regular Note 20 runs at 60 Hz.

LTPO technology is not a requirement for high refresh rates, and Apple's iPad Pro's ProMotion display has not used this technology since 2018. However, the iPad Pro is likely to be able to handle increased power consumption with its large battery and is not intended to be carried around all day like an iPhone.

Recent leaks suggest that the iPhone 12 Pro will use a 120 Hz display, but a caveat has already been noted: Jon Prosser, who leaked much of the iPhone 12's critical information, stated that Apple will only use a 120 Hz display if it does not affect battery life.

Leaker Max Weinbach also stated that Apple engineers are also unhappy with color quality, an issue known to affect the 120 Hz screens on Samsung's Galaxy S20 Ultra and OnePlus 8 Pro.

However, there is a small silver lining to this: as Weinbach points out, LTPO allows the use of Always On Display. This is because the variable refresh rate allows the display to show important information that does not require periodic updates. Therefore, he suggests that the 2021 iPhone 13 could include this feature, which for Apple debuted just last year with the Apple Watch Series 5.

The iPhone 12 Pro, with or without the 120Hz display, is expected to appear alongside the standard iPhone 12 in September, but some or all of the four models could launch only in October. All of these models will feature 5G connectivity, a new A14 CPU, two rear cameras on the standard model and three cameras with a new LiDAR depth sensor on the Pro model.