So the bottom line is that higher refresh rates result in smoother UI but shorter battery life as opposed to a resolution bump or some other factor being responsible. Interesting and good reasoning for hanging around at 60Hz if you aren't too worried about the limited benefit of driving refresh to twice the rate.
That's a nice observation, especially interesting to see how FHD and QHD makes barely any difference, I had no idea. Can't wait to read the full review.
Yes but the test here is a black screen, so of course there shouldn't be a difference between FHD and QHD. In fact, ideally you would see no difference across all 4 combinations (QHD/FHD/60Hz/120Hz)
I'd argue otherwise. If you look on the time/energy graph it tells a different story than the steady state power consumption which was minimal.
If you look at both the FHD vs. QHD results you'd see FHD uses between 13-20% more energy than the QHD test. I suspect this is related extra processing resources to DOWNSAMPLE the image resulting in more energy consumption.
Between FHD and QHD 60 Hz (17.75% more) 7.615/6.467 1.1775x
Between FHD and QHD 120 Hz (13.84%) 12.232/10.744 1.1384x
Don't mean to confuse with the terminology, just going based on their FAQ/support page that states "The Razer Phone’s UltraMotion™ display not only offers a 120 Hz refresh rate, it also features variable refresh rate" - Regardless of the language, I'm more curious regarding the functionality. Based on the difference between 60Hz and 120Hz in the chart above, I'd guess it would go down to some constant low draw, just curious what that would be (although I'd also venture to guess that more OEMs would implement some sort of dynamic refresh rate based on content if it really saved that much power).
Razer specifically advertised Qualcomm Qsync support though which according to Qualcomm directly (and confirmed by various news outlets) to be analogous to gsync or freesync. What tested have you done that confirms that this is false? Curious because QSync was supposed to be a big feature and dropped off, was it a fake?
All very interesting information. Based on your findings I also agree that having true VRR would be really useful.
I wonder what the gains might look like if they're able to drive refresh rates down to 24/25/30Hz for fullscreen video content. I realize that we're looking at diminishing returns as refreshing the display will become proportionally less of the total display/system draw... but it could be a natural optimization since content consumption is a pretty common usecase.
More realistically I could see them refreshing at double the rate of low frame rate content, so 48Hz/50Hz/60Hz, but content would likely look smoother at a doubled refresh rate than at a non-integer refresh rate, and the lower refresh rate could slightly improve power consumption.
Pipe dreams I'm sure. Incremental gains for significant engineering work.
Yeah I'd be interested in this, too. Much like the debate around what resolution is OK for a given screen size, I have a feeling refresh rates should be subject to the same. Maybe 90Hz and 120Hz have a negligible between them.
I think most of "smoothness" feel comes from VRR and lower touch latency. Android probably won't get proper variable refresh support until google and qualcomm get interested in it, since it would require substantial changes to rendering system. Apple is at advantage there.
The only thing I understand from this Is quad hd+ plus 120 hz can't be enabled on S20 Ultra via a software update The hardware bandwidth is limiting here
I feel like several devices over the years have had panel self refresh, but a quick internet search didn't come up with meaningful results. This is a spec that isn't really advertised/exposed much, even in moderately in-depth reviews.
Would be nice to be able to assign a default refresh rate to different apps on a phone like this. So, 120 Hz for games and similar, 60 Hz for email etc. That'd keep power draw somewhat under control, until devices with true VRR are out.
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27 Comments
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atkoj - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
And that right there is a great example of why I still come to Anandtecheastcoast_pete - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
Agree. Thanks Andrei, that adds some key information on what is eating battery with high Hz screen refreshing.PeachNCream - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
So the bottom line is that higher refresh rates result in smoother UI but shorter battery life as opposed to a resolution bump or some other factor being responsible. Interesting and good reasoning for hanging around at 60Hz if you aren't too worried about the limited benefit of driving refresh to twice the rate.DabuXian - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
That's a nice observation, especially interesting to see how FHD and QHD makes barely any difference, I had no idea. Can't wait to read the full review.Cliff34 - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
For most things, fhd and qhd don't make a diff. I do notice 4k videos are noticeably sharper.OddFriendship8989 - Monday, May 11, 2020 - link
Yes but the test here is a black screen, so of course there shouldn't be a difference between FHD and QHD. In fact, ideally you would see no difference across all 4 combinations (QHD/FHD/60Hz/120Hz)Jedi2155 - Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - link
I'd argue otherwise. If you look on the time/energy graph it tells a different story than the steady state power consumption which was minimal.If you look at both the FHD vs. QHD results you'd see FHD uses between 13-20% more energy than the QHD test. I suspect this is related extra processing resources to DOWNSAMPLE the image resulting in more energy consumption.
Between FHD and QHD 60 Hz (17.75% more)
7.615/6.467
1.1775x
Between FHD and QHD 120 Hz (13.84%)
12.232/10.744
1.1384x
hd-2 - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
I'm curious to see the impact of the variable refresh rate Razer uses on their phones with 120Hz displays.Andrei Frumusanu - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
They don't have VRR, they just have refresh rate switching.hd-2 - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
Don't mean to confuse with the terminology, just going based on their FAQ/support page that states "The Razer Phone’s UltraMotion™ display not only offers a 120 Hz refresh rate, it also features variable refresh rate" - Regardless of the language, I'm more curious regarding the functionality. Based on the difference between 60Hz and 120Hz in the chart above, I'd guess it would go down to some constant low draw, just curious what that would be (although I'd also venture to guess that more OEMs would implement some sort of dynamic refresh rate based on content if it really saved that much power).Nintonito - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
Razer specifically advertised Qualcomm Qsync support though which according to Qualcomm directly (and confirmed by various news outlets) to be analogous to gsync or freesync. What tested have you done that confirms that this is false? Curious because QSync was supposed to be a big feature and dropped off, was it a fake?brucethemoose - Wednesday, May 6, 2020 - link
I'm typing on a Razer Phone 2 now, can I test this without a USB power monitor?The Android FPS debug option and displayhz.com seem to suggest its 120hz all the time.
Nintonito - Wednesday, May 6, 2020 - link
Using the FPS debug option shows variability for me, down to 3fps or so. I have nothing plugged into the device.MrCommunistGen - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
All very interesting information. Based on your findings I also agree that having true VRR would be really useful.I wonder what the gains might look like if they're able to drive refresh rates down to 24/25/30Hz for fullscreen video content. I realize that we're looking at diminishing returns as refreshing the display will become proportionally less of the total display/system draw... but it could be a natural optimization since content consumption is a pretty common usecase.
More realistically I could see them refreshing at double the rate of low frame rate content, so 48Hz/50Hz/60Hz, but content would likely look smoother at a doubled refresh rate than at a non-integer refresh rate, and the lower refresh rate could slightly improve power consumption.
Pipe dreams I'm sure. Incremental gains for significant engineering work.
MrCommunistGen - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
*non-integer multiple of the content's framerateBigos - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
Will you be looking at the non-Pro variant (1080p 90Hz) for comparison?ads295 - Wednesday, May 6, 2020 - link
Yeah I'd be interested in this, too. Much like the debate around what resolution is OK for a given screen size, I have a feeling refresh rates should be subject to the same. Maybe 90Hz and 120Hz have a negligible between them.ads295 - Wednesday, May 6, 2020 - link
Negligible difference* in terms of visual appeal.Hopefully significant difference in terms of power consumption.
Alim345 - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
I think most of "smoothness" feel comes from VRR and lower touch latency. Android probably won't get proper variable refresh support until google and qualcomm get interested in it, since it would require substantial changes to rendering system. Apple is at advantage there.Kishoreshack - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
Bro what is MIPI lane to the DDICAny article to read more about it
If possible try to hyperlink it to the words soo readers will understand it well
Kishoreshack - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
The only thing I understand from this Is quad hd+ plus 120 hz can't be enabled on S20 Ultra via a software updateThe hardware bandwidth is limiting here
Kishoreshack - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
Need a guide on how True VRR worksWouldn't it consume battery to continuously detect static or dynamic content on the screen ?
Alim345 - Wednesday, May 6, 2020 - link
Nope, it should not consume more energy.VRR is basically about showing new frames whenever they are ready without waiting for next refresh slot.
drexnx - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
do any of these devices have Panel Self Refresh? has that become a standard these days or was it just a one-off on the LG G2?MrCommunistGen - Wednesday, May 6, 2020 - link
I feel like several devices over the years have had panel self refresh, but a quick internet search didn't come up with meaningful results. This is a spec that isn't really advertised/exposed much, even in moderately in-depth reviews.eastcoast_pete - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
Would be nice to be able to assign a default refresh rate to different apps on a phone like this. So, 120 Hz for games and similar, 60 Hz for email etc. That'd keep power draw somewhat under control, until devices withtrue VRR are out.
ksec - Wednesday, May 6, 2020 - link
Waiting to see if Apple has Pro Motion this year