How Refresh Rates Affect Smartphone Displays

As soon as you take up a smartphone and swipe through the screen, you expect that everything is going to be very smooth and responsive. Some phones do just that. As you scroll through apps, they feel very fluid, while with others you may experience a bit of lag, which is even more noticeable when the hardware is very similar. Out of these variables, one of the most important is what is known as the refresh rate. This is a feature you may have seen advertised — 60Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz, and even higher — what is it and how does it play into your daily smartphone experience?

This article goes over the science, benefits, and tradeoffs of refresh rates and why they play a larger role in your choice of a new phone than you may have thought.

What Is a Refresh Rate?

At base, what we are talking about is the number of times per second your smartphone screen refreshes what you see. We measure that in hertz (Hz). A 60Hz display updates the screen 60 times every second, a 90Hz display does it 90 times, and a 120Hz display does this 120 times per second.

Picture this as turning the pages of a flip book. The faster you turn, the smoother the animation appears to be. A high refresh rate means your screen is showing more frames per second, which your eye sees as smooth motion.

The Distinction Between Refresh Rate and Frame Rate

It’s common for people to mix up refresh rate and frame rate, which are in fact different. Frame rate is the number of frames per second (fps) that the graphics card puts out, whereas refresh rate is the number of times per second the display updates what it is showing.

For example:

In a phone with a 120Hz screen, if a game runs at 60fps, what you will see is still only 60 frames per second.

If in a game the framerate is at 120fps and your display is 120Hz, you’ll see full smoothness.

In a nutshell, the refresh rate is a measure of what is the best visual performance your screen can put out, but in fact what you get out of it depends on the content and the phone’s performance.

Why Refresh Rate Matters in Smartphones

1. Easy Scrolling and Navigation.

A higher refresh rate improves simple actions such as scrolling through social media or looking at photos, which become very smooth. In a 60Hz world, text and images have a fine pace which is fine, but once you try 90Hz or 120Hz, you see the difference. The motion becomes more natural and less choppy.

2. Improved Gaming Performance.

Mobile gaming is where high refresh rates perform best. In fast-paced games like racing, shooting, or sports simulation, we see great benefit. These games not only present a smoother picture but also a more responsive one as each action plays out almost instantly. For competitive players, this can even determine who presses the button first.

3. Improved Video Playback.

Most videos are shot at 24, 30, or 60fps, which means the value of higher refresh rates is not great when it comes to movies or TV shows. But some platforms are playing around with higher frame rate content, and on those you will see a difference from a 120Hz screen. Also, even with regular videos, motion interpolation on high-refresh screens may reduce judder, which in turn creates a better experience.

4. Enhanced touch response of the system to your input.

Refresh rate is a term that is used for touch sampling rate, which is the speed at which the screen registers and responds to touches. While the two are technically different, they tend to go hand in hand. What you will see is that a 120Hz screen also has a high touch sampling rate, which in turn means that when you tap, swipe, or drag, you get a faster, more precise response.

The Downsides of Higher Refresh Rates

While refresh rates are very high in what they do, they also have issues.

1. Battery Consumption.

The major issue with high refresh rates is power consumption. We see that screens that update 120 times per second use more energy than those that do so 60 times. This is the reason that many smartphones have implemented different refresh rate options for the user, or in some cases adaptive refresh rates that change based on what you are doing.

For instance, at times the screen will drop to 60Hz while you are reading through static text and will jump back up to 120Hz as soon as you begin to scroll. This is a balance which extends the battery life at the same time as not sacrificing performance when you are into heavy use.

2. Processor and GPU Strain.

Running at higher refresh rates also puts more strain on the phone’s processor and graphics unit. If the hardware doesn’t pack enough power, it may have issues maintaining smooth performance at 120Hz, which in turn may result in stutters.

3. Small amount of content.

Not all applications and games have been optimized for high refresh rate displays. What some do is cap at 60fps, which in turn means that you don’t see the benefit of a 120Hz or 144Hz screen, which you may get with certain uses of your phone.

Adaptive Refresh Rates

In recent years, one of the great innovations in smartphones is the introduction of adaptive refresh rate technology. Instead of fixing the display at a high rate, which was a given in all models we saw in the past, the phone is now able to adjust based on what you are doing.

High refresh rate for scroll, play, or dynamic action.

Lower refresh rate for reading e-books, viewing photos, or when the screen is not in use.

This approach preserves battery life while not sacrificing performance when you really need it. Some advanced displays are able to scale all the way down to 1Hz while showing static content like an always-on display.

What Do You Really Need in Terms of Refresh Rate?

It is true that we often think what we want is more of something, but what you should have in terms of refresh rate is based on how you use it.

• 60Hz: This is still what you will find in many budget smartphones. Great for casual users who don’t game or care much about super smooth animations at all.
• 90Hz: For a large number of mid-range devices, we see a sweet spot. We see that it improves performance in smoothness, which at the same time doesn’t put as much strain on the battery as 120Hz.
• 120Hz and above: For gamers and those that go for the best visual experience, this is the choice. They may be the most fluid and modern, but they also use more power.

For many people, the jump from 60Hz to 90Hz is what they notice. Beyond that, the experience does improve, but the difference becomes more subtle.

Eye Comfort and Perception

Another issue that is frequently left out of the discussion is eye strain. We see that high refresh rate displays reduce visual fatigue, which in turn is a result of your eyes seeing less flicker and smoother motion. This isn’t to say that lower refresh rates are bad, but rather that which rate is best is very much dependent on the user, for instance, daily phone users may find that high-refresh screens do indeed provide a more comfortable experience in the long term.

Interestingly, the refresh rate that improves the perception of smoothness varies from person to person. Some people notice it right away, while for others it isn’t until beyond 90Hz that they see a difference. It is a question of individual sensitivity.

The Future of Smartphone Refresh Rates

In recent years, we have seen a trend towards higher refresh rates which have become the norm. A few years back, 60Hz was the universal standard. Today, it is very common to see 90Hz and 120Hz in mid-range smartphones. Also, we are beginning to see innovation in LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) displays, which enable what is basically an adaptive efficiency feature.

As mobile content — in particular gaming, which is seeing great growth and change — evolves, refresh rates may go even higher. We see some specialized gaming phones that put out 144Hz or more, which is at the top of what we have seen from handheld devices. But for the most part, we will see mainstream devices max out at around 120Hz in the coming years for issues related to battery efficiency and real-world use.

Conclusion

Refresh rates are what tech geeks may bring up, but what they do is affect how your phone performs in your hand on a daily basis. From the time you scroll through your feed to when you are into a game, to what you are watching on video, to how the screen responds to your touch, a higher refresh rate brings in a world of difference between just workable and very enjoyable.

A casual user will do just fine with 60Hz, but for gamers and tech enthusiasts, there is no going back once they try 120Hz.

At the bottom line, refresh rate is more than what you see in the specs. It is about the natural and easy feel of the smartphone in your hand, which is what you notice each time you unlock your screen.