The iPhone 18 Pro records 4K Dolby Vision at up to 120 fps, and the only screen Apple has published a matching refresh figure for is the one in the box: ProMotion runs up to 120Hz on both the 6.3-inch and the 6.9-inch model. For everywhere else a clip might end up, Apple has published transfer speeds rather than playback promises.
That gap is worth knowing before 120 fps decides which phone you order, because it is the headline number on the spec sheet and the least portable one. Here is every figure Apple has published that touches playing back or moving a 4K120 clip.
Key facts: capture, screen and port
| Item | What Apple publishes |
|---|---|
| Video capture | 4K Dolby Vision at 24, 25, 30, 60, 100 or 120 fps |
| Display | 6.3-inch 2622 x 1206 and 6.9-inch 2868 x 1320, both 460 ppi |
| Refresh rate | ProMotion up to 120Hz, Always-On |
| Brightness | 1600 nits peak HDR, 3000 nits peak outdoor |
| Port | USB-C with USB 3, up to 10 Gb/s |
| In the box | iPhone with iOS 27 and a 1 m USB-C cable |
| ProRes | Up to 4K at 120 fps with external recording |
Every row is from Apple’s tech specs for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, which we covered when the phones were announced. The two models differ on size and battery, not on video.
Don’t miss the best of The Mac Observer
Set us as a preferred source and our Apple reporting ranks higher in your Google Search results and Discover feed — one tap, no account changes.
The phone is the one 120Hz screen Apple ships with it
ProMotion tops out at 120Hz on both sizes, the only refresh figure Apple publishes next to the 120 fps capture ceiling. The same panel carries Apple’s HDR ratings of 1600 nits peak HDR and 3000 nits peak outdoor, and our Pro versus Pro Max comparison sets out the rest of the display numbers.
Apple has not said how a 100 or 120 fps clip behaves on a display that cannot refresh that fast, on the phone or on anything you send it to. No reviewer has shot on this phone yet either, so there is nothing to add from outside Apple’s pages.
Moving the file: 10 Gb/s and three iOS 27 claims
The USB-C port carries USB 3 at up to 10 Gb/s, the same interface figure Apple lists for the iPhone Duo. Divided by eight, that ceiling works out to about 1.25 gigabytes per second before overhead, and Apple publishes no sustained figure.
iOS 27, free on Monday, September 14, carries three speed claims that touch large photo and video libraries. All three are Apple’s own tested numbers on older iPhones, and none is a video transfer test.
| iOS 27 claim | Apple’s figure | Apple’s test conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Photos loads after capture | Up to 70 percent faster | iPhone 15, 50,000-asset library |
| AirDrop | Up to 80 percent faster | iPhone 16 Plus, 30MB photo, no Wi-Fi network |
| App launches | Up to 30 percent faster | iPhone 11 Pro Max, iOS 26.4.2 against prerelease iOS 27 |
On a Mac, Apple’s 120Hz figure is about displays
macOS 27 Golden Gate ships the same day and lists higher resolutions on ultrawide displays, such as 5K at 120Hz. That is a display capability, not a statement about how a 120 fps clip is played, and Apple has not connected the two on any page.
What Apple has not said
- No data rate or file size for 4K at 100 or 120 fps, so minutes per storage tier cannot be worked out.
- Nothing about how 100 and 120 fps clips are presented on hardware that refreshes more slowly.
- No DisplayPort output listed for iPhone 18 Pro, although Apple lists it on the iPhone Duo’s USB-C port.
- No description of what happens to frame rate when a clip is shared or exported.
- No published transfer test for video over the USB-C port at any frame rate.
Pre-orders open Saturday, September 12 at 5 a.m. PT, and the phone is in stores on Friday, September 18. iOS 27 lands free on Monday, September 14, so the software half of this arrives before the hardware does.
