Google Android 15 finally brings true VRR support to phones

With the release of Android 15, the display experience in Android has become even smoother. In Android 15, phone displays will now support true variable refresh rate. This is also called adaptive refresh rate, that is, the phone keeps adjusting the refresh rate according to the content playing on the screen. This also reduces power consumption and increases user experience.

LTPO displays still limited
Most of the latest flagship smartphones are now using LTPO i.e. low-temperature polycrystalline oxide panels. These displays still don’t fully support variable refresh rate. Their refresh rate remains somewhere within a limit because companies set it in advance. That means they do not provide complete flexibility from 1Hz to 120Hz.

The company pre-configures LTPO displays which are specific for 1Hz, 10Hz, 30Hz, 60Hz, and 120Hz. According to the content, it keeps switching in these fixed refresh rates. At the same time, the frame rate on the computer keeps synchronized in real time. Therefore, one gets a better gaming experience on the computer because there is a smooth transition of frames. But this kind of flexibility was not available in Android devices till now.

With Android 15, Google moved in this direction and added True Adaptive Refresh Rate (ARR) support to Android’s display framework. Now the screen can adjust the refresh rate only in single display mode. However, full use of ARR requires hardware compatibility. For this, the device should support HWC HAL version 3 which is available in the latest devices which are coming equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor.