OnePlus 15 Gets Unexpected 165Hz Update

OnePlus has rolled out a new update for its recently released OnePlus 15, featuring the usual performance improvements and bug fixes. However, perhaps the most significant change, not mentioned in the update notes, introduces a new feature that pushes the display’s capabilities.

Super Smooth Social Media Requires Developer Settings

As of version 16.0.1.305, OnePlus 15 users will now be able to access the display’s full 165Hz refresh rate in three additional apps: WhatsApp, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter). Previously, this high refresh rate was only available in a handful of games, while everything else was limited to 120Hz.

However, this new feature has some limitations:

• Limited Apps: 165Hz support is only available for these three social media apps.
  Hidden Access: To access this feature, users must first enable Developer Options, as the setting is hidden there. While enabling developer mode isn’t a complicated procedure, it can cause security issues in some sensitive apps, such as banking apps, and may refuse to work unless the mode is disabled.
• Fixed Refresh Rate: The way this feature is implemented is also quite peculiar. When this mode is enabled, the dynamic refresh rate (which drops to 1Hz when inactive) is disabled in these apps, and the screen is constantly locked at 165Hz even when inactive, which will increase battery consumption.

It’s unclear why OnePlus made this so complicated. The company could have simply added the 165Hz option to the “Screen refresh rate” setting in the Display & brightness menu, a setting most users are unaware of.

Users using this menu would already be aware of the consequences of a higher refresh rate, and the dynamic refresh rate could have been preserved. Furthermore, hiding a marketed feature of the phone to such an extent is open to criticism. If a feature is important enough to be advertised, it should be accessible to everyone by default, rather than being limited to specific apps and buried in hidden settings.

The update has started rolling out to OnePlus 15 units in India and is expected to reach users in other regions soon.