A 120Hz smartphone display is nice to have, but do you need it?

Each new year brings with it new tech terms the general public needs to know and 2020 is no exception. Interestingly enough, one of the biggest trends in new smartphones is as old as screens themselves: a high refresh rate.

Phone manufacturers like Samsung, Google, and OnePlus have, in recent years, touted phones with high refresh rates in their screens and will continue to do so going forward. The Google Pixel 4 comes with a 90Hz screen, while the newest Samsung and OnePlus phones are either rumored or known to go up to 120Hz. 

If you don’t know what any of that means, you’re not the only one. While refresh rates aren’t new, there’s a decent chance you’ve never even had to think about it when buying a phone, computer monitor, TV, or any other type of display. But, if phone companies are going to start using the term in marketing materials, then we’re going to have to do our best to explain it to you. 

What is a refresh rate?

To explain, we’ve enlisted the help of IHS Markit technology analyst Jerry Kang who specializes in display technologies. In an email interview with Mashable, Kang explained that refresh rates are much more simple than you might think.

“Refresh rate refers to how many times the display blinks in a second,” Kang said. “The human eye cannot not catch it easily, but the display usually blinks 60 times per second.”

For example, my 4K TV from TCL at home has a 60Hz screen, as does just about any iPhone, including the newest models. Hertz, for the uninitiated, is a measurement of frequency, so those devices are capable of blinking or refreshing themselves 60 times per second. That’s good enough for most devices (and consumers), but obviously companies like Samsung and OnePlus believe we can do better.

Generally speaking, a higher refresh rate will make things appear smoother. If you’re just scrolling through text on an iPhone 11, it might look slightly worse than it would on a Pixel 4. The difference is small enough that the untrained eye might not even notice it. Refresh rate only becomes crucial when we’re talking about video content and, especially, gaming because of the demand for high frame rates.

Refresh rate vs frame rate

While the refresh rate is the number of times a display, er, refreshes itself per second, frame rate is the frequency with which a video file or video game displays frames. It’s measured in “frames per second,” or FPS. Films are traditionally played at 24fps, while video games are usually locked to 30fps or 60fps.

Watch the video below for a simple visual demonstration of what we’re talking about. In general, lower frame rates look choppier and higher frame rates look smoother.

“High frame rates will appeal to consumers of games and films because this content usually changes very rapidly on the display,” Kang said.

Despite Kang’s insight, recent trends indicate high frame rates have been a bigger hit with gamers than moviegoers. Some big-budget films, like director Ang Lee’s Gemini Man, have tried high-frame-rate releases with limited success, but many PC games go well above 60fps if the player’s computer is powerful enough. As Kang explained, lots of people want this higher fps because a smoother display is typically considered more visually appealing, particularly in gaming.

This is where high refresh rates become important. If the two are out of sync, things can get ugly quickly. A video game outputting at 120fps on a 60Hz screen might produce a nasty effect called “screen tearing,” where horizontal lines appear and briefly make parts of the screen look like they’ve been sliced in half. 

In order to produce the best-looking visuals possible, refresh rates and frame rates have to work in tandem. A video game running at 120fps on a 120Hz or higher monitor will look and feel smoother than the same game at 60fps on a 60Hz screen. You can expect to see more displays begin to support higher refresh rates as more mediums experiment with higher frame rates.

Do I need a phone with a high refresh rate?

If you didn’t already know about all of the above, then, no, you probably do not need a fancy, high-refresh-rate smartphone. While 90Hz and 120Hz displays can look incredible, it can also be a battery killer. The benefit to your daily life will depend heavily on how you use your phone. 

Hardcore mobile gamers, in particular, will find something to like about phones with high refresh rates. There are some mobile games that can display at frame rates higher than 60fps and companies like Razer have even made phones specifically for people who want to play those games. If you play a ton of mobile games and need peak performance at all times, then you should probably look into a 90Hz or 120Hz phone.

As an added bonus, basic things like scrolling through social media will also look a little better, too.

The main argument against getting one of these phones would probably be price. Just like big increases in resolution, size, and battery life, phones with high refresh rates have to be manufactured with more expensive components.

“The materials and circuits used to make pixels should be redesigned to respond to demand for high frame rates,” Kang said. “This will increase the price of manufacturing.”

Eventually, within a year or two, it’s possible this won’t be a problem anymore. Maybe every phone will come with a refresh rate of 90Hz or higher and some of them will even be affordable. But right now, it’s a feature that’s mostly useful to specific corners of the market and just kind of… nice to have for everyone else.