The iPhone 17 has formally been unveiled, and whereas it is the Air mannequin grabbing a lot of the consideration I am much more within the show upgrades within the common vary. For the primary time, the bottom mannequin will function a full 120Hz show – and 2025 would possibly simply be the primary yr that is smart.
The greatest gaming telephones have been upgrading show speeds for years now, with the Asus ROG Telephone 9 Professional already at a very speedy 185Hz. The overwhelming majority of purpose-built Android gaming telephones have lengthy been providing quicker screens as normal – and it is meant the basic iPhone has been out of the working for a short while now.
Why’s it so essential in 2025? Extra video games can really take advantage of these speeds now.
The primary iPhones to introduce 120Hz refresh charges have been the iPhone 13 Professional / Professional Max again in 2021. At the moment, solely a handful of video games may really ramp as much as 120fps, making the quicker display a neat bonus for clean scrolling however comparatively meaningless in a gaming sense.
Now we have a whole lot of titles optimized to take advantage of quicker refresh charges and extra highly effective processors. Heavy hitters like Subway Surfers, Pokemon Go, and Alto’s Journey, however you may discover meatier titles like Name of Obligation: Cell, League of Legends: Wild Rift, and Genshin Affect working pushing previous 60fps caps as effectively.
Not solely is the iPhone 17’s show quicker, but it surely’s additionally larger. A 6.3-inch panel nonetheless is not fairly as massive as devoted units – but it surely’s actually obtained a slight edge over the 6.1-inch iPhone 16.
I have not been capable of advocate an iPhone for gaming for a while now. The Professional and Professional Max fashions are wildly costly for the upgrades they provide, and cheaper Android options supply much better gaming specs anyway. Relying on the way it performs within the hand, that could possibly be altering this yr.
Should you’re after a bigger display, try the greatest gaming tablets. If it is precise bodily buttons you yearn for, check out the greatest gaming handhelds in the marketplace. In fact, you may additionally want a pair of the greatest gaming earbuds to maximise your expertise.
