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| iPhone 13 has a high refresh rate issue |
Developers who bought the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max found that in many cases, their animations could only run at a 60Hz refresh rate, like the cheaper iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini, as well as previous generations of iPhones.
One of the biggest new features unique to the Pro phones this year is the high refresh rate screen, or Apple ProMotion calls it.
This means that these models are equipped with new OLED screens that can refresh screen content up to 120 times per second or 120 Hz.
As with iOS 15.0, ProMotion takes effect in third-party apps when you swipe or switch to full screen. This means, for example, that if you scroll down the Twitter timeline, you will continue to have a smooth and responsive experience.
However, almost all other animations are specified as 60 Hz in external applications. This includes special effects and animations for custom components.
Developer Christian Selig has reported complaints from its customers. And the hidden plist key was discovered to improve the standard solution for SceneKit and SpriteKit-based applications.
However, most of the animations in iOS apps are controlled by the underlying animation framework and are still restricted to 60Hz even with the private unregistered plist input.
These restrictions do not apply to third-party apps running on the iPad Pro, which has been using a 120Hz screen since 2017.
Apple seems to be setting these limits specifically for new iPhone models. A source said this was done for battery life reasons. However, we are not sure if this is the case.
And a code check in iOS 15 shows that only third-party apps are restricted. The operating system icon does not contain Apple applications and allows them to always run animations at 120 Hz.
External apps on iPhone 13 are limited to 60Hz
Apple advertises ProMotion as an adaptive iPhone system that adapts to user behavior. For example, when the screen is idle, the phone can reduce the refresh rate to 10Hz to save power.
However, customers and developers hope that the app's animation can use a 120Hz rate for ultra-smooth animation.
It certainly looks like the Apple app can do that. Like all apps on the iPad Pro. But not via an external app on iPhone 13.
Apple has officially stated that some of the described behaviors are caused by bugs in the operating system. The 120Hz refresh rate will soon be fully supported in external apps.
She also mentioned that developers need to update the app to encourage them to use a higher refresh rate. This can be done by adding an entry to the application menu. The company announced that it will release documentation on the items that need to be added as soon as possible.