“The faint buzz of a CRT monitor at 60Hz, the slight flicker you only noticed when your eyes got tired… and that heavy, beige tower humming under your desk like it had secrets.”
You remember that buzz, right? The way your eyes quietly protested after a long Counter-Strike 1.6 session on a 60Hz screen. Back then, refresh rates were buried in spec sheets nobody read unless they were building PCs from scratch. Now you open any phone launch page and “120Hz” is in huge bold type like it’s the star of the show. From those flickery CRTs to silky OLED panels, refresh rate went from a quiet background stat to a headline feature.
The question that keeps popping up today is simple and annoyingly hard at the same time: do you really need 120Hz on your phone, tablet, or laptop? Or is it just the 2020s version of polyphonic ringtones and “3.2 megapixel” camera stickers slapped on every front panel?
Back in the early 2000s, most of us were staring at 60Hz CRT monitors that weighed more than a mid‑range gaming PC does now. Thick glass, a curved surface that warped straight lines at the corners, a faint warmth on your face if you sat too close. 75Hz felt like an upgrade only the odd PC magazine writer got excited about. Everyone else cared more about screen size and price.
Fast forward to today. You flick through TikTok or scroll Instagram and think the experience is just “smooth” without really knowing why. That smoothness is where refresh rate lives. It is that quiet spec in the background that controls how many times your screen can redraw everything each second. 60 times per second. 90. 120. 144. Now we even have niche phones claiming 165Hz, like a gaming monitor got shrunk and jammed into your pocket.
Maybe it is nostalgia talking, but there is something fun about seeing a number like 120Hz pushed as if it is brand‑new, when the core idea goes all the way back to those humming CRTs and even older TVs that used interlaced video tricks to keep motion looking decent.
What Refresh Rate Actually Is, Without the Buzzwords
Refresh rate is simple on paper: it is how many times the display updates per second. The units are Hertz (Hz).
60Hz = 60 times per second
120Hz = 120 times per second
That is it. Nothing magical. No hidden marketing sauce. Your phone still shows you Instagram, your email, your browser. It just redraws that content more often.
Here is the catch. You do not always notice that number directly. You feel it.
On an old Nokia or Sony Ericsson, you were dealing with tiny LCD panels that refreshed at low rates with slow pixel response times. You probably remember ghosting on games like Snake or those Java racing games. You would steer and see a faint shadow of the car behind the real one, like the screen could not keep up with your thumbs.
Modern OLED and fast LCD panels switched the game in two ways:
1. The pixels change color much faster.
2. The entire panel can refresh at higher rates.
Combine those and you get that “butter” feeling when you scroll. Less blur. Less stutter. Your eyes track content more naturally.
“User review from 2005: ‘My new 19-inch LCD at 60Hz is awesome, but when I move the mouse fast it feels smeary. My old CRT at 85Hz felt smoother in games. Is my monitor broken?'”
That user was bumping into both refresh rate and pixel response. Today, the same conversation moved from clunky forums to TikTok comments under phone comparison videos. Same problem, different decade, much smaller screens.
Frame Rate vs Refresh Rate: The Two‑Part Story
Refresh rate is only half the story. The other half is frame rate. That is how many frames your device actually sends to the display each second.
If your phone screen can hit 120Hz but the system is only giving it 45 frames per second while you scroll through a laggy app, the panel still refreshes 120 times a second. It just repeats some frames. The result: the screen’s potential is wasted part of the time.
Think of it like this:
– Refresh rate is the ceiling.
– Frame rate is how far you actually jump.
Old CRT days: hardcore gamers wanted 100+ fps from their PCs and matched that with 100+ Hz monitors. If one lagged behind the other, you could feel it in Quake or Counter‑Strike. Today, mobile gamers chase similar pairings: 90 fps modes on 90Hz or 120Hz screens for shooters like PUBG Mobile or Call of Duty Mobile.
The wild part is how casual non‑gamers now talk about refresh rates too. People who never cared about frame pacing in their life can look at a 60Hz phone next to a 120Hz one and say: “That one just feels nicer.”
Maybe that is the real clue that refresh rate finally escaped the niche PC lab and walked into mainstream pockets.
The Physics Your Eyes Bring To The Party
Human vision is messy. You might hear phrases like “the eye cannot see past 60Hz,” which feels neat but falls apart once you try a 144Hz monitor for competitive gaming. Many people straight up feel the difference between 60Hz and higher rates, even in simple scrolling.
