You told us: You're split over buying a phone without a high refresh rate

Phones with high refresh rate screens are very common today, offering smoother scrolling and a more fluid experience in general than phones with a standard refresh rate display.

We wanted to know whether you’d buy a phone without a high refresh rate screen, though. So we posted a poll earlier this week, and here are the results.

Would you buy a phone without a high refresh rate screen?

Results

Just over 1,200 votes were cast in this poll to date, and the most popular pick was “no, I wouldn’t,” accounting for 40.8% of the vote.

It’s easy to see why people wouldn’t buy a phone without a high refresh rate screen. The tech enables a smoother experience, for one. It’s also become an expected feature in the mid-range and flagship segments, so we’re guessing some of these respondents don’t want to feel short-changed.

In second place with 31.44% of the vote is “maybe, depending on price/other features.” This is understandable too, as people might forgive the lack of a high refresh rate screen if the phone is cheap and/or packs plenty of other great features.

Finally, 27.77% of polled Android Authority readers said they would buy a phone without a high refresh rate display. Judging by the comments, many people simply consider it to be a low-priority feature when buying a phone.

Looking at it from another perspective, almost 60% of respondents said they’d at least consider buying a phone without a high refresh rate.

Comments

• Eric Koop: Since I’m not a gamer, I’d rather have the longer battery life. I’d also happily pay less for not having anything above 60Hz
• deltatux: I know I’m probably in the minority here but 60 Hz is perfectly fine. I’ve tried 90 Hz and 120 Hz, yes it’s a bit more buttery but I personally don’t see a huge difference.
• fearlessferret: I’d much rather have 60 FPS and a 1440p or 4k display than 1080p at 120 FPS. I read a lot on my phone, and therefore when I’m reading, I’m not scrolling and I have time to notice if I can see pixels on my thousand dollar 1080p phone. Yes, it still frustrates me that for reading text, a 50 dollar ewaste phone like an LG V20 is vastly superior to many phones that retail for 500+ dollars.
• Tukur49: I hardly play any serious game on phone. Therefore high refresh doesn’t bother me. I’m more concerned about IP ratings, Wireless charging, eSIM provisions.
• EeZeEpEe: No I wouldn’t because high refresh rate screens is the standard for the price range of phones I get. I’ve been using 90 Hz or faster since 2019 so it’s a step backwards for a phone of the same price that I’ve been spending every 2 years to not have 120 Hz or more. And I don’t even game. Just everyday use is noticable going from a 120 Hz to a 60 Hz screen.
• Beardednomad: I have had a high refresh rate in all my phones since about 2020 but it’s not something I really care all that much about. For me it’s one of those features that is nice to have but isn’t a deal breaker. If a phone I like had everything but that it wouldn’t prevent me from getting it.