Your iPad Pro has a gorgeous ProMotion display capable of 120Hz — but Safari stubbornly scrolls at 60Hz. Web pages feel less smooth than native apps, and you’re not imagining it: Safari caps page rendering at 60 frames per second by default. The good news is that a hidden Feature Flag unlocks the full 120Hz, making scrolling buttery smooth.
How to Enable 120Hz in Safari on iPad Pro
- Confirm your iPad supports ProMotion. You need an iPad Pro with a ProMotion display: the 11-inch or 12.9-inch models from 2017 onward, or any 2024 OLED iPad Pro. If your iPad doesn’t have ProMotion hardware, this trick won’t work — the screen physically can’t refresh faster than 60Hz. Apple Support lists which iPad models include ProMotion displays.
- Open Safari’s Feature Flags. Go to Settings > Apps > Safari > Advanced > Feature Flags. This is a developer menu full of experimental web rendering options — don’t worry, we’re only changing one toggle.
- Turn off the 60fps cap. Find “Prefer Page Rendering Updates near 60fps” in the Feature Flags list and turn it OFF. This flag tells Safari to limit page rendering to 60 frames per second; disabling it lets Safari render up to 120fps on ProMotion displays. MacRumors first reported this hidden flag and confirmed it unlocks smoother scrolling.
- Force-quit and reopen Safari. Swipe up from the bottom to open the app switcher, flick the Safari card away, then reopen it. The change doesn’t take effect until Safari restarts. Now scroll through a long web page — the difference should be immediately noticeable.
- Check for frame rate limiters. Two settings can override your 120Hz unlock: go to Settings > Accessibility > Motion and make sure “Limit Frame Rate” is OFF, and confirm Low Power Mode is disabled (it caps the display at 60Hz to save battery). If either is on, Safari stays at 60Hz regardless of the Feature Flag.
If It Still Doesn’t Work
If scrolling still feels like 60Hz, double-check that you’re on a ProMotion iPad Pro — the standard iPad and iPad Air (before 2024) don’t have 120Hz displays. Also verify the Feature Flag actually stayed off; iPadOS updates sometimes reset experimental flags to their defaults. Try toggling it off again and force-quitting Safari. If you customize Safari’s appearance, you might also enjoy our guide on how to change the Safari design on iPhone. Note: this is an experimental developer flag that Apple may change or remove in future iPadOS releases — if it disappears after an update, that’s why.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does 120Hz Safari drain the battery faster?
Slightly. ProMotion is adaptive — it ramps up to 120Hz when you’re scrolling and drops back down when the screen is static, so the impact is modest. If battery life is a priority, you can re-enable the 60fps flag or turn on Low Power Mode (which caps at 60Hz).
Will this flag affect other browsers on iPad?
No — Feature Flags only apply to Safari. Third-party browsers on iPadOS use Safari’s WebKit engine but don’t read these experimental flags, so they’ll continue rendering at their default frame rates. For capturing your smooth new display, see how to take HDR screenshots on iPhone and iPad.
Conclusion
Unlocking 120Hz in Safari is a quick settings change with an immediately visible payoff — once you’ve scrolled at 120fps, going back to 60Hz feels sluggish. Just remember it’s an experimental flag, so keep an eye on it after iPadOS updates.