Here is what is really going on:
– Your eyes track motion using smooth muscle movements.
– When the display updates more often, motion on the screen can better match how your eyes move.
– That closer match makes things feel more “connected” and less jittery.
If you have ever tried a 120Hz phone, gone back to a 60Hz one, and thought “why does this feel choppy now,” you have lived that experiment in real life.
At the same time, not everyone cares. If you mostly read text, use messaging apps, and watch streaming content that is locked at 24 or 30 fps, a lot of that 120Hz potential is just running in the background for UI animations and scrolling.
So the real question morphs from “can my eyes see 120Hz” to “does my use case benefit enough from 120Hz to justify the tradeoffs.”
Battery Life: The Hidden Cost Of 120Hz
All those extra refreshes are not free. Your display is one of the most power‑hungry parts of your phone. Force it to refresh twice as often and you drain more battery. That is why you rarely see a phone that keeps 120Hz locked at all times.
Early 120Hz phones had two common modes:
– Fixed 60Hz
– Fixed 120Hz
Users quickly noticed: 120Hz felt great, but battery percentage melted faster. That pushed the industry toward “adaptive” refresh rates: 120Hz when you scroll, 60Hz or lower on static pages, down to 10Hz or even 1Hz for always‑on displays.
Modern OLED LTPO panels can shift refresh rate on the fly. Scroll Twitter, it cranks up. Stare at a photo, it drops way down. That trick keeps the “feel” of 120Hz while taking the edge off the power cost.
Still, if you lock a phone at 120Hz and compare battery life against 60Hz, you often see a measurable hit. Not catastrophic on big batteries, but real enough that heavy users notice at day’s end.
Maybe that is why some brands still reserve 120Hz for higher tiers while giving mid‑range models 90Hz. It splits the difference between smoothness and battery drain.
Then vs Now: From CRT & Nokia To 120Hz OLED
Let us anchor all this with some hardware you probably remember.
| Spec | Nokia 3310 (2000) | Modern Flagship Phone (120Hz) |
|---|---|---|
| Display type | Monochrome LCD | AMOLED / OLED |
| Screen size | 1.5 inches (approx) | 6.1 to 6.8 inches |
| Resolution | 84 x 48 pixels | FHD+ or QHD+ (e.g. 2400 x 1080 or higher) |
| Refresh rate | Roughly 30 to 60Hz, slow response | Up to 120Hz, fast response |
| Pixel density | Under 100 ppi | 350 to 500+ ppi |
| Primary use | Calls, SMS, Snake | Social media, gaming, video, productivity |
The Nokia screen had visible pixel grids, slow transitions, and a weird “afterimage” if you wagged it around fast. Yet we still spent hours staring at it under yellow kitchen lights, fingers pressing those chunky plastic buttons that made that clean click.
Now think about a modern AMOLED at 120Hz. Thin glass. Minimal bezels. Smooth edges. Touch sampling often runs at 240Hz or higher, which means the phone checks for finger input more often than it repaints the screen. The result feels like you are physically dragging the content. That “connected” feel is something those old T9 devices never had.
“Retro specs: 17-inch CRT, 1280 x 1024, 85Hz max refresh, VGA cable, 20+ lbs. Modern 27-inch IPS, 2560 x 1440, 144Hz, DisplayPort, under 15 lbs.”
Your phone screen caught up with and then outran yesterday’s desktop panels, at least in visual smoothness for UI and casual gaming. That alone explains why 120Hz took off. Once you feel that motion, it is hard to unsee it.
Where 120Hz Actually Matters
Now the practical part: when does 120Hz change your day in a meaningful way?
Gaming
This is the easiest case.
If:
– You play competitive shooters or fast action games.
– The game has a high frame rate mode (90 or 120 fps).
– Your hardware is strong enough to keep that frame rate stable.
Then 120Hz is a real performance feature. It reduces motion blur, makes tracking enemies smoother, and can lower input latency when paired with high touch sampling.
Players who grind ranked modes often call it “cheating without cheating” because it can feel like an advantage over 60Hz users.
If your favorite titles are turn‑based RPGs, puzzle games, or auto‑battlers with low animation intensity, the jump to 120Hz is less dramatic. Nice, but not critical.
Scrolling & UI Smoothness
Even outside games, 120Hz affects how your phone feels:
– Faster, cleaner scrolls in long feeds.
– Fewer micro‑stutters when flicking through home screens and menus.
