Why is Apple willing to add high refresh rate to the standard version of iPhone this year?

After being suppressed by Android for a year, Apple "squeezed out a lot of toothpaste."

Early in the morning on September 10, 2025, Apple held a press conference with the theme of "The Future is on Fire" and launched the brand - new iPhone 17 series of mobile phones. Different from the previous years when iPhones were only updated step - by - step, the entire iPhone 17 series has made great strides in evolution.

Image source: Apple

Among them, the iPhone 17 offers more features without a price increase and supports ProMotion refresh rate; the brand - new iPhone Air is only 5.6mm thick, making it a new generation of trendy product; the iPhone 17 Pro series focuses on "powerful performance", adds a VC vapor chamber, and the continuous performance is improved by 60%. Also, the telephoto lens supports 8x optical zoom.

Image source: Lu Weibing

Due to the significant upgrade, on social media platforms, the iPhone 17 series of mobile phones are no longer criticized. Instead, they have even won the praise of executives from "rival companies". On the morning of September 10, Lu Weibing, a partner, president of the mobile phone department, and general manager of the Xiaomi brand of Xiaomi Group, posted on social media, "I think this is definitely the year with the biggest changes for iPhone. I'm going to buy one for a try. Which model do you guys recommend?"

Image source: JD.com

The data from JD.com provides strong evidence. As of the time of writing, the total pre - order volume of the four models of the iPhone 17 series on JD.com is 2.78 million. Among them, the pre - order volume of the standard version of iPhone 17 is 1.165 million, accounting for 41.9%; the pre - order volume of iPhone 17 Pro is 664,000, accounting for 23.9%; the pre - order volume of iPhone 17 Pro Max is 833,000, accounting for 29.9%; and the pre - order volume of iPhone Air is 118,000, accounting for 4.2%.

Through horizontal comparison, it is not difficult to find that the pre - order volume of the iPhone 17 series has reversed the previous "top - heavy" pattern and become a more market - compliant "pyramid - shaped" pattern. The standard version of iPhone 17 with the lowest price has become the main force in shipments.

And Apple's crazy addition of features to the iPhone 17 series largely indicates that Android mobile phone manufacturers will face huge competitive pressure.

High refresh rate across the series, the pre - order volume of the standard version of iPhone 17 soars, and the situation of iPhone Air is awkward

Although in the same smartphone market, due to its differentiated closed - loop ecosystem, Apple has ignored the aggressive Android flagship phones in the past few years.

Image source: AnTuTu

Typically, in terms of screen refresh rate, AnTuTu data shows that as early as Q2 of 2021, 57.5% of Android phones in the Chinese market were equipped with high - refresh - rate screens, including many budget phones. It can be said that after 2021, high - refresh - rate screens have almost become a standard feature of Android phones.

In fact, in the autumn of 2021, Apple's iPhone 13 Pro series first introduced the ProMotion technology, which can achieve a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. However, in the past few years, in order to distinguish between mid - end and high - end products, the standard version of iPhone with a starting price as high as 5,999 yuan has always used a 60Hz refresh rate, and the experience is far behind Android models at the same price or even lower.

Due to the "high - price, low - configuration" of the standard version of iPhone and the high price of the iPhone Pro series, with the "low - price, high - configuration" involution trend of Android phones, Apple's market influence has been declining.

Image source: IDC

IDC data shows that from 2023 to 2024, in the Chinese smartphone market, iPhone's shipments decreased by 2.2% and 5.4% year - on - year respectively, and its market rankings were first and third respectively. In Q2 of 2025, iPhone's shipments were only 9.6 million units, ranking fifth, and was about to fall into the "Others" category.

What makes Apple more anxious than the decline in market influence is that its performance in the Greater China region has also been declining. The financial report shows that from Q1 of fiscal year 2024 to Q2 of fiscal year 2025, Apple's sales in the Greater China region decreased by 13%, 8%, 6.5%, 0.34%, 11%, and 2% year - on - year respectively, showing an obvious downward trend.

In order to regain the initiative in market competition, in the autumn of 2025, Apple took decisive action and carried out a major upgrade of the configuration of the iPhone 17 series of mobile phones.

Image source: Shen Yiren

For example, this year Apple cancelled the iPhone 17 Plus model and launched the brand - new iPhone Air, which features an extremely thin and light design with a body thickness of only 5.6mm, and is called "the thinnest iPhone ever". Due to its novel product concept, industry insiders such as Shen Yiren, the former vice - president of OPPO, and Li Nan, the former vice - president of Meizu, have expressed their interest in the iPhone Air on social media.

