How important Refresh rate in smartphones
How Important Is Refresh Rate in Smartphones?
The smartphone market has evolved dramatically in recent years. From camera megapixels to AI-powered processors, every small feature is now becoming a marketing battlefield. Among these, the term "refresh rate" has become increasingly popular. But what exactly is a refresh rate? And how important is it in everyday smartphone usage? Is it just a gimmick, or does it really matter?
This blog explains everything you need to know about smartphone refresh rates, their impact on performance, gaming, battery life, and whether it’s worth investing in a high-refresh-rate device in 2025.
What Is Refresh Rate?
Refresh rate is the number of times your smartphone’s display updates per second. It’s measured in Hertz (Hz). A 60Hz refresh rate means the screen refreshes 60 times every second. Likewise, 120Hz means the screen refreshes 120 times per second.
Originally, smartphones were mostly stuck at 60Hz, which was sufficient for basic use like texting, calling, or browsing. However, modern smartphones have jumped to 90Hz, 120Hz, 144Hz, and even 165Hz, promising smoother visual experiences.
Why Refresh Rate Matters
Higher refresh rate directly translates into smoother visuals. Here's where it makes a noticeable difference:
1. Scrolling: Web browsing, reading news, or using social media becomes more fluid with higher refresh rates. You’ll notice the difference especially when switching from 60Hz to 120Hz.
2. Gaming: Competitive gamers highly benefit from higher refresh rates. Many Android gaming phones now come with 144Hz or higher panels. This means fewer visual lags, quicker touch response, and smoother motion.
3. Animations: UI transitions, unlocking animations, or switching between apps feel significantly more refined with high refresh rates. It adds a level of polish to the user experience.
Touch Sampling Rate vs. Refresh Rate
Don’t confuse touch sampling rate with refresh rate. While refresh rate refers to how often the display refreshes, the touch sampling rate refers to how often the screen can detect touch input per second. For example, a 120Hz refresh rate with a 240Hz touch sampling rate means smoother visuals and quicker touch response.
Gaming-focused smartphones often advertise both metrics. A high touch sampling rate is important for games where milliseconds can affect performance (like PUBG or COD Mobile).
Real-Life Usage
In day-to-day use, the impact of a higher refresh rate is more psychological than functional. It makes your phone "feel" faster. For example:
- Scrolling through Instagram or TikTok on a 120Hz display feels buttery smooth.
- Switching between apps is seamless.
- You notice fewer frame drops and screen tearing.
It doesn’t necessarily make the phone run faster, but it makes the phone seem faster and more premium.
Battery Life Impact
One of the biggest trade-offs of higher refresh rates is battery life. A 120Hz screen consumes more power than a 60Hz screen. That’s why most modern smartphones now include dynamic refresh rate technology — where the phone switches between 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz depending on the activity.
For example:
- Static images or reading = 60Hz
- Video playback = 60Hz or 90Hz
- Gaming or scrolling = 120Hz
Phones like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra or iPhone 16 Pro Max use LTPO displays to dynamically scale refresh rate, saving power when a high refresh rate isn’t necessary.
Do You Really Need 120Hz or Higher?
If you’re a casual user who mainly texts, browses, watches videos, and uses social media, a 60Hz or 90Hz display may still serve you well. You may not even notice the difference beyond 90Hz.
However, if you’re a gamer, multitasker, or simply enjoy polished visuals, the leap to 120Hz or 144Hz is well worth it. Most mid-range phones in 2025 already include 120Hz displays as standard.
Phones That Popularized High Refresh Rates
- OnePlus 7 Pro: First mainstream phone with 90Hz AMOLED
- Samsung Galaxy S20 series: Introduced 120Hz to the flagship market
- iPhone 13 Pro: Brought ProMotion (adaptive 120Hz) to Apple users
- ASUS ROG Phone series: Popular for extreme 144Hz and 165Hz panels
- Redmi Note 13 Pro+: A budget phone that introduced 120Hz in under $300
High Refresh Rate and Content Compatibility
Not all content benefits from high refresh rates. For instance, YouTube videos or Netflix content often max out at 60fps. Unless the video supports higher frame rates, you won’t gain a visible advantage.
However, games, camera previews, scrolling, and UI transitions will all benefit from 120Hz and above. Some high-end phones also allow force-enabling high refresh rate in all apps.
Market Trend in 2025
In 2025, it’s rare to see flagship or even mid-range smartphones without high refresh rates. Even budget phones from Realme, Infinix, and Poco offer 120Hz as a standard. Some ultra-low-budget phones still stick to 60Hz or 90Hz to save cost and battery.
The trend is clear — users now expect smooth visuals as a basic feature, not a luxury. This means refresh rate has become as important as RAM or storage in user purchase decisions.
What to Look For When Buying a Phone
When choosing a phone based on refresh rate, consider:
- Does it support adaptive refresh rate? (LTPO)
- What’s the maximum refresh rate? (120Hz, 144Hz?)
- Is the panel AMOLED or LCD? AMOLED with high refresh rate looks better.
- Is the touch sampling rate high enough for gaming?
- How optimized is the software? Some budget phones lag even at 120Hz.
Does iPhone Use High Refresh Rate?
Yes. Starting from iPhone 13 Pro, Apple introduced ProMotion technology with adaptive 120Hz refresh rate. All iPhone Pro models since then support it. Non-Pro iPhones still use 60Hz displays.
However, Apple’s implementation is optimized to save battery life and dynamically scale from 10Hz to 120Hz depending on the task.
Is Higher Always Better?
Not necessarily. Beyond 120Hz, the improvement becomes less noticeable to the average human eye. Moving from 60Hz to 120Hz is a big jump. But 120Hz to 144Hz or 165Hz is a smaller one, mostly appreciated by serious gamers.
Also, higher refresh rates put pressure on the GPU and battery, so manufacturers need to balance it smartly with power-saving tech like LTPO or bigger batteries.
Conclusion
Refresh rate has become a vital spec in smartphones, especially in 2025 when most users prioritize visual fluidity. It’s not just for gamers anymore — the entire UI, from unlocking to scrolling, feels better on high-refresh displays.
However, don’t fall for the numbers alone. A well-optimized 90Hz display may feel smoother than a poorly tuned 120Hz. Also, if battery life is more important to you than animations, you might want to stick to lower refresh rates or phones with adaptive refresh rate tech.
In short: yes, refresh rate is important. But balance is everything.
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