– Smoother animations for app switching, keyboard pop‑ups, and notification shade pulls.
Here is where perception becomes a bit subjective. Some people feel a huge difference between 60Hz and 120Hz on Twitter, Reddit, and long articles. Others adapt within days and barely think about it.
One interesting quirk: once you use 120Hz for a few weeks and then go back to 60Hz, the downgrade feels larger than the initial upgrade. It is like rewinding from broadband to 56k dial‑up after you have streamed HD.
Stylus & Drawing
On tablets or phones with stylus support, high refresh rate pairs nicely with low latency pen input. When you draw, the line appears closer to your pen tip movement, which feels more like ink on paper.
The display refreshes more often, and the system samples the stylus position more often, which narrows the gap between your motion and the visual update. Artists often notice this even more than casual users do in scrolling.
VR and AR
VR headsets pushed high refresh hard. 90Hz or more is common there because low refresh in VR can trigger motion sickness for a lot of people. Phones used for casual AR do not hit those extremes in the same way, but the logic is the same: when motion is tied to your real‑world movement, higher refresh helps comfort.
When 120Hz Is Just “Nice To Have”
There are also plenty of situations where 120Hz exists more as a spec sheet trophy than a life changer.
– Watching movies and shows: most content is 24, 30, or 60 fps. You do not get more frames just because your panel can refresh more often. You might see smoother UI overlays, but the video itself stays at its original rate.
– Reading ebooks or PDFs: the text is static most of the time. Once it is on the page, the extra refreshes are redundant.
– Simple messaging and email: your biggest motion is a quick scroll and a keyboard pop. 60Hz already handles that reasonably well.
Many people in this group buy a 120Hz device because it comes bundled with everything else they want: better cameras, faster storage, nicer build. The high refresh becomes part of the overall premium feel rather than the single feature they care about.
60Hz vs 90Hz vs 120Hz: What People Actually Notice
Here is where things get honest and a bit messy.
– 60Hz to 90Hz: Most people notice the change. It feels smoother without a big battery hit.
– 90Hz to 120Hz: Some people notice it; others shrug and say “they feel the same.”
– 60Hz to 120Hz: Almost everyone notices it in direct side‑by‑side comparisons.
This is one reason 90Hz panels found a home in mid‑range gear. They give that visible step up for scrolling and animations while staying kinder to battery and BOM cost for the manufacturer.
If you hand a normal user a 60Hz phone and a 120Hz phone without telling them which is which, many can still pick the higher refresh one just by quickly scrolling. But if you then ask them “is it worth paying extra or losing two hours of battery for this,” answers suddenly split.
“User review from the early smartphone era: ‘My old iPhone feels choppy now after trying my friend’s high refresh Android. I never noticed before. Now I cannot unsee it. Thanks a lot.'”
That is the tricky part. Once you train your eyes, you raise your expectations permanently. You start to judge every device by how “connected” it feels when your fingers move.
Do You Really Need 120Hz On A Phone?
Let us break this into use patterns.
If you are a mobile gamer
– Play shooters, racers, or fast action titles regularly.
– Care about rank, timings, reaction windows.
Then 120Hz is very close to “need” territory. You do not have to be on a pro team to benefit from lower perceived latency and clearer motion.
You still want to confirm your favorite game supports high frame rate modes. Some titles cap at 60 fps no matter what panel you own.
If you are a social media power user
– Constantly scrolling TikTok, Reels, endless feeds.
– Notice stutter or lag easily.
120Hz gives a nicer daily feel. You interact with your screen through motion all day long. The premium impression you get every time you scroll adds up.
Is it critical? Not really. But this is one of those subtle quality upgrades you notice more than camera differences in good light.
If you mostly consume static or slow content
– Reading articles, ebooks, email threads.
– Listening to podcasts, background music.
– Watching streaming video without caring about ultra smooth UI.
For this group, 60Hz is still fine. 90Hz is a sweet spot if you have the option, but 120Hz enters “nice to have, not need” territory.
Battery life, charging speed, and storage amount will matter more day to day.
Do You Really Need 120Hz On A Laptop Or Monitor?
The same logic extends beyond phones.
Office & Productivity Laptops
Working in spreadsheets, documents, and browser tabs, 60Hz is completely serviceable. That is what most of the world has used at desks for years.
High refresh helps:
– When you scroll large sheets or code files.
– When you move windows around constantly.
– When your eyes are sensitive to motion artifacts.