Not only did Apple launch the differentiated iPhone Air, but the standard version of iPhone 17 also no longer adheres to the "entry - level" positioning and has added many flagship - level features.

Like the other three models, the standard version of iPhone 17 is equipped with an LTPO screen, supports a 1 - 120Hz ProMotion variable refresh rate, full - screen AOD, and has a peak brightness of up to 3000 nits.

Some netizens wondered, "How did Cook convince the executives to add ProMotion to the standard version of iPhone 17?" Li Nan pointed out sharply, "Obviously, it was convinced by Samsung, Huawei and others."

Image source: Apple

In addition, the standard version of iPhone 17 also uses the second - generation ultra - ceramic crystal panel, and its scratch - resistance performance has been improved to three times that of the previous generation. In contrast, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra launched in early 2025 is also equipped with the second - generation ultra - ceramic crystal panel, but the starting price of this product is as high as 9,699 yuan, far exceeding the standard version of iPhone 17.

Generally speaking, the major upgrade of the configuration of the iPhone 17 series of mobile phones reflects Apple's internal anxiety to a certain extent. Due to the limited upgrade of product configuration in previous years, with the intensifying competition, Apple's market influence has been continuously eroded by Android phones. In order to improve market competitiveness, Apple has to keep up with the pace of Android phones and improve the configuration of its products.

However, this does not mean that Apple has become a "chaser".

Image source: Li Nan

Li Nan believes that "the positioning of the three product lines of the iPhone 17 generation is clearer and more pure." Among them, the standard version of iPhone 17 is driven by cost - effectiveness, the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are driven by performance, and the iPhone Air is driven by design.

Image source: FilmForce

Due to different product positioning targeting different audiences, the three product lines in the iPhone 17 series all have good competitiveness in their respective vertical markets. For example, the iPhone 17 Pro series with enhanced imaging capabilities is aimed at professional users. FilmForce believes that the iPhone 17 Pro series, which supports functions such as ProRes RAW and Genlock, is "more professional than professional cameras to a certain extent."

Apple establishes a new "anchor point", putting pressure on Android manufacturers

Although on the whole, Apple's market influence has been continuously eroded in the past few years, it should be noted that since the iPhone Pro series of each generation has pursued "abundant features", the decline in iPhone sales is mainly due to the lack of attractiveness of the basic models of iPhone.

Image source: CIRP

The data statistics from CIRP show that from 2022 to 2024, the sales volume of the two models of the iPhone Pro series accounted for 47%, 44%, and 45% respectively, showing relatively stable performance. In contrast, the sales volume of the basic models of iPhone accounted for 46%, 43%, and 42% respectively during the same period.

Image source: RD Observation

The data disclosed by RD Observation on September 3, 2025, shows that as of the 33rd week of 2025 (August 11 - August 17), the cumulative sales volume of the iPhone 16 series was about 33.64 million units. Among them, the iPhone 16 Pro Max accounted for about 39.5%, the iPhone 16 Pro accounted for about 37%, the iPhone 16 accounted for about 20.1%, the iPhone 16 Plus accounted for about 2.7%, and the iPhone 16e accounted for about 0.6%.

A practitioner in the mobile phone industry told Duojiao Spicy, "Generally speaking, the sales volume of smartphones is inversely proportional to the price. That is, the lower the price, the higher the sales volume; the higher the price, the lower the sales volume." In the iPhone 16 series, the total sales volume of the higher - priced Pro series accounted for as high as 76.5%, which is extremely abnormal.

On the one hand, this shows that the Pro models in the iPhone 16 series have good competitiveness. On the other hand, it also shows that Apple lacks competitiveness in the mid - end market.

Apple's launch of the brand - new iPhone 17 series of mobile phones is to reverse the above - mentioned abnormal sales volume proportion. Needless to say, with the powerful configuration, the iPhone 17 Pro series will help Apple maintain its position in the high - end market. In contrast, the standard version of iPhone 17 will be the top priority for Apple to fight back against Android.

As mentioned above, the standard version of iPhone 17 has added many flagship - level configurations and has good strength. More importantly, this product offers more features without a price increase.

As we all know, affected by the increase in tariffs, Apple is facing huge cost pressure