Learn how to limit the 120Hz screen refresh rate on your iPhone Pro or iPad Pro and switch back to the standard 60Hz refresh rate to extend battery life.
iPhone and iPad models with 120Hz ProMotion display
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16 Pro
- iPhone 16 Pro Max
- iPad Pro 10.5-inch
- iPad Pro 11-inch (all generations)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation and later)
- iPad Pro with M4 chip (both 11 and 13-inch models)
Why turn off ProMotion
In addition to providing smooth scrolling and improved responsiveness, the 120Hz ProMotion display also works seamlessly with Apple Pencil, offering a more lag-free writing and drawing experience.
However, one of the main reasons to turn it off is to save battery life. By limiting the screen refresh rate to 60Hz instead of 120Hz, your device uses less power, which can save battery, making it last longer for activities like gaming or watching movies.
For professional tasks, such as video editing, turning off the 120Hz display might also help you fine-tune your content more effectively.
Lastly, some users may prefer the 60Hz display as it feels more comfortable on the eyes.
Disable ProMotion temporarily
Activate Low Power Mode on your iPhone or iPad, and it will automatically limit the screen refresh rate to up to 60Hz instead of 120Hz. And when you turn off Low Power Mode, the display will switch back to its 120 Hertz ProMotion glory.
However, if you’re looking for a permanent solution, follow the steps below to disable the high refresh rate.
Turn off the 120Hz ProMotion display on iPhone and iPad
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Accessibility.
- Tap Motion.
- Turn on Limit Frame Rate.
After limiting your display settings, your iPhone or iPad screen will refresh at up to 60 frames per second and not more than that.
If you change your mind, you can go through the above steps and turn off the Limit Frame Rate feature to return to 120Hz screen refresh mode.
Does the iPhone screen always refresh at 60Hz or 120Hz?
Your iPhone or iPad screen intelligently adjusts the refresh rate between 1Hz and 120Hz based on what you’re doing.
For example, when you’re watching a movie, it will refresh at 24 fps (or 30 fps or 48 fps) to match the frame rate of most movies and avoid that annoying judder effect when watching 24 fps content on a 60 fps display. Similarly, when using the Always On display on iPhone 14 Pro, 14 Pro Max, 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max, the display refreshes at only 1Hz to save battery.
In most cases, like when swiping on the Home Screen or scrolling through apps, your Pro iPhone or iPad’s screen will refresh at 120Hz or 60Hz (if you’ve turned off Apple ProMotion), depending on the content you’re interacting with.