Smartphone specs 202: Refresh rate

June 23, 2023

By Kim Komando

We’ll call camera specs, storage and operating system (OS) (yes, I’m team iPhone) Phone Shopping 101. Sensor size is just as important as camera megapixels. If you take a ton of pics and videos, go for higher storage. Pick the OS that makes you happy.

But what the heck is the refresh rate? It’s worth understanding since it plays a significant role in your phone’s performance. You’ll be glad you read this before you buy your next smartphone.

It’s all in the screen

Your smartphone screen is a series of images, displayed one after another very quickly. Smartphone screen refresh rate is simply how many times your screen updates or refreshes per second, usually measured in hertz (Hz).

The higher the refresh rate, the smoother your screen. If you play a lot of phone games or watch a ton of videos, this matters even more. A higher refresh rate (like 90 or 120HZ) reduces blur, increases how responsive your screen is and makes everything feel cleaner.

What’s the downside?

The higher the refresh rate, the more processing power — meaning slightly worse performance and battery life. 

If you have a phone with a super-high refresh rate, you can manually adjust it if you’re going through a full charge too quickly.

• On an iPhone: Go to Settings > Accessibility > Motion > Limit Frame Rate. NOTE: This only works on iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
• On a Samsung: Settings > Display > Motion smoothness > Standard (for fixed 60Hz) > Apply.
• On a Google Pixel: Settings > Smooth Display > Disable (for a fixed rate of 60Hz).

Now you feel more intelligent and your battery life is better. Score!