What FPS is iPhone 14 Pro? Up to 120 Frames Per Second

The iPhone 14 Pro‘s headline feature is the new ProMotion display with an adaptive 1Hz-120Hz refresh rate, double the maximum rate of 60Hz on iPhone 13 Pro. This technically allows compatible games to run at up to 120 FPS for unprecedented smoothness and responsiveness.

Of course, the games themselves must be well-optimized and updated to take full advantage of the blazing 120Hz refresh capabilities. How do current games actually perform on the iPhone 14 Pro? Let‘s dig into extensive benchmark data and frame rate analysis to quantify the real-world gaming speeds you can expect.

ProMotion Display: How the Variable Refresh Rate Works

ProMotion intelligently adjusts the iPhone 14 Pro screen‘s refresh rate in real time, up to 120 times per second if necessary. This provides crucial latency and animation advantages in games:

• Faster 120Hz Refresh Rate: Displaying twice as many frames per second means reduced input lag and nearly instant on-screen response to swipes and taps. It makes games feel supremely reactive.

• Dynamic Scaling: ProMotion doesn‘t lock the display at 120Hz unnecessarily. It fluidly scales down to conserve battery when displaying static content. This efficiency keeps battery life strong even at peak refresh speeds.

The faster refresh rate also minimizes motion blur during fast gaming action. This particularly benefits racing, action and competitive titles.

For developers, ProMotion enables "stepping up to the next level of responsiveness, precision and quality" according to Tim Millet, Apple‘s VP of Platform Architecture. The dynamic range hits the gaming sweet spot – fluidity when needed, efficiency when not.

iOS Game Frame Rate Performance

How do real games take advantage of the ProMotion capabilities? Extensive third-party benchmarks demonstrate the iPhone 14 Pro‘s impressive FPSdelivered in today‘s most popular iOS games:

Benchmark data according to Golden Reviewer

As shown above, 60 FPS is the norm among graphically-intensive iOS games tested so far. Top titles stay firmly locked at 60fps providing superb fluidity and speed.

There is still 20-60% performance headroom left though before reaching the display‘s 120Hz limit according to benchmarks. So well-coded games do have room to upgrade frame rates in the future.

For less intensive 2D games like Minecraft and Roblox, the iPhone 14 Pro is capable of surpassing 60 FPS at times when fewer graphical elements are on screen. So the extra power is there, it just hasn‘t been tapped by developers yet.

Let‘s analyze why…

Why Don‘t Games Hit 120 FPS Yet?

Although the iPhone 14 Pro screen allows up to 120fps rendering, games are not fully utilizing this capability for a few reasons:

1. 60fps is the Target Performance Standard

Most mobile game developers consider 60 FPS the optimum level where additional frames no longer boost playability or graphics noticeably. So 60fps is prioritized as the key performance target.

There is less incentive currently for most studios to invest in optimizations towards 120fps. 60 FPS delivers super fluid gaming already.

2. Multiplatform Game Engines

Since game engines like Unity and Unreal Engine create releases across mobile, console and PC, they standardize on 60fps frame rate caps by default. Support for 120fps requires engine-level updates along with per-game integration work.

3. Visual Fidelity vs Raw Speed

Game developers choose how to best utilize additional hardware performance. Rather than raw speed, they may intentionally invest cycles into elements like:

• Higher resolution assets & textures
• More advanced lighting, shadows & particles
• Expanded game worlds & content

This means much power may get directed towards visual quality improvements rather than solely chasing faster FPS.

Make no mistake though – the ProMotion display sets up the iPhone 14 Pro to stay highly future-proof as more titles eventually tap into that beefy 120Hz potential.

A16 Bionic Chip: Up to +20% Performance Gains

The brand new A16 chip powers the iPhone 14 Pro models with excellent energy efficiency and CPU/GPU gains for gaming:

• Faster CPU: Up to 6-core CPU with 2 high-efficiency cores allows up to 20% better multi-threaded performance than iPhone 13 Pro
• More Powerful GPU: Up to 5-core GPU enables higher quality graphics and visual effects to be rendered faster
• Optimized Thermals: Up to 20% lower peak power usage maintains cool operation even during intensive gaming sessions
• Powerful Neural Engine: 16-core design drives rapid Core ML inferencing for on-device machine learning

These A16 Bionic advantages combine to provide performance headroom for higher frame rates. As games add more immersive graphics and physics, the chip has power to spare for 60 FPS gameplay today and potentially 120 FPS in the future.

