The refresh rate is defined as the frequency of updating or rewriting the image on the screen. It can be set in hertz (Hz). For example a display while the refresh rate is of 60 Hz refreshes the screen in 60 times a second, while a display with 90 Hz or 120 Hz refreshes the screen 90 or 120 times a second.
Higher refresh rates produce smoothness in motion which is more fluid and hence seems more responsive to the user especially during fast motion all content including gaming, scrolling, and video playback.
Huawei P10 Refresh Rate: Standard by That Era
It is equipped with a 60 Hz refresh rate as standard for the industry back in 2017. At that time 60 Hz was enough for most activities, and only a handful of select few smartphone models offered any yet better refresh rates, to provide fairly decent and smooth performance in average daily use such as scrolling through social media, browsing the web, and using applications.
So Why Was 60 Hz Acceptable Back in 2017?
App Design: In 2017, almost all apps and operating systems made such designs that would be capable of displaying smooth actions on a 60 Hz refresh rate. There were not many games and apps designed to run on a higher refresh rate. So 60 Hz could be viewed as a reasonable compromise bet between performance and battery life.
Battery Life Factors: A higher refresh rate places more strain on the battery because it draws more power while refreshing the screen at a much higher frequency. In those days, battery technology was nowhere close to what it might be today. Manufacturers were, therefore, sensitive to this performance-battery trade-off. This was why 60 Hz of refresh rate was considered perfect for a market-leading phone like the P10 – brilliant visuals, without draining the battery quickly.
These Hardware Capabilities: The display is a 5.1-inch IPS LCD rather than an innovative display in refresh rate. It is supposed to be accurate in color and bright enough, working together with the Kirin 960 chipset to ensure that the phone can take that refresh rate without burdening the processor or system performance.
Refreshing the Huawei P10 Refresh Rate Compared to Modern Smartphones
If we time travel to the year 2024, we would see an evolution in the smartphone industry with respect to refresh rates. Gone are the days when flagship and mid-range smartphones used to rest contented with the 60 Hz refresh rate; most of them now boast refresh rates of up to 90 Hz, 120 Hz, or even, for some phones, a whopping 144 Hz. A higher refresh rate makes it visibly smoother and more fluid when doing all the normal activities such as scrolling web pages, traversing the interface, or just gaming.
Higher Refresh Rate Advantages:
Fluidity: That is just how higher refresh rates – 90 Hz and 120 Hz – deliver instant smoother scrolling as one accesses and uses apps, menus, and webpages. This smoothness makes a person feel more attuned to and in tune with the way the world works as regards newer technology.
Gaming Improvement: Games like mobile games now boast adaptability with higher refresh rates to get more responsive control and more fluid gameplay experience. Mirrors style well at gaming – those with refresh rates of 90-Hz and higher tend to influence players who are very interested in precision and responsiveness, particularly on fast-paced titles such as PUBG Mobile or Call of Duty Mobile.
Rich Visual Experience: Observation of videos or animations on a higher refresh rate screen can be more enjoyable. The smooth transitions make the content feel more immersive so as the screen becomes able to refresh more times per second; this also results in very accurate rendering of movements.
Huawei P10: 60Hz Limitation
Scrolling Performance: When fast scrolling or transitioning is done, the display at 60Hz feels a bit sluggish or jittery. When compared to the up-to-date smartphones with higher refresh rates, the performance was completely acceptable back then, but nowadays users accustomed to 90Hz or 120Hz displays will find the difference in how fluid the P10 feels.
Gaming Experience: The 60Hz refresh of the P10 is a disadvantage for gaming in 2024. There will be no issues being able to play casual games, especially those that don’t require fast reflexes. Fast-paced action games will be lacking in responsiveness compared to modern devices with higher refresh rates. Players moving from a higher refresh rate phone would clearly feel the difference in how smooth the frames are and how fast the game responds to the inputs.
Battery Life: A 60Hz refresh rate may very well look like a limitation in the modern world, but it has one vital benefit-the battery life. In this regard, higher refresh rates would call for more refreshes by the display to be co-related to time intervals. With the 60Hz permissible intervals, Huawei P10 can wisely manage power consumption, thereby utilizing battery life better with more of the applications present on it, such as video playback or intensive tasks in gaming or video recording.
