iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro displays: Here are the updates you need to know

Apple is slowly putting more and more features into its iPhone screens, most recently including an always-on display and a dynamic island that replaces the notch. It looks like more improvements to screen brightness, bezels, and associated features are coming, though some of the best won’t be available on cheaper iPhones.

You can read all about the rumors surrounding the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in their respective hubs. But below is a summary of the key items related to the display.

iPhone 15 display: display size, type and resolution

For all the possible changes the iPhone 15 could make to its displays, size shouldn’t be one of them. Rumors are pretty clear that we’ll be seeing two sizes again: the 6.1-inch Vanilla and Pro model and the 6.7-inch Plus and Pro Max model.

These screens are also expected to all be of the OLED variety, just like the previous three generations of iPhones, since Apple’s next-generation microLED technology isn’t ready yet. They will also likely have the same resolutions, which would be 1170 x 2532 for the iPhone 15, 1284 x 2778 for the iPhone 15 Plus, 1179 x 2556 for the iPhone 15 Pro, and 1290 x 2796 for the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

The display, looking at the design leaks, should still be flat as all iPhones since the iPhone 12 series have been. However, the edges of the phone could be a little more curved, making the phone a little more comfortable to hold.

iPhone 15 display: refresh rate and always-on display

Apple introduced its 120Hz “ProMotion” refresh rate to the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max in 2021, and the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max inherited it last year. While we hoped Apple would increase the refresh rate of the standard and Plus iPhone 15s, it is still expected that 120Hz will remain exclusive to the Pro models, with 60Hz once again for the standard ones.

The iPhone 14 Pro brought with it Apple’s first always-on display for the iPhone, allowing certain elements of the lock screen to remain visible at all times. It seems like a safe bet to say we’ll see this again in the iPhone 15 Pro, but since this is a feature that requires a variable refresh rate, it would also mean no always-on display for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.

Some sources predict that there won’t be 120Hz displays on base iPhones until 2025, which would be many years after most Android phones adopted this refresh rate or higher.

iPhone 15 display: bezels

The edges around the iPhone 15 screens are it should get thinnerwith the iPhone 15 Pro models expected to have particularly thin 1.55mm bezels, thinner than any other smartphone currently on sale.

This could mean a slightly larger display in the same size phone or a slightly smaller overall bezel while maintaining the display size. Either way, that sounds like a pretty impressive result.

iPhone 15 display: brightness

The iPhone 14, especially the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, are already home to some of the brightest displays on any smartphone. But the iPhone 15 series could make them even brighter, perhaps up to 2,500 nits on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Despite the extra brightness that the iPhone 15 series can offer, the display could still work more efficiently, thanks to a new driver chip. It will be important to make the most of the potential brightness without draining the battery too quickly.

iPhone 15 display: Dynamic Island

New to last year’s iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max was Dynamic Island, a replacement for Apple’s classic Face ID notch. In theory, this will come to all iPhone 15 models, not just the Pro editions like last year. That means a little more display space at the top of the screen, and size-changing widgets for some apps that expand and contract on demand.

We haven’t yet heard of any changes to Dynamic Island’s behavior or abilities. iOS 17 doesn’t contain any changes for that either, so unless new rumors emerge between now and fall, we’ll have to wait until the launch event to see if anything else is different with the dynamic island beyond which the phones deliver.

iPhone 15 display: External display support

For most users, the iPhone’s built-in display is more than enough. But for users who want as much space as possible, the iPhone 15 Pro may answer your wishes by offering support for external displays.

The entire iPhone 15 series is USB-C ready, but apparently the Pro models will also offer Thunderbolt 3 compatibility, which will allow the phone to stream to a connected monitor or TV. It looks great for times when your phone screen isn’t big enough to show off your latest snaps, or you want to watch a higher resolution video but can’t use a casting or AirPlay option.

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