Foreign media tested 90Hz refresh rate screen phones: Can you really feel the difference?

      Sina Digital News on the morning of December 20th, foreign media AndroidAuthority tested mobile phones with 90Hz refresh rate screens and found that most people cannot tell the difference between 90Hz refresh rate screens and 60Hz refresh rate screens.

　　In the second half of 2019, 90Hz refresh rate screens appeared in front of people and were very popular among some user groups. In theory, a 90Hz refresh rate screen can generate 90 frames per second, making the mobile phone display animation smoother. So is there really such a big difference in actual experience?

Is the 90Hz refresh rate screen really that great?

　　In response to this problem, foreign media conducted a test to see if users can distinguish the difference between a 60Hz refresh rate screen and a 90Hz refresh rate screen. The test method is simple and crude: foreign media selected ten smartphone users to participate in the test and gave them two Realme X2Pro phones and a group of OnePlus 7 series phones (OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro). One of the two groups of phones has a 60Hz refresh rate screen and the other has a 90Hz refresh rate screen.

The test was divided into two groups

　　The tester also explained why the Pixel 4 was not used, because the 90Hz setting options of this phone were not as stable as the above products. As for why the OnePlus group had two different models of mobile phones, foreign media explained that it was impossible to provide two identical products, so the settings were adjusted to be almost similar.

　　To make the test as fair as possible, the testers installed the same wallpapers and apps on the phones, with the brightness set to 100%. Each participant first tried two Realme products and then two OnePlus products.

The tested phones all have the same app installed

　　The results were somewhat surprising, but also expected - almost no one could tell the difference between a 60Hz refresh rate screen and a 90Hz refresh rate screen.

　　The tester said that he predicted that most people would not be able to see the improvement in animation fluidity and smoothness of the 90Hz refresh rate screen, but a few people should be able to notice the difference between them. Because several of the ten people who took the test were technicians, and they, like everyone else, did not notice any difference.

　　The tester then analyzed the test results and believed that the 90Hz refresh rate increase was not a big jump, at least not as obvious as the 120Hz increase. In addition, the size of the display and the distance between the screen and the user's eyes will affect the perception of speed. In other words, the smartphone screen is not big enough, and the distance we use the phone at is too close.

　　Third, the testers believe that these users did not use the device for a long time during the test. If the device was used for more than 10 minutes, the users might get used to the display speed and would feel some discomfort when returning to the 60Hz refresh rate screen.

　　In any case, the tester's final conclusion is that the effect of sacrificing battery life to obtain a 90Hz refresh rate is not that obvious, and he feels it is not worth it. If the refresh rate is increased to 120Hz, the impact on the battery will be greater.