How much of a difference does 120hz screen make?

D

Devyansh

Contributor
Recently I got to use a galaxy S23 and the 120hz screen was a treat, this made me think about going for phones with a faster refresh rate screen.
My question is, how much difference would it make for me on a day to day basis if I get a faster screen? I dived into the discourse and got to know that not all apps are made for 120hz screens and may look/function their best on a 60hz screen, what is the truth about this?
I only use my phone to talk or use the camera, messaging and social media is done usually on the laptop.
Should I keep the screen refresh rate in mind when I get my next phone or its really not that big of a deal after a few days?
 
Most modern apps are optimized for 120Hz, but some older ones may still run at 60Hz. If you use your phone mainly for calls and the camera, it won't be too beneficial.
 
In my experience, you'll notice it significantly when moving back and forth from a high refresh rate to a 60Hz screen. And you'll not think about it much when you're constantly using a 60Hz display.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Heisen and Futureized
My 90hz nord feels faster in scrolling and navigation than my 60hz iphone 14. 120 should be even better. Once you go 120hz there is no coming back.
 
The only reason I switched to Android from iOS was the 120Hz display, and it was a great move. Now, whenever I use my old iOS device (non-Pro models), my eyes feel strained after a period of time.
 
The reason why I always buy the pro variant rather than normal iPhones is coz of 120hz. It is very very huge but scum apple charges twice for pro models. It surely isn't worth twice but for apple customers, we don't have any other option.

For android I have seen even 20k phones having 120hz screen.
 
Refresh rate is not everything, consider other aspects before thinking about Hz. There is no point in buying 120Hz device if you gonna run it at 60Hz because you aren't getting your expected battery backup.

I think high refresh rate have more value on the desktop screen, if you spend more time on desktop than your phone.
 
60 to 120 is a huge jump. I moved from 60hz lg g8x to 120hz mi 11x pro it was a huge difference. Once you go to 120hz you cannot move back to 60hz
 
Apps optimization for higher refresh rate varies by skin, at least on Samsung's One UI it's well implemented, most apps are running on 120hz when you set to high refresh rate in settings.
 
Devyansh said:
I only use my phone to talk or use the camera, messaging and social media is done usually on the laptop.
Click to expand...
Then it wouldn't matter. Also, 120 alone doesn't mean much. The OS along with the apps need to be properly optimised in order to get true benefits of 120hz. I'm using a 120 myself but in many apps there's frame drops/lags/jitters ... whatever the term is. Take example of the Amazon app on Android. Like watching a 24 fps movie. Even on WhatsApp and other basic apps to I see notable frame drops. It's actually worse. Because in some places you see 120, in others all these frame drops, so your brain has difficulty in perceiving it. In that case, it's much better to just have a 60hz which is able to do 60hz everywhere. Now if you actually compared true 120 (sustained 120) vs 60, then nobody on earth would ever go back to 60, like never ever.

This is why people say iPhone 60 hz is better than Android 120. And it's mostly true, due to the heaven and hell difference between app optimisation between two platforms.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Heisen
sauravghosh said:
This is why people say iPhone 60 hz is better than Android 120. And it's mostly true, due to the heaven and hell difference between app optimisation between two platforms.
Click to expand...
Not really! I tried iphone 13 60hz screen after using 120hz Samsung phone for 1.5 years - I couldn't stand jitters on iphone. The animation are surely smooth on iphone but no way the experience is better on iphone.
 
mahendrapatel said:
  • 60 to 120 - huge difference, life changing
  • 120 to anything more - meh
Click to expand...
+1 to this

For monitors, I moved from 60Hz to 144Hz, was a big improvement. Upgraded to 170Hz with new 1440p monitor, didn't feel any better. Now bought a 4K 120Hz TV, so in a way downgraded from 170Hz to 120Hz, don't feel like a downgrade. But I can easily spot 60Hz panels even for basic usage.
 
OMEGA44-XT said:
+1 to this

For monitors, I moved from 60Hz to 144Hz, was a big improvement. Upgraded to 170Hz with new 1440p monitor, didn't feel any better. Now bought a 4K 120Hz TV, so in a way downgraded from 170Hz to 120Hz, don't feel like a downgrade. But I can easily spot 60Hz panels even for basic usage.
Click to expand...
Yep, anything above 120hz u won't feel a diff but anything less than 90hz anyone can identify a junk.
 
Depends,
I had once accidentally left my phone and wife's phone on 60 (ip13 PM and 15PM) while testing something.

I noticed it next day when browser scrolling seemed a bit off.
I then left hers as-is to see if she will notice it at some point.
She didn't notice it at all. I switched it back to 120 after a few days and that also went unnoticed.
FWIW , She is not a geek but is heavily into technology though.

The difference is nowhere near as massive as some people claim and is , for all practical purposes, a cosmetic change.
There is no functional difference it makes other than in gaming
 
  • Like
Reactions: Renegade
superczar said:
Depends,
I had once accidentally left my phone and wife's phone on 60 (ip13 PM and 15PM) while testing something.

I noticed it next day when browser scrolling seemed a bit off.
I then left hers as-is to see if she will notice it at some point.
She didn't notice it at all. I switched it back to 120 after a few days and that also went unnoticed.
FWIW , She is not a geek but is heavily into technology though.

The difference is nowhere near as massive as some people claim and is , for all practical purposes, a cosmetic change.
There is no functional difference it makes other than in gaming
Click to expand...
120Hz to 60Hz shift - People just associate it with phone lagging a bit is what I observed in my family & friends. Even today, if I use 60Hz for a few days, I will get used to it. Vice versa is also true.

Considering now 120Hz is mainstream on phones & monitors, no reason to not have it even if you aren't gaming.
 
Top Bottom