User Experience and Display Smoothness
A smartphone’s refresh rate goes a long way in determining how smooth the entire experience feels. A 60 Hz refresh rate provides an experience on the Huawei P10, very good at its time, but seems old-fashioned today.
Usage of User Interface
The P10 runs its EMUI interface on the Android 7.0 Nougat (upgradable to EMUI 9.1 based on Android 9.0 Pie). The main aim of this interface is to make the transitions and animations smooth; therefore, even at the frequency of 60 Hz, most users would then find the UI quite usable and fairly fluid, albeit perhaps not as snappy as some newer high refresh rate devices.
In particular, while switching between apps, pulling down notification shade, or pulling up menu still have a pretty responsive quality, they just miss at-the-moment feel and smoothness added by higher refresh rates.
Scrolling through Social Media and Web Pages
The most noticeable place for refresh rates is when scrolling. The performance is fine at 60 Hz on the Huawei P10, though it does not bring the butter smoothness that devices at 90 Hz and 120 Hz refresh rate provide. Those users who have had the opportunity to use phones in higher refresh rates might notice some stuttering/choppy scrolling at times when doing a fast scroll; in particular, during the long pages or content-heavy applications such as Instagram, Facebook, and Chrome.
Video playback
Indeed, although not as significant as the other processor activities, the display has a bearing upon its refresh rate and the video playback. Since some videos are recorded to 30 fps or 60 fps maximum, thus the P10’s 60 Hz refresh rate is sufficient for consuming media contents. The experience is smooth, and almost all users will not bear any complaints concerning the refresh rate while watching videos from sites like YouTube and Netflix.
In essence, the industry is gravitating towards a higher frame rate content (for instance, a 120 fps video), thus higher refresh rate screens seem to do this well. Thus the Huawei P10, boasting a 60 Hz refresh rate, cannot fully enjoy these developments, meaning users could probably miss the smoother video experiences given by even newer devices.
Display Technology and their Impact on Refresh Rate
Display Technologies and the Impact of Refresh Rate
When it comes to having a clear picture and true color reproduction, the Huawei P10 has an IPS LCD display measuring 5.1 inches spanning across 1080 x 1920 pixels; however, the decision to use an IPS LCD as opposed to OLED or AMOLED is made at the sacrifice of refresh rate and, also really, total visual performance.
Effects of Refresh Rate and Responsiveness IPS LCD vs. AMOLED
Response Time: Whereas AMOLEDs have faster response times compared to the IPS LCDs, one would normally find that some resulting enhancements on transfer smoothness are made even at low refresh rates. The P10’s IPS LCD, capable but lacking in responsiveness, is not as fast as the modern AMOLEDs, perhaps explaining why the device does feel a little slow by current standards.
Color Reproduction and Black Levels: Unlike AMOLED, which often boasts of contrast and black levels deep enough to make any content seem smoother, the display in question is well-known for its correct color reproduction; however, it does not have deep blacks and bright colors which would certainly give content a more immersive look, like modern AMOLED panels with higher refresh rates.
Maximum Refresh Rates: One thing about IPS LCD panels is that there is a limit to the number of frames per second they can manage. While it is possible for some other modern LCD displays to reach 120 Hz and beyond, OLEDs generally do well at giving higher refresh rates with less compromise on battery life. It really does make some sense that the P10 would have a maximum of 60 Hz refresh rate because of the IPS LCD panel installed in it.
Trade-Offs on Battery Life: Refresh Rate
But the battery consumption is one of the critical ones, with higher refresh rates for devices. So, while Huawei P10’s maximum refresh of 60 Hz might not bring as much fluidity when compared to newer phones, it lowers the refreshing frequency at which the screen will be updated. This is the sweeter fruit for battery-life loving users.
Batteries V/S Refresh Rate Impact From Higher Refresh Rate The increase in refresh rate goes hand in hand with the increase in energy consumed; a display has to refresh many times higher on a rate than the one before. Devices with 90 Hz or even 120 Hz displays therefore need really huge amounts of energy to sustain these higher frequencies, which might really matter as concerns overall battery life. However, even with a rate of 60 Hz, the Huawei P10 will not take too much current, as is particularly important in cases where efficiency comes into play for battery usage. Streaming videos or browsing the web are some activities that can leave the phone in use for long hours, and in such cases, a low refresh rate brings continued battery life consistency.
