Both the flagship 865 and the 765 are 5G-ready for every device they end up in, showing Qualcomm helping the industry push forward an encourage 5G adoption in 2020. But there’s a particular hardware detail we find interesting about the high-end Snapdragon 865, and that’s its ability to support 144Hz refresh rate displays. It’s the first time this has been made possible on a mobile device, and the refresh rate has only been seen previously on larger monitors and televisions. Refresh rate affects how smooth a display looks when it is displaying content in motion. Most smartphone displays today are 60Hz – even the new iPhone 11 Pro uses this and Apple can be considered behind compared to some Android rivals in this respect. Smartphones such as the OnePlus 7 Pro, Google Pixel 4 and Oppo Reno Ace have 90Hz refresh rates that make everything appear more fluid as the display refreshes faster. The Razer Phone 2 and the Asus ROG Phone 2 are the current refresh rate champs with amazing 120Hz refresh rate capability built in. The Snapdragon 865 will allow smartphone manufacturers to include 144Hz refresh rate screens in next-gen smartphones in 2020. Not all OEMs will use them, but it’s a big push forward in the advancement of mobile phone displays. We expect phones like the Asus ROG Phone 3 to take advantage of this technology. In 2019, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 and 855 Plus helped Asus push the boundaries of mobile gaming. Other gaming phones like the Red Magic 3S and Xiaomi Black Shark 2 did similar. Coupled with the Snapdragon 865’s raw processing power and 5G capabilities, phones are set to become even more competent mobile gaming machines. Add to that a refresh rate as good as a high-end gaming monitor and you’ve practically got a premium games console in your hands. Henry is Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, ensuring he and the team covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about for readers and viewers all over the world. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once.
