iPhone 13 Pro's 120Hz display limits some third-party app animations to 60Hz

With this years iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, Apple finally brought its ProMotion display technology from the iPad Pro over to some of its phones. The feature allows the new high-end iPhones to refresh screen content up to 120 times per second, thereby creating a much smoother interface experience. The effect is most noticeable when scrolling, but almost every aspect of a UI can benefit from a higher refresh rate.

Unfortunately, it looks like the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max limit their ProMotion displays in one notable context. According to reports spotted by 9to5Mac, the phones cap some animations in third-party apps to 60Hz. Scrolling and full-screen transitions render as expected but other animations do not. The effect is apparently jarring. What makes it worse is that its not something youll see when using any software from Apple; the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max do not enforce that same limitation on the companys apps.

What makes the situation particularly confusing is that the iPad Pro does not have a similar limit. It has treated first- and third-party apps equally since it was released in 2017. A source told 9to5Mac the iPhones implementation may have something to do with battery life considerations. At the very least, code in iOS 15 suggests the limitation isnt a bug. Either way, weve reached out to Apple for more information, and well update this article when we hear back from the company.