Apple is particularly focused on boosting gaming power efficiency. For portable play, the A16 can sustain max frame rates while consuming less peak energy to help avoid device warmth. The excellent thermal design keeps cool for extended gaming marathons.

Software & API Optimizations Expand 120 FPS Potential

Apple offers industry-leading APIs and technologies to help game creators unlock the full performance potential of iOS devices. The key graphics, machine learning and optimization frameworks include:

Metal 3
Takes full advantage of the latest A16 processor and GPU features to minimize graphics pipeline overhead. This means more of the GPU power goes directly towards pushing game frame rates higher rather than non-visual tasks.

Core ML 5
Runs immersive machine learning features like CGI facial animation rigging directly on the iPhone 14 Pro instead of off-device. The 100x faster neural engine keeps ML gaming capabilities power efficient.

Game engines like Unity and Unreal Engine 5 already support Metal 3 to ensure games meet performance standards over 120fps. As more titles adopt these optimized frameworks rather than custom game engines, achieving 120 FPS on iPhone 14 Pro becomes highly realistic.

iPhone 14 Pro VS Android Gaming Smartphones

The iPhone 14 Pro promises excellent real-world FPS gameplay today thanks to rock-solid 60fps capability in leading titles. How does this compare against the very best Android gaming phones?

Android gaming phones like the ROG Phone 6 Pro feature the absolute peak specs to chase extreme frame rates. Although Apple‘s display caps at a lower refresh rate on paper, real-world iOS game performance remains highly impressive and consistent.

Where the iPhone 14 Pro shines is delivering this reliable 60 FPS gaming experience in a stunning premium phone form factor anyone can enjoy. No need for chunky "gamer phone" styling with large batteries.

Video Recording Frame Rates

Beyond gaming, iPhone 14 Pro offers pro-grade video capture frame rates. Key highlights include:

• 4K video recording at 24, 25, 30 or 60fps
• 1080p HD video at 25, 30 or 60fps
• Slow-mo 1080p video at 120fps or 240fps

Apple ProRes video recording is also now supported up to 4K 30fps for advanced post-production workflow. Dolby Vision HDR 4K video capture at 60fps brings cinema-grade dynamic range to home videos.

So whether you‘re recording gameplay highlights or creating professional content, the iPhone 14 Pro hits every frame rate needed for incredible footage.

My Take As A Gaming Content Creator

As someone who has covered iOS games for years, I‘m thrilled by just how smoothly the iPhone 14 Pro runs graphics-intensive titles. The headroom beyond 60 FPS means this phone stays future-proof for years as developers catch up to that blazing 120Hz refresh rate.

It‘s quite likely we‘ll see 120fps support rollout soon in flagship game franchises like Call of Duty Mobile given the capable hardware. This will let the iPhone 14 Pro push console-quality visuals to the ultimate fluid extreme.

Even at 60 FPS currently, gameplay feels instantly responsive thanks to ProMotion‘s motion clarity and low input lag. I don‘t even need precise benchmarks to notice how buttery smooth and fluid titles like Genshin Impact and Fortnite run.

Between the gorgeous OLED display and extensive HDR support, graphics pop with vibrant colors too. Everything from particle effects to intricate textures appear crisp and pronounced.

For on-the-go gaming, I also appreciate how the efficient A16 Bionic sustains full performance without getting too warm even after extended play sessions. This phone is clearly built for gaming endurance with the performance to match.

Outlook for 120 FPS Mobile Gaming

In summary, while the iPhone 14 Pro technically supports up to 120fps, most iOS games currently max out at 60 FPS. This meets the development standard for smooth, lag-free gaming on mobile.

However, the phone‘s ProMotion display and premium A16 Bionic chip create plenty of overhead for future 120fps game integration. We could see bigger titles adopt 120 FPS within the next 1-2 years based on developer comments.

And with gaming content and mobile eSports already huge, more publishers have incentive to push extreme fluidity as phone hardware improves. Paired with optimizations like Metal 3 and Core ML 5, the iPhone 14 Pro seems strongly positioned to excel in this upcoming 120hz gaming era.

For now, count on an excellent 60 FPS experience for all the most advanced iOS games. This leaves massive headroom to scale up frame rates over your entire phone ownership without games outgrowing the display capabilities for years to come.

The iPhone 14 Pro brings a no-compromise mix of cutting-edge gaming performance and elegant hardware design that places it firmly among the best phones for players in 2022 and beyond.