Many knowledge workers who switched to 120Hz or 144Hz laptops report that going back feels harsh, but it is not a functional barrier. You can still get your work done on 60Hz.
Gaming Monitors
Here, 120Hz is basically the floor for competitive play right now, with 144Hz and 240Hz being common targets.
Games like Valorant, CS2, Fortnite, and Apex Legends get real‑world advantages from higher refresh:
– Clearer tracking of targets.
– More up‑to‑date frame information to react to.
– Less blur during fast flicks.
If you are serious about PC gaming, a high refresh monitor matters more than almost any other single upgrade outside of a solid GPU and a decent mouse.
Then vs Now: Desktop Display Journey
Let us place old vs new in one more simple table.
| Spec | Early 2000s CRT Monitor | Modern 144Hz Gaming Monitor |
|---|---|---|
| Panel tech | CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) | LCD / IPS / VA or OLED |
| Common refresh | 60 to 85Hz | 120 to 240Hz |
| Resolution | 1024 x 768 or 1280 x 1024 | 1920 x 1080 to 2560 x 1440 and beyond |
| Weight | 15 to 25+ lbs | Under 15 lbs typically |
| Connection | VGA, sometimes DVI | HDMI, DisplayPort, USB‑C |
| Motion feel | Smoother at high Hz, but flicker at low Hz | Smoother motion at high Hz, less flicker, better color |
What used to be a specialist choice for PC gamers is now drifting into phones, tablets, laptops, even TVs. But the same question follows it around everywhere: does this match what you actually do with the device?
The Marketing Hype vs Real‑World Tradeoffs
Phone brands love clean numbers: megapixels, milliamp hours, wattage for charging, refresh rate. Those numbers look great in bold text on a slide.
But every number has a cost:
– More megapixels: smaller pixels, heavier image processing loads.
– More battery: heavier device, larger footprint.
– Faster charging: more stress on the battery over time.
– Higher refresh: more power draw, more GPU demand.
120Hz is not free. It pushes the GPU harder to maintain high frame rates for system animations. The display controller works more often. The panel backplane has to support the higher switching speed.
You feel the upside in your hands. You feel the downside when you hit 20 percent battery sooner than you hoped on a heavy day.
That is why many flagship phones now bundle adaptive refresh, big batteries, and faster charging together. It is a package deal: we give you the smoothness, and we help pay the power bill with bigger cells and quicker top‑ups.
How To Decide For Yourself
Here is a simple way to judge 120Hz without getting lost in charts:
1. Go to a store that has both 60Hz and 120Hz phones on display.
2. Open the same app on each: a long web page, a feed, or the app drawer.
3. Flick scroll side by side at the same time.
4. Ask yourself:
– Do you clearly feel a difference?
– Does the smoother one actually matter to you, or does it just feel “nice” but not crucial?
5. Then ask the staff or check settings:
– Can the high refresh phone run in adaptive mode?
– How is its battery size compared to similar 60Hz models?
Your own eyes and fingers are your best benchmark. Charts cannot fully capture how your brain interprets motion.
“Retro specs: ‘This monitor supports 85Hz at 1024 x 768!’ Early 2000s me: changes resolution, restarts PC, feels like I just unlocked a hidden performance setting in a game.”
That feeling is what manufacturers are trying to sell you now on phones and tablets. The same thrill, in a slimmer frame with way more pixels.
Where Refresh Rate Goes Next
We are starting to see smarter refresh pipelines:
– Panels that drop to 1Hz for static content.
– Systems that match video frame rate to panel rate more precisely.
– Techniques that cushion the battery impact of high Hz without turning it off completely.
At the same time, we might hit a point where going past 120Hz on phones brings tiny gains for most people. 144Hz and 165Hz on small screens feel nice, but not everyone can tell them apart from 120Hz without direct comparison.
The more interesting frontier is less about bigger numbers and more about smarter use. Knowing when your content actually benefits from high refresh and when your phone can quietly relax to save power without you noticing.
And maybe that is where the nostalgia loop closes. Back in the CRT age, gamers tweaked refresh rates game by game, resolution by resolution, hunting for that sweet spot where smooth motion met stable performance. Today your phone tries to do that dance for you automatically while you just flick, tap, and scroll.
You still hear echoes of that old CRT buzz though, in every spec sheet bragging about 120Hz. The tech changed. The question stayed the same: is this extra smoothness worth it for what you do every day?
