Today we take a look at phones with the highest refresh rates and best displays with lightning-fast refresh response.
Phones With The Highest Refresh Rates
- Samsung Galaxy S21 – Ultra 120Hz
- Samsung Galaxy S20 – Ultra 120Hz
- OnePlus 8 – 120Hz
- ASUS ROG Phone 2 – 144Hz
- POCO X2 – 120Hz
- OPPO Find X2 – 120Hz
- OPPO A92s – 120Hz
- nubia Red Magic 5G – 144Hz
- nubia Play 5G – 144Hz
- RAZER Phone 2 -120Hz
- Sharp Aquos R3 – 120Hz
- Sharp Aquos Zero 2 – 240Hz
What Is Display Refresh Rate?
Unlike touch refresh rate which refers to how quickly the screen recognizes your touch and loads the screen, the display refresh rate is how many times it refreshes the image on screen per second.
Measured in hertz, a higher refresh rate means that the display is more fluid when you’re scrolling through your phone. Aside from silky smooth transitions, screens with higher refresh rates are also easier on your eyes.
The downside is that the battery drains much more quickly. Since a phone with a 120Hz refresh rate is literally redrawing the image on screen 120 times per second, which means it is going to consume much more battery life than those with a lower rate such as 60Hz.
Samsung Galaxy S20/S21 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is the first phone by this manufacturer to come out with a 120Hz refresh rate. It features a 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O QHD+ display and is powered by a 64-bit octa-core processor.
To compensate for the battery life consumed due to its state-of-the-art display, it comes with a 25-watt fast charger that trumps the iPhone 11 Pro with an 18-watt charger, and a 5000mAh battery.
OnePlus 8 Pro
The OnePlus 8 Pro which came out five months ago was the phone that made refresh rate a hit buzz word. It has a 6.78-inch fluid AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It also has Corning Gorilla Glass 5,
HDR10+ video technology and is dust and water-resistant. It uses a Li-Po 4150mAh battery and also comes with 30-watt wireless charging.
ASUS ROG Phone 3
The first phone on our list here with a 144Hz refresh rate, the ASUS ROG Phone 3 is designed for avid gamers.
It features an AMOLED capacitive touchscreen which is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 6. It can go up to 650 nits maximum in terms of its brightness and is powered by a Li-Po 6000mAh battery with fast charging at 30 watts.
POCO X2
Probably the most affordable option on our list, the POCO X2 features a 120Hz on a 6.67-inch full HD+ LCD display instead of the AMOLED display which is used by many other phones on our list.
Developed by the Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi, it has a 395ppi display and 6GB of RAM. It also goes with 27-watt fast charging on a 4500mAh battery.
OPPO Find X2
The Oppo Find X2 boasts a 6.7-inch 120Hz OLED display and a 4200mAh battery. It comes with the incredibly powerful COOV 2.0 65-watt fast charge which means it can go from 0% to 100% in just thirty minutes.
It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 CPU Processor which is the latest industry-standard that supports 5G network.
OPPO A92s
This mid-tier 120Hz phone has only been released in China so far, but it is worth the mention as it sports a 6.57-inch IPS LCD display with HD+ resolution, powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 800 5G chipset. It is on the more affordable side as compared to the Find X2 and will surely be a powerful contender in the market of high refresh rate phones when it comes out worldwide.
nubia Red Magic 5G
The Red Magic 5G is nubia’s flagship gaming phone. Apart from sporting the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, it comes with a 6.65-inch AMOLED FHD+ display with a whopping 144Hz refresh rate. With up to 16 Gigabites of RAM and is powered by a 4500mAh battery with 55-watt fast charging technology.
nubia Play 5G
If you think that the Red Magic 5G is a bit too much on the pricey end, check out the Play 5G which comes from the same developer! It is a purpose-built phone for gaming in the mid-tier price range at $449 which proudly includes a 144Hz refresh rate.
It is well supported with a 5100mAh cell and 30-watt fast charging. It even has capacitive shoulder buttons to make the gaming experience more user friendly and immersive!
RAZER Phone 2
Looking for a phone that will fit snugly into your pocket? The RAZER Phone 2 might just be what you need. It supports a 120Hz refresh rate on a 5.7-inch IPS LCD display, with 8GB of RAM and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 CPU. Apart from coming with a 4000mAh battery, it also supports 4K video at 30 frames per second.
Sharp Aquos R3
Made by Japanese phone company Sharp, the Aquos R3 supports a 6.2-inch QHD Pro IGZO display that runs on a 120Hz refresh rate. It has two notches on its screen, with the top one housing the selfie camera and the bottom one being a fingerprint scanner for unlocking the phone.
It runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chip with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, but the downside to it is that its 3200mAh battery pales in comparison to other phones that we have on our list considering it only supports 11-watt fast charge.
Sharp Aquos Zero 2
If you’re not willing to settle for a 120Hz or 144Hz refresh rate, then the last phone on our list might be able to satisfy your desire for higher refresh rates. Saving the best for last, the Sharp Aquos Zero 2 offers an astonishing 240Hz refresh rate, double to that of most phones we have on our list here.
The Aquos Zero 2 rocks a 6.4-inch full-HD+ curved OLED display and a top-notch where the selfie camera sits comfortably. One drawback, however, is that its 3130mAh battery might be used up fairly quickly due to its refresh rate’s high demand for speed and power.
Conclusion
Several manufacturers are now offering 120Hz and above screens and are backing up the extra power needed with larger batteries. In the near future, 120Hz will become the standard for screen refresh rates providing a smoother interaction experience.
