You may have noticed phones coming out with 90 Hz, 120 Hz, and even 144 Hz and 240 Hz displays and been a little confused — don’t panic, you’re not alone. Display refresh rate affects every aspect of a device’s user interface, from texting and general productivity to games and camera interface. It is important to know what these numbers are and when they matter, since many people may not even need a 120 Hz or higher display. Refresh rate is arguably the most noticeable change a manufacturer can make to a device’s display, but manufacturers love playing the numbers game to get more units out the door. It’s important to know when and why it matters, so you are aware of why you may want to spend extra on a device with a high refresh rate display.
What is display refresh rate?
Electronic displays don’t work the same way as the human eye does – the image on a screen is never moving. Instead, they display a sequence of images at different points of motion. This simulates smooth motion by tricking our brains to fill in the microscopic blanks between static images. As a reference, most movie productions use 24 frames per second (FPS), while TV productions use 30 FPS in the US (and other countries with 60 Hz power grids or NTSC broadcast systems) and 25 FPS in the UK (and other countries with 50 Hz power grids or PAL broadcast systems).
Although most movies are shot in 24p (aka 24 frame per second), the standard was originally adopted due to cost constraints—24p was thought the be the lowest refresh rate that offered smooth motion. Many filmakers continue to use the 24p-standard due to its cinematic look and feel. Television shows are often shot in 30p, and the frames are doubled (a technique known as pull-down) for 60 HZ televisions. The same holds true for displaying 25p content on a 50 Hz display. The conversion is a little more complex for 24p content. A technique called 3:2 pull-down interlaces frames in order to stretch them out to fit the 25 or 30 FPS target.
Shooting in 50 or 60p has become more common on video streaming platforms like YouTube and Netflix. The bottom line here is that unless you are watching or editing high-refresh-rate content, you will not need anything above 60 FPS. That being said, as high refresh rate displays enter the mainstream, high-refresh-rate content will also become more popular. Higher refresh rates could be particularly useful for sports broadcasts since split-second motions are relevant to viewers in some scenarios.
Refresh rate is measured in Hertz (Hz), which tells us how many times per second a new image is shown. As mentioned before, film typicaly uses 24 FPS because it is the minimum frame rate to convey smooth motion. That being said, updating the image more frequently allows fast motion to appear smoother. The difference is best illustrated by the Blur Busters UFO Test.
A related side-note: if you are recording video on a smartphone, you may want to consider using the 30 FPS mode unless you are recording really high-speed motion. This could benefit low-light performance – a lower frame rate means the individual exposures can be slightly longer – and save space on your device.
What are smartphone refresh rates?
Smartphone refresh rates vary between 60Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz, 144Hz, and less often 240Hz. The most common high-refresh option is 120Hz, with 60Hz having been the standard for a long time and now mostly appearing on lower-end devices and the base-model iPhone 13. If your phone has a high-refresh display, you can usually adjust the refresh rate in the settings app. A common compromise found mostly in Samsung phones with high-refresh displays is that the resolution is reduced from 1440p to 1080p when using high-refresh mode.
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What is an adaptive refresh rate?
A more recent feature in flagship devices is adaptive or variable refresh rate technology. This feature allows devices to switch between different refresh rates on the fly, depending on the content on the screen. The benefit of adaptive refresh is conserving battery life, which is one of the biggest issues with high refresh rates on mobile devices.
Samsung was the first to feature adaptive refresh rate technology, on its Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. The Galaxy S22 Ultra is another prime example of this and will go from 120Hz all the way down to 1Hz. Other implementations have less range, such as the 10 – 120Hz range seen on the Google Pixel 6 Pro and the 48 – 120Hz available on the Samsung Galaxy S22+.
Adaptive refresh rate comes in handy because we all use our devices differently. Some users play more games, while others use their devices more for texting, browsing the web, or watching videos. These different use cases have different demands — high refresh rates give you a competitive edge in games by reducing system latency. Videos, on the other hand, have a static frame rate, and text can be static for long periods. Using a high refresh rate mode while viewing a 30FPS video would be senseless since the video cannot display anything above 30Hz—you cannot add information that does not exist.
Disappointingly, when Samsung launched the Galaxy S22 and S22+, it initially claimed these devices supported adaptive refresh rates from 10 Hz to 120 Hz. It was later revealed to reviewers and other media that this was not true, and the displays on the S22 and S22+ only support refresh rates from 48 Hz to 120 Hz. This may not seem like a huge deal, but the implications on battery life are significant – especially considering the S22 and S22+ have lower battery capacities compared to the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which does support an adaptive refresh rate as low as 1 Hz.
What are the pros of high-refresh-rate displays?
The benefits of using a high-refresh-rate display are numerous, even in general use. Animations like scrolling or opening and closing windows and apps will feel snappier, and the interface in the camera app will have less lag. The improved fluidity of animations and UI elements makes interacting with your phone feel more natural. When it comes to gaming, the benefits are even more relevant and may even provide a competitive edge—you will receive updated information about the gameplay more frequently than on a regular 60 Hz screen—by allowing you to react to events more quickly.
What are the cons of high-refresh-rate displays?
The biggest issues caused by high-refresh-rate displays are battery drain, jelly scroll, and resolution compromises. Obviously, a display uses power when showing an image. Every time it updates the image, a little more power is used. This increase in power draw means displays with fixed high refresh rates can result in some pretty poor battery life.
Jelly scrolling is a term that describes an issue caused by the way displays refresh and the display orientation. Because displays refresh line-by-line, from one edge to another (usually top to bottom), some devices have issues where one side of the screen will seem like it is moving ahead of the other. Jelly scrolling can also present as text or UI elements being compressed or stretched as a result of the top of the content displaying fractions of a second ahead of the bottom (or vice-versa). The phenomenon is particularly egregious in the 2021 iPad Mini, which had a 60 Hz display. Going to a higher refresh rate could actually reduce jelly scrolling, although it can occur at any refresh rate.
High refresh rates put more pressure on the processing hardware of your device, meaning the CPU and GPU could get warmer as a result. Momentary slowdowns or hitches could also occur due to the processing components being unable to keep up. Manufacturers have dealt with hitches and slow-downs by forcing a compromise between high-refresh mode and high-resolution mode. Samsung is known for making users choose between 120 Hz at 1080p, and 60 Hz at 1440p. This is done in software and users can switch between the two and decide if they want a higher resolution or refresh rate.
A high-refresh-rate display is fantastic to have in a phone, but it is not the only specification to consider. Even a 120 Hz display can have poor brightness, color reproduction, or response rates. These can all negatively affect user experience, so it is important to look at display panels as a whole, rather than focus on just one specification.
Should I really care about high refresh rates?
While it is great to see high adoption rates for things that make a difference in everyday use, it is important to realize that 60 Hz displays are still perfectly capable of delivering a smooth experience. Whether you should get a high-refresh display depends completely on your individual needs. Consoles only recently got support for above 60 FPS, and many mobile games like Final Fantasy VII are only just now getting support for 60 FPS gameplay. Most of the best Android phones on the market ship with adaptive refresh rates but don’t discount budget phones with 60Hz panels unless you’re a gamer or require a stutter free experience for creative tasks.
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