Android 15 brings support for true adaptive refresh rate

Android 15 was released globally in August and since then, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) such as OnePlus, Oppo and Realme have introduced their iterations of the new operating system (OS) for their smartphones and other devices. The update is said to bring support for true adaptive refresh rate (ARR), which uses discrete VSync steps to adapt to the frame rate of the content on the screen without changing the current display mode.

Adaptive refresh rate on Android 15

Support for ARR has been around since Android 11, but it used a method known as refresh rate switching, which essentially switched the display between different modes depending on the content and its requirements. Devices can switch between 60 Hz, 90 Hz, 120 Hz or 144 Hz depending on the display type. However, Android 15 delivers a true ARR experience by allowing the system to adjust the refresh rate within one mode instead of using a fixed cadence.

According to to Android (via Android Authority), displays that support ARR can decouple VSync speed and refresh rate based on the content update cadence. ARR on Android 15 offers two benefits: lower power consumption and less clutter.

With this capability, devices typically run at lower refresh rates and only switch to higher speeds when essential. This is said to result in lower energy consumption. Furthermore, ARR also eliminates the need to switch between modes, reducing jank – an effect that usually occurs when content is not synced to the device’s refresh rate.

Android says OEMs can implement ARR based on their desired energy tradeoffs. The operating system is claimed to support ARR with the new Hardware Composer (HWC) HAL APIs and platform changes. To make this possible, device makers must support kernel and system changes on devices running Android 15 and later, and implement version three of the android.hardware.graphics.composer3 APIs. However, screens that don’t support the technology will still use the fixed cadence of the active display mode to adjust the refresh rate.