Vote now: Do you care about display refresh rate on smartphones?
In the wake of the official release of the iPhone 15 series, an old debate resurfaced. Smartphone display refresh rate. Apple once again kept the displays of the lower models at 60Hz, while the variable refresh rate the company calls ProMotion could only be found on the Pro models.
Meanwhile, phones that cost twice as little, such as the Galaxy A53 (we're not even talking about the latest midranger), sport a variable refresh rate and can go up to 120Hz. And yet, people don't seem to care all that much.
We did a similar poll two years ago, trying to assess the importance of the display refresh rate to you guys, and the results were pretty mixed with no consensus whatsoever. Times they are a-changing, as Bob Dylan sings, so it's time to hear the vox populi once again.
A few brief words on refresh rate before we jump to the poll. The display of a smartphone is made of pixels. Each individual pixel can receive information and switch its state, change brightness, color, etc. The refresh rate is how fast a pixel can change the information it displays. 60Hz means it can do it 60 times per second; 120Hz doubles that; and so on and so forth.
Some people are much more sensitive to this than others, and we should also point out that the higher the refresh rate, the more energy the display consumes, hence there's a negative impact on battery life. That being said, modern LTPO systems are able to cleverly switch between 1 and 120Hz for example, depending on the type of content displayer (moving vs static), so the toll on the battery isn't that big.
So, with all that information in mind, do you care about smartphone display refresh rate? Would you buy a 60Hz phone, or do you just need that 120Hz smoothness? Vote in our poll, and share your thoughts on the subject in the comment section below.
Meanwhile, phones that cost twice as little, such as the Galaxy A53 (we're not even talking about the latest midranger), sport a variable refresh rate and can go up to 120Hz. And yet, people don't seem to care all that much.
What is display refresh rate?
A few brief words on refresh rate before we jump to the poll. The display of a smartphone is made of pixels. Each individual pixel can receive information and switch its state, change brightness, color, etc. The refresh rate is how fast a pixel can change the information it displays. 60Hz means it can do it 60 times per second; 120Hz doubles that; and so on and so forth.
All this is irrelevant when we look at static images, as the information doesn't change over time. But if we scroll a text or an image or play a game with fast-moving objects, the ability of a display to show more information changes in one second, results in a much smoother viewing experience.
Some people are much more sensitive to this than others, and we should also point out that the higher the refresh rate, the more energy the display consumes, hence there's a negative impact on battery life. That being said, modern LTPO systems are able to cleverly switch between 1 and 120Hz for example, depending on the type of content displayer (moving vs static), so the toll on the battery isn't that big.
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