Does using a 120Hz refresh rate on a phone drain the battery faster?

Smartphone 120Hz Refresh Rate Battery Drain Issue: Not just premium, but most budget and mid-range smartphones these days support up to 120Hz refresh rate. Companies offer this feature for smooth scrolling, great gaming and great visual experience. However, the question in the minds of many users is whether using a 120Hz display drains the phone’s battery faster?

Simply put, the answer is yes, as a 120Hz refresh rate can drain more battery in some situations. However, its effect also depends on the phone’s display technology, brightness and usage pattern.

Refresh rate means how many times a photo or screen is refreshed on the display every second.

  • Where a 60Hz display refreshes 60 times a second, a 120Hz display refreshes 120 times.

  • Scrolling and animations look very smooth due to the phone’s higher refresh rate, but refreshing the screen more often costs extra power.

  • This effect is especially noticeable when the user is doing heavy gaming for long periods of time or constantly scrolling through social media.

Does every mobile battery drain fast?

To put it bluntly, it is not at all necessary that every device with a 120Hz display will drain the battery quickly.

Adaptive Refresh Rate feature is found in today’s modern smartphones. With the help of this feature the display can automatically reduce or increase the refresh rate as per requirement. For example:

  • The refresh rate increases to 120Hz when fast scrolling on the screen.

  • The refresh rate drops to 60Hz or lower when taking a stable photo or reading, which reduces battery consumption.

Leave a Comment