Smartphones with fast refresh rate displays, like the OnePlus 7T and Pixel 4, are becoming more common. This year, the Samsung Galaxy S20 is rumored to offer a 120Hz AMOLED display (though apparently only when running at full HD resolution).

Sorry Samsung, but it looks like Xiaomi beat us to it before the S20 is even released.

This week, the phone maker released a video on the Chinese social network Weibo showing one of its new models, the Redmi K30 5G, running an animation at an astounding 144 Hz on its website. This exceeds the fastest 120Hz refresh rate seen on gaming-centric devices like the ROG Phone 2 and Razer Phone 2. [The Redmi K30 5G is currently available in China and uses a 120Hz IPS LCD panel; LCDs are superior in terms of providing smooth refresh rates at a lower cost, but are inferior to OLED technology in terms of color quality. Furthermore, this particular K30 appears to be tuned, either by software or hardware, to achieve 144 Hz. In other words, this is not something that owners who already have this device in their hands can easily do right now.

Still, it is nice to see such high refresh rates in action. Especially considering that some of the more established handset manufacturers are hesitant to pack 120Hz or 90Hz panels into their products, even if they have good reason to do so. Faster refresh rates, of course, give you blindingly smooth animations, but at the cost of longer battery life and, depending on the implementation, funny behavior even at low brightness levels. like the Pixel 4, which slows down the refresh rate when the screen is dark. devices are there for that very reason.

Furthermore, it can be argued that once the refresh rate exceeds 120 Hz, the process of going to 144 Hz or higher becomes a game of increasing yield. In TVs and gaming monitors, the difference may be more pronounced and desirable, but in smartphones, it is difficult to justify, given energy constraints and small size.

So while it is encouraging that Xiaomi can pull this off, it remains to be seen if it is a great idea for a consumer device. At this time, the 144Hz display on the Redmi K30 5G is an experimental concept, with no release date set. However, the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro, which (unlike the China-only K30 Pro) will be released in Europe, are rumored to offer a 90Hz OLED panel.