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One of the most exciting new iPhone 11 rumors is almost definitely wrong

Published Aug 20th, 2019 8:17AM EDT

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Apple’s next-generation iPhone 11 lineup is set to be announced just three weeks from now. No, seriously, the Cupertino company’s big iPhone event date has already leaked, and it’ll take place on September 10th which is exactly three weeks from today. Time flies when there’s a new iPhone 11 leak just about every single day! We have indeed learned so much about Apple’s upcoming iPhone 11 series that it almost seems like Apple shouldn’t even bother with an event. We know what it’ll look like, we know most of the specs, and we know about several new features that the new iPhone 11 models will tout.

If the slew of rumors from reliable sources is correct — and we have no reason to believe otherwise — Apple’s iPhone 11 lineup will be a somewhat modest upgrade visually, but it’ll actually be a pretty big all-around update. The phones will look exactly like their predecessors from the front, but the back will be quite different. The biggest change is the huge square camera bump at the top, but Apple is also said to be using new frosted glass on the back, deleting the “iPhone” logo, and adding a new color option with a subtle shimmer effect that should blow people away. Then of course we have all the internal upgrades and new features Apple is adding to the iPhone 11 series. There is plenty to be excited about in that department, but a new rumor about the iPhone 11’s feature set just began to circulate and it’s almost certainly incorrect.

We know the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max — as they’re rumored to be named — are going to pack a huge performance update thanks to the next-generation A13 processor and other internal upgrades. We also know the cameras are going to be out of this world. The iPhone 11 will sport a new dual-lens camera system that replaces the single-lens camera on the iPhone XR, and the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max will share a triple-lens rear camera. According to a recent well-sourced leak, that third lens will be super wide-angle lens with a 120° field of view that’ll supposedly enable an exciting new feature that lets users re-crop photos after they’re captured.

There are plenty more features coming to the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro models that users should be excited about. But there’s one exciting feature that just hit the rumor mill that would be one of the hottest new additions to Apple’s iPhone 11 series that we’ve heard about so far. But it’s almost definitely wrong, so don’t get too excited about it just yet.

If you check out the iPhone 11 headlines around the web on Tuesday morning, you’ll probably catch one like this gem from International Business Times: “iPhone 11 Feature: New Phone To Have ProMotion Display?” The article states that some unnamed analysts are anticipating that Apple’s iPhone 11 displays might tout 120Hz ProMotion technology. As anyone who has ever used an iPad Pro can attest, ProMotion tech dramatically speeds up the refresh rate of the display and completely changes the user experience for the better. It’s incredible, and it would be terrific to finally see it added to the iPhone. But sadly, Betteridge’s law of headlines absolutely applies here because the answer to the question posed by that headline is an emphatic “no.”

This IBT report, like all the other reports that mention this rumor, doesn’t actually attribute it to any source. Instead, it just mentions some unnamed “analysts” that have made the prediction. While these analysts may or may not actually exist (spoiler: they don’t), the prediction is almost certainly based on a report from last month that said 120Hz ProMotion is indeed coming to Apple’s new iPhones. The only problem, however, is that it said ProMotion is coming to Apple’s new iPhones next year, not to the iPhone 11 series in 2019. Oops.

So, the bad news is that this exciting rumor is complete BS, and Apple’s new iPhone 11 models will not be getting 120Hz displays. But the good news is that next year’s new iPhone models might be, so you can still hold on to hope.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.