The on-screen sample rate: the great unknown that is maximizing fluency in mobile phones

RockedBuzz
By RockedBuzz 4 Min Read

The on-screen sample rate: the great unknown that is maximizing the fluency in mobile phones, One of my obsessions when I analyze a telephone is fluency , but understood as something measurable in objective terms, not as the subjective perception of whether a mobile is moving well or no. With the arrival of the high refresh rate a good leap was made in it, but there is a great bet that is going unnoticed: the rate of sampling .

Little by little, manufacturers begin to increase the bet for the tactile sampling rate, an unknown that can completely change the experience with a phone . The response speed of the panel depends largely on it , and some manufacturers are reaching record figures.

The sample rate vs the refresh rate

Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2, phone with sampling rate of 720 Hz.

The refresh rate that has been talked about so much in recent years refers to how often the screen updates the number of images it displays per second . In a matter of two years we have gone to see the 120 Hz as something mainstream and, the more frames it shows per second the phone, the greater the sense of fluidity.

The latency of the screen will depend to a large extent on the sample rate: the faster the screen responds, the better the user experience

However, you have surely seen in a presentation that a mobile has a refresh rate of 58 Hz and a sampling rate touch at 360 Hz . Touch sampling rate refers to how often the panel checks for user interaction . In other words, how often the screen detects if we have our finger on it or not.

The latency of the panel largely depends on this sample rate, that is, how long it takes for the screen to react to our finger . Although here we are talking about milliseconds, when we are typing fast, playing with the mobile or doing scroll , minimizing latency is key to an excellent experience.

The big bet on the sampling rate

Little by little, manufacturers are reinforcing their commitment to the tactile sampling rate. A good example is the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 , with a rate of touch sampling of 720 Hz . It is the same case of the Black Shark 4 Pro , with 144 Hz refresh rate but an on-screen sampling of 720 Hz.

The high touch sampling is gradually reaching the most mainstream terminals: the 600 Hz are already a reality

We also have a high sampling rate in terminals designed for the general public, such as the Realme GT 2 Neo , with 600 Hz. In the case of Xiaomi, its Me 11 Ultra has 120 Hz refresh rate, but a tactile sampling of 480 Hz . It is the same case of S 21 Ultra , with sayings 450 Hz on this top model, but 240 Hz in the S 21 +.

In other words, manufacturers are improving the response time of the screen significantly , although at the level of marketing is more relevant to the refresh rate than touch sampling. The way to go is long, and latency not only depends on this rate (the distance between screen and glass, the device’s own power, etc.), but little by little a path opens up that benefits users.

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