So if you were holding out hope that Apple’s cheapest iPhone would finally get a smooth screen, I’ve got some bad news. The iPhone 18e is apparently going to stick with the exact same display as the current iPhone 17e. Let me explain.
This comes from Digital Chat Station, a prominent Chinese leaker with a solid track record. In a Weibo post discussing Apple’s product plans for 2027, they claimed the next generation of Apple’s low-cost iPhone will use the same 60Hz LTPS TFT panel as the model we’ve already got.
In plain English, that means no ProMotion. No 120Hz, no Always-On display, none of the good stuff that’s expected to roll out across the rest of the iPhone 18 lineup. Which, if this is accurate, is basically a repeat of the situation with the iPhone 17 series, where the e model got left behind on screen tech.
And here’s the slightly frustrating part. You can already find 120Hz screens on competing Android phones sitting at roughly the same price as the iPhone 17e. So this isn’t some impossible ask, it’s just Apple keeping a feature locked behind its pricier models.
Now, this isn’t coming out of nowhere. The claim actually lines up with a report out of Korea from earlier this year, which said Apple won’t move the e line over to an LTPO panel until the fourth-generation model, expected in early 2028. And LTPO is the key bit here, because that’s the technology that lets a display dynamically ramp its refresh rate anywhere from 1Hz all the way up to 120Hz. No LTPO, no ProMotion. Simple as that.
Here’s where it gets a bit more technical, but stick with me, because it explains the timing. That 2028 shift reportedly hinges on Apple finishing off a next-generation panel called “LTPO+”. Without getting too deep into it, this version uses oxide semiconductors in both the switching and drive transistors, and the headline benefit is that it sips a lot less battery power.
The plan, apparently, is for Apple to reserve that fancy LTPO+ tech for its high-end models in 2028, think new versions of the iPhone Air and the upcoming foldable iPhone. Doing that frees up the standard LTPO panels to trickle down to the rest of the lineup, including, eventually, the e model.
But, and this is the catch, it all depends on LTPO+ actually being ready on time. If it slips, that whole trickle-down effect could get delayed, which would push ProMotion on the 19e even further out. So nothing here is set in stone just yet.
Bottom line: if a high refresh rate screen is a dealbreaker for you, the iPhone 18e almost certainly isn’t going to be your phone. And based on this, you might be waiting until 2028 before the budget iPhone finally catches up.
