Remember when 60Hz was standard on phones? Then 120Hz became the flagship norm, and most people agreed it was plenty smooth. OnePlus apparently didn’t get the memo — it’s reportedly planning to push smartphone screens all the way to 240Hz.
That’s not a typo. 240Hz is the kind of refresh rate you’d see on a competitive gaming monitor, not a phone you use to check Instagram and reply to texts. But according to tipster Digital Chat Station, OnePlus is mapping out a path through 165Hz and 185Hz panels before landing at 240Hz in future devices.
The Refresh Rate Escalation
Most flagship phones today run at 120Hz, and the difference from 60Hz is immediately obvious — scrolling is fluid, animations are crisp, and supported games feel responsive. Going from 120Hz to 240Hz? That’s a much harder sell. The perceptual gains shrink fast, and most mobile content isn’t even produced at frame rates that high.
OnePlus’s rumored approach is incremental. The upcoming OnePlus 16 is expected to land somewhere between 165Hz and 185Hz, stepping up from the current 120Hz standard. A full 240Hz panel would come later in the roadmap.
The Battery Problem
Here’s the catch: pushing more frames per second costs power. A lot of it. That’s reportedly why OnePlus is sticking with 1.5K display resolution instead of moving to sharper 2K panels — combining 240Hz with 2K would be a battery killer.
The rumored OnePlus 16 is expected to ship with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chip and a larger silicon-carbon battery, both of which could help offset the power demands of a faster display. But engineering around physics only goes so far.
Does Anyone Actually Need This?
Honestly? For scrolling Twitter and watching Netflix, no. The sweet spot for most users is probably 120Hz, maybe 144Hz. But for mobile gaming — especially competitive titles like PUBG Mobile or Call of Duty Mobile that support high frame rates — there’s a real, if niche, benefit.
The bigger question is whether this is a genuine user-facing improvement or a spec-sheet arms race. Phone manufacturers need selling points, and “world’s highest refresh rate” looks great in a press release even if most buyers can’t tell the difference in a blind test.
What’s Next
The OnePlus 16 is expected later this year. If the 165Hz-to-185Hz rumors pan out, we’ll have a real-world test of whether higher refresh rates matter on a phone — or if this is just marketing chasing numbers. Either way, expect competitors to follow. The refresh rate war isn’t over; it’s just getting silly.
