The iPhone 16 has been out for a little over a month now, and I’ve been using it almost nonstop since it was announced last month. I reviewed the phone on Digital Trends and bought it with my own money as it was my favorite phone.
Shortly after the announcement, I wrote an op-ed complaining about the iPhone 16’s lack of a 120Hz display. I said it was “the only thing holding the iPhone 16 back” and that the 60Hz screen was “an impossible spec.” I’m hoping the refresh rate will be improved on the iPhone 17, but after using the iPhone 16 for over a month, I’ve found that it’s not as big of an issue as I thought.
60Hz screens are important, until they aren’t.
I switched to the iPhone 16 after using an iPhone 15 Pro Max and a Google Pixel 9 Pro (two phones with 120Hz displays). To be honest, it was a tough transition. After months of seeing 120Hz refresh rates every day, using a 60Hz phone felt pretty gross. Whether scrolling through Reddit or swiping through the home screen, everything on the iPhone 16 felt slow and choppy.
But then something happened. I no longer notice it.
A little over two weeks into using the iPhone 16, I realized I had stopped thinking about the 60Hz refresh rate. Sure, I could still see it, but I didn’t feel like it was actively preventing me from using my phone.
Fast forward to today, I’ve been using my iPhone 16 for over a month and I didn’t care about the 60Hz display. I’m using iPhone16 always Throughout the day, I text friends on iMessage, check out my fantasy football league, complete my daily lessons on Duolingo, and spend a lot of time on X and Reddit. The iPhone 16 handles all this perfectly.
Will all apps and games appear in the same highly fluid state as on the iPhone 16 Pro? No, the difference between a 120 Hz screen and a 60 Hz screen is still noticeable when using the iPhone 16 Pro side-by-side with the iPhone 16. is. But ordinary people don’t do that. Most people who get an iPhone 16 will use it as their only phone. In that situation, it doesn’t matter.
Refresh rate doesn’t make or break your phone
Another factor comes into play. That’s the rest of the iPhone 16. Just as a 120Hz screen doesn’t guarantee great performance from your phone, a 60Hz refresh rate doesn’t immediately make your phone perform poorly.
Take Moto G Power 5G 2024 as an example. It’s a $300 smartphone with a 120Hz display. That’s better specs than the iPhone 16’s 60Hz refresh rate, but it’s also an objectively worse display in every other way. Viewing angles are very poor, colors are poor, and visibility outdoors is very poor. And even with a 120Hz refresh rate, it’s much slower and lags due to the lower performance of the chipset.
None of this is surprising. Motorola’s phone costs $300, while the iPhone 16 costs $799. Of course, the iPhone will be even better! But that’s my point. You could cite a cheaper Android phone with a 120Hz screen as an example of a “low value” for the iPhone 16, but that conversation goes to other things that make the iPhone 16 one of my favorite phones of the year. Ignoring everything. That doesn’t take into account things like a good, comfortable design, a great camera, reliable battery life, and top-notch performance. While refresh rate should certainly be part of the discussion, it is far from absolute or final.
Don’t give up on buying iPhone 16
I want to make something clear. Don’t take this as my way of saying that Apple should get a free pass for not offering a 90Hz or 120Hz display on the iPhone 16. At $799 ($899 if you get the iPhone 16 Plus), the lack of a 120Hz panel is a problem. Objectively speaking, it’s worth less, especially when you look at competing Android smartphones.
But like I did a month ago, I also think it’s fair to raise that criticism while also acknowledging that it’s not as big a problem as some people are claiming. Considering how expensive the iPhone 16 is, should it have a refresh rate faster than 60Hz? Probably! But that is far from breaking the deal.
If you’re considering the iPhone 16 as your next smartphone purchase and are putting it off just because it doesn’t have a 120Hz refresh rate, don’t. While this is a valid complaint, it’s not as big of a deal as I and others online claim. Whether it’s 60Hz or 120Hz, the iPhone 16 is a great little phone, and I still love it. The refresh rate is perfectly fine.
