The iPhone 12 family is barely four months old, but already info concerning its successor is emerging. And it seems Apple is planning on overhauling the devices’ screens.

The biggest change? The screens will be always-on, which means important info will  always be visible without having to wake the handset. The screen won’t illuminate as brightly as when woken though, which will save battery life.

According to Apple Insider, Apple tipster Max Weinbach reckons the battery indicator and clock will be always visible, though notifications will also pop up using a “bar and icons”. New notifications will only appear momentarily, so won’t always be visible like the other elements. 

A similar feature has been seen on certain Android handsets for years.

The screens will be 120Hz, which is double the refresh rate of the current range. That will allow them to render fast-moving action such as sports and games with less blur. The Samsung Galaxy S21 has a 120Hz screen, and Samsung is introducing high refresh rate displays to its mid-range phones this year.

So what else will the new iPhones do? Camera improvements are rumoured, including better ultra-wide lenses with better low-light performance, automatic astrophotography and a portrait video mode. Stronger MagSafe magnets are also on the cards.

Previous rumours include a similar design to the current range, and fingerprint scanners built into the screens themselves.

Expect the iPhone 13 to land this September, in keeping with previous years (apart from last year, when the pandemic delayed the launch by a few weeks). Before then, Apple is rumoured to be launching a new iPhone SE, possibly as early as the spring. We’ll bring you more as we get it.

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