Ultra-high refresh rate is here. The mobile phone screen is taking it to the next level with 165Hz. Is it just a gimmick or an experience revolution?

Is the refresh rate of mobile phone screens starting to catch up with that of gaming monitors?

The well - known digital gossip blogger @Digital Chat Station said that REDMI has started researching whether to equip its new phones with a screen with an ultra - high refresh rate of 165Hz. Coincidentally, OnePlus next door is also promoting the product combination of "165Hz mobile phone + 165Hz tablet". Is the mobile phone about to enter the era of ultra - high refresh rates?

(Image source: @Digital Chat Station)

As a digital enthusiast, Xiao Lei has used many devices with refresh rates of 120Hz, 144Hz, and even 240Hz or 360Hz. However, due to various limitations, these devices didn't impress Xiao Lei. Therefore, Xiao Lei is a bit curious. Can the so - called 165Hz refresh rate screen really bring a qualitative leap?

Is the 165Hz refresh rate a gimmick or a trend?

Currently, the mainstream refresh rate of mobile phones on the market is 120Hz. A few mid - range phones that focus on performance are equipped with 144Hz refresh rate screens. In theory, a 144Hz refresh rate screen is definitely better than a 120Hz one. Then why don't screen manufacturers mainly promote 144Hz screens?

(Image source: OnePlus official)

The reason is simple. The practicality of a 144Hz screen is not strong. It can even be said that apart from being a gimmick for promotion, there isn't much actual improvement. For example, when the refresh rate of a mobile phone screen is increased from 60Hz to 120Hz, the frame rate of the picture doubles exactly. While from 120Hz to 144Hz, it only increases by 20%, and this improvement can almost be ignored.

What if the frame rate is increased to 165Hz? Compared with a 120Hz refresh rate screen, the improvement is still only 37.5%, which is still far from the previous 100% increase. More importantly, the high refresh rate promoted by manufacturers is only reflected in system animations. When opening most apps, the frame rate is locked at 90 frames, 60 frames, or even 30 frames.

In other words, there aren't many software and video resources that support high refresh rates on the market. Take Xiao Lei's Xiaomi 15 Ultra as an example. Although most of the daily - used apps can maintain a stable 120Hz, once opening video apps like Douyin and Bilibili, due to platform restrictions, the video frame rate is locked at 60 frames. At this time, the 120 - frame operation animation and the 60 - frame video frame rate will give people a sense of disconnection.

Moreover, there have been products with ultra - high refresh rates in the mobile phone market. For example, the Sharp Aquos Zero2 released in 2019 was equipped with an OLED screen with a 240Hz refresh rate. At that time, most mobile phones on the market were still in the 60Hz era, and the app adaptation naturally also stayed at 60 frames. As a result, Sharp's 240Hz refresh rate screen had no chance to show its advantages.

Secondly, there are double pressures in terms of cost and power consumption. As a new "product", the early cost of a 165Hz screen must be much higher than the previously equipped screens. The increase in screen cost means that new products may be downgraded in terms of imaging, materials, etc. Secondly, although the 165Hz screen only increases by 37.5% compared with the 120Hz screen, the increase in power consumption is real. If the upgrade perception is not strong and the battery life is significantly shortened, it will be a bit of a loss.

(Image source: OnePlus official)

Limited by various reasons, the current ultra - high refresh rate screens are still a niche demand, which gives headaches to both screen manufacturers and app developers.

However, it's a bit extreme to say that the 165Hz refresh rate is completely a gimmick. As mentioned above, the main reason for the poor experience of high - refresh - rate screens is the lack of software adaptation. Secondly, for some FPS games, the higher the screen frame rate, the more pictures are refreshed at the same time, and players can see more information clearly. For players with excellent dynamic vision, it may be this moment that determines the outcome.

Coincidentally, iQOO and OnePlus have successively announced that they will support the 144Hz high - frame - rate mode of the mobile game "Valorant: Episode 6 Act 3". The gaming phones under Nubia have also cooperated with Tencent Games to ensure the perfect adaptation of high - refresh - rate technology in various games.

(Image source: OnePlus official)

However, although there is adaptation, whether it can maintain a stable 144Hz during the game is what Xiao Lei cares about the most. If the frame rate drops frequently, the experience will be worse than a stable 120Hz or even 60Hz.

