Samsung and Apple have traded blows for what seems to be decades now. More often than not, it is Samsung poking fun at Apple for removing key features and promptly doing the same a year or two later. This time around, the official Samsung U.S. Twitter handle poked fun at Apple for calling the 120Hz screen on its iPhone 13s a ‘new' feature.
The not-so-subtle jab by Samsung says, “We've been refreshing at 120Hz for a while now,” referring to the Galaxy S20 series, which was the company's first to ship with high-refresh-rate displays. With the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, Samsung introduced adaptive refresh rate technology and has used it on all of its flagships since. On the other hand, only the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max support a 120Hz refresh rate.
Apple did 120Hz screens before Samsung, even if it wasn't on a phone
Then again, Samsung isn't even the first OEM to install a high-refresh-rate display on its smartphones. That accolade goes to 2017's Razer Phone, which was the first to adopt a 120Hz (LCD) panel. Even Apple joined the 120Hz party later that year with its iPad Pro. We'll never know why Apple decided to keep the feature exclusive to its high-end tablets for this long, though.
Samsung is correct in stating that Apple is one of the last smartphone makers to adopt high-refresh-rate screens. However, Samsung isn't exactly ahead of the queue, either. Many competing offerings from the likes of OnePlus and Xiaomi offered high-refresh-rate screens well before they made their debut on the Galaxy S20 series.
