Remember when 120Hz on a phone felt like overkill? OnePlus is about to make that number look quaint. A new leak suggests the company is plotting a path all the way to 240Hz OLED displays on its flagship phones — a spec that currently belongs to competitive gaming monitors, not devices mostly used for scrolling Instagram.
The tip comes from Digital Chat Station, a reliable source for Chinese tech leaks, who says OnePlus is considering stepping through 165Hz and 185Hz panels before ultimately targeting 240Hz in future devices. The rumored OnePlus 16, expected later this year, could kick things off with somewhere in the 165–185Hz range.
Why refresh rates stopped making sense years ago
Let’s be honest: the jump from 60Hz to 120Hz was massive. Animations went from choppy to buttery, scrolling felt immediate, and games became visibly smoother. That was a real, tangible improvement anyone could feel.
But the law of diminishing returns is brutal here. Going from 120Hz to 240Hz on a 6.7-inch screen — something you hold two feet from your face and use to read text messages — is a tough sell. The human eye struggles to perceive the difference in most everyday scenarios. You’ll notice it in fast-paced mobile shooters, sure. But checking email? Not a chance.
The battery problem nobody wants to talk about
This is where things get complicated. Driving pixels 240 times per second takes serious power. That’s reportedly why OnePlus is sticking with 1.5K panels instead of sharper 2K displays — combining ultra-high refresh rates with higher resolutions would hammer battery life.
The company is expected to pair the OnePlus 16 with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chip and a larger silicon-carbon battery, which could help offset the power demands. But “could” is doing heavy lifting in that sentence. Thermal management at those refresh rates is another unresolved headache.
Marketing spec wars vs. actual user experience
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: refresh rate numbers sell. “240Hz” on a spec sheet looks incredible next to a competitor’s 120Hz. It gives reviewers something to benchmark and influencers something to demo. Whether actual buyers can tell the difference during normal use is almost secondary.
That said, OnePlus has historically been one of the few phone makers that actually tunes its displays well at high refresh rates, rather than just slapping a big number on the box. If anyone can make 240Hz feel worthwhile on a phone, they’re in the best position to try.
The OnePlus 16 launch later this year will be the first real test. Expect the full 240Hz panels to arrive in a future generation — and expect the battery life debate to rage on.