In Xiao Lei's opinion, the 165Hz refresh rate screen will only appear in some performance - and cost - effective models for a long time in the future (at least one year, at most two or three years). Other models will still use 120Hz refresh rate screens. After all, compared with the 165Hz refresh rate, the 120Hz refresh rate is more mature in technology and supports more features.

After competing in picture quality and eye - protection, is it the turn of the refresh rate now?

Although at present, the 165Hz refresh rate screen seems more like a gimmick, it has brought a new direction to the increasingly homogeneous market.

Take REDMI as an example. Currently, REDMI's product line is relatively clear. The flagship has the K series, the entry - level has the Note series and the digital series, and the pocket rockets have the Turbo series. However, the pricing of the Turbo series is similar to that of the K series, which will inevitably make consumers compare the two.

If the Turbo series uses a 165Hz refresh rate screen, combined with the large - battery selling point of the Turbo series, the positioning of the two product lines will be different. The K series will continue to follow the flagship all - around route, while the Turbo series will follow the extreme gaming route.

Since REDMI has adopted it, competitors with similar positioning will naturally launch corresponding products as soon as possible. At that time, a large number of performance phones with 165Hz refresh rate screens will emerge on the market, which will also promote the development of the domestic supply chain and contribute to the popularization of 165Hz screens in the entire market. Once the 165Hz refresh rate screen becomes as mainstream as the 120Hz one, app developers will naturally speed up the update and adaptation, turning the once gimmick into a future necessity.

(Image source: REDMI official)

The competition in high refresh rates is essentially a competition among manufacturers for the right to define the "smooth experience". Whoever can launch products first and have a good adaptation experience will have more say. Just like OnePlus, which was the first to launch a 90Hz refresh rate screen back then, it is still one of the leaders in the field of high refresh rates.

However, it has to be said that competing in screen refresh rates is the least rewarding option for mobile phone manufacturers. It's not like imaging, where users can feel the difference as soon as they try it in the experience store; nor is it like piling on performance and heat dissipation to get a smooth experience in benchmarks and mobile games. However, whether a mobile phone screen has high quality can largely determine consumers' desire to purchase, which may explain why mobile phone manufacturers are keen on competing in screen technology.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

However, compared with competing in refresh rates, Xiao Lei personally hopes to see mobile phone manufacturers make efforts in screen materials. Among them, the most anticipated one by Xiao Lei is the "double - layer OLED technology". Some manufacturers applied this technology in 2024. Compared with ordinary OLED screens, the double - layer OLED has two emission layers, which can reduce the overall power consumption by about 30%. Moreover, the screen brightness can be increased to 5000nits, and the service life is also much longer.

In other words, this technology solves the problems of insufficient brightness, short service life, and high power consumption. It is definitely the ceiling of screen display technology.

However, the problem is that the yield rate of double - layer OLED screens is extremely low. Even after years of development, the quality control rate of ordinary OLED screens is still not high. When the number of layers is doubled, the difficulty of producing a perfect double - layer OLED screen is not just doubled.

Therefore, we can currently only see double - layer OLED screens in some ultra - high - end devices, such as Huawei's MateBook Fold. Lei Technology's evaluation of this computer at that time was: "The screen performance is truly far ahead."

Regarding the yield rate of double - layer OLEDs, Xiao Lei believes it's just a matter of time. Screen suppliers need to improve manufacturing processes and material utilization efficiency. After the technology matures, it will surely win the favor of mobile phone manufacturers again and be widely used.

Conclusion

For many readers, the 165Hz high - refresh - rate screen may not even be considered an innovation, and Xiao Lei really agrees with this. The slowdown of innovation by mobile phone manufacturers will indeed make the mobile phone circle boring. However, Xiao Lei believes that the essence of all technological innovation and accumulation is to consider one thing: whether it is helpful to users.

However, the current mobile phone market is no longer the same as before. The cost of trial - and - error for manufacturers is getting higher and higher. A small technological defect will bring double losses in terms of reputation and sales to manufacturers. It can be predicted that mobile phone manufacturers will be more "careful" in the future. All innovation and design will start from improving users' actual experience, even if the improvement is not that significant.

After all, forced innovation is not as good as making steady progress.

This article is from "Lei Technology" and is published by 36Kr with authorization.