Battery life balanced with performance The P10 comes with a battery of 3200 mAh, which was good enough in 2017 for a flagship smartphone. But because it runs on a refresh rate of 60 Hz, the P10 easily lasts a whole day with normal use and does not need charging. While smaller refresh rates such as these tend to longer refresh rates, as in modern devices, tend to spend much more power. This is the reason why most manufacturers of the handset have to build in some kind of adaptiveness and dynamics into their refresh rates, which allows the handset to automatically change itself into lesser or higher refresh rates whenever the content being viewed on it calls for it. The P10, however, remains with the standard 60Hz, which means that obviously, power management will become much simplified; though, it can be at the cost of smoothness in other situations.
Higher Refresh Rates and Battery Consumption Solutions: Advanced battery technologies and innovative software efficiencies have made it indeed possible to use high refresh rates today, while the hardware and battery of the Huawei P10 have no reason for being designed to use the feature. Power-efficient OLED displays and adaptive refresh rates associated with larger batteries have all made it easier for phones to “savor” a smoother display without significantly compromising batter life. In contrast, however, a fixed 60 Hz refresh rate such as that of the P10 conservatively strikes the balance, keeping the device functional and efficient for several years.
Gaming on the Huawei P10 at 60 Hz refresh rates
The 60 Hz refresh rate affects gaming performance on the Huawei P10. Most notably, it pales in comparison to the refresh rates that are offered by modern devices. There has been a lot of progression since the introduction of the P10 in terms of mobile gaming, so it would be nice to see how well this device performs under normal game scenarios with the restrictions posed by the display refresh rate.
Performance and Casual Games
For casual games-Candy Crush, Angry Birds, or Monument Valley, the refresher rate has been very smooth and sufficient at 60 Hz for the Huawei P10. This is because all these games do not heavily rely on the high frame rates and do not have fast-moving visuals, so the P10’s refresh rate is not noticeable here.
Graphical Quality: The Kirin 960 processor and Mali-G71 MP8 GPU of the P10 are able to render graphics for most of casual games with an acceptable quality level above that. While the refresh rate is only 60 Hz, these games are sharp and responsive enough for the majority of users. Battery efficiency: The 60 Hz refresh rate works pretty well for playing casual games on the device. Generally, casual games are less demanding on the system, but the P10 promises heavy battery lives without requiring high refresh speed displays as power guzzlers.
Fast, Intense, or Competitive Gaming
The 60 Hz refresh rate of the P10 becomes an even more apparent limitation when it comes to speedier competitive games like PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty: Mobile, or Asphalt 9. Since most of these games can run at higher refresh rates, modern phones of about 90 or 120 Hz display even pretty smooth, responsive animations, giving players an edge in more competitive environments.
Limitations on Frame Rate: The P10 can handle a lot of these titles in terms of performance, but the play experience is somewhat hindered by its 60 Hz refresh rate. Gamers used to higher refresh rates might feel that the game is not flowing well, particularly in fast-action scenarios that need quick reflexes and precise control.
Different Lag and Input Responsiveness: Increased Refresh Rate: More smoothness in animations and lower input lag will result from higher refresh rates. In competitive gaming, even a fraction of input delay can make the difference between winning and losing. The P10 by Huawei is a 60 Hz smartphone, which results in slightly higher input lag figures compared to most modern gaming phones. This may not sit well with the serious mobile gamer.
Frame Drops Possibility: Some intensive graphical games might not allow the P10 to reach 60 fps on an average consistent basis, leading to a few noticeable frame drops. This is complemented by the fact that newer games are optimized to run at refresh rates higher than 60 Hz, so the 60-Hz experience on the P10 already feels dated.
Gaming Experience in General
Casual gamers and other everyday users of the Huawei P10 generally find this refresh rate of 60 Hz-fit enough. It may, however, feel restrictive to serious competitive gamers or users accustomed to a refresh rate beyond this. The P10 is a capable gaming device in itself, but it still cannot match what is offered by many modern gaming smartphones with higher refresh rates-the smoothness and sensitivity.
Everyday Display Smooth: Is 60Hz Good Enough?
When the Huawei P10 launched, 60 Hz was the refresh rate for smartphones, but things have changed in the phone industry so fast. It’s 2024, and countless consumers have already ‘tasted’ what it feels like to use a higher refresh rate. Therefore, in 2024, this will altogether change consumer perception on how fluid displays could work. Hence, one may ask: is 60 Hz now enough for everyday consumption in 2024, or does it feel wasted today?
Basic Tasks
For basic functions such as texting, calling, checking emails, and using messaging apps, the Huawei P10’s 60 Hz refresh rate is more than sufficient. There are no fast transitions taking place on-screen or demanding graphics applications, so users experience little difference between 60 Hz and higher rates. It would seem quite reasonable, therefore, for most users to think that the P10’s performance in terms of display would be adequate for quite a number of such everyday activities.
Web Browsing and Scrolling
One description between 60 Hz and superior refreshing is when you scroll pages on the Internet or on social feeds. A 90-hr with refreshment or a 120-hr modern gadget makes scrolling a much smoother feeling, making it seem very responsive, with hardly any stutter visible or any drop in frame rate. On a P10 device, while being much functional, scrolling may not feel smooth enough, especially when relating to long pages and heavy-content applications.
For people who have not been exposed to higher refresh rates, the P10’s value would not seem significant compared to that of 60 Hz applications. But to one who has gotten used to scrolling on more modern smartphones, the P10 seems a little slow, or at least not quite as responsive.
UI Transitory And Animations
Aside from that, a good measure of smoothness in a smartphone’s UI has to do with the refresh rate of that smartphone. A device with higher refresh rates gives an overall sense of better responsiveness when it comes to application opening and flicking from menu to menu and during all sorts of animation interaction. The refresh rate of this Huawei P10 goes down as low as 60 Hz, but while this is quite acceptable in 2017, compared to the nippier UI transitions of newer devices working at higher refresh rates, it does feel a lot slower.
Interacting with the P10, whether doing some home-swipe, notification shade-dragging or app-drawer opening, just feels much less smooth than with 120 Hz-equipped devices like the OnePlus 8 Pro and Galaxy S21. The P10 is adequate when it comes to performance, but its users have likely grown accustomed to faster transitions and thus deem it quite old-school.
The Future of Refresh Rates: How Does Huawei P10 Fit In Here?
At the time, 60 Hz was considered the standard refresh rate of the Huawei P10, making it functionally usable and relevant even into 2024. The current generation of smartphones is, however, already embracing refresh rates higher than those of the P10. Devices boasting screen refresh rates of anywhere between 90 Hz, 120 Hz, and even 144 Hz are no longer rare but rather commonplace in the industry, and the benefits they possess are too smooth and intuitive not to be considered.
Adaptive or Variable Refresh Rates
The major lineup in smartphones adopting any new feature involves adaptive or variable refresh rate technology, in which the display refreshes its rate depending on the contents being put on display. In contrast, when the device is static, it lowers refresh rates to conserve power, either increases refresh rate when gaming or while scrolling through options.
The Huawei P10 does not possess any adaptive refresh rate ability, rendering it possible only to refresh its display at the simple rate of 60Hz for all content, although it does not harm the battery. Of course, this also means it loses out on the smoother performance that could have been taking advantage of higher refresh rates for at least some tasks.
Longevity and Use in 2024
If Huawei users are still considering the P10 in 2024, please note that although the 60 Hz refresh rate may still be usable, it feels somewhat outdated in comparison with today’s flagship devices. If you’re upgrading from an older phone or just getting into smartphones, the P10’s 60 Hz refresh will probably be more than adequate for most everyday tasks, while for techies or persons who are obsessed with smoothness and fluidity, a higher refresh rate device could be more of a choice.
Conclusion: Is the 60 Hz Refresh Rate Enough for the Huawei P10?
The Huawei P10 was a flagship phone back in the day, and it provided smooth and responsive performance at that time for almost all tasks using the 60 Hz refresh rate. But the smartphone industry has changed a lot since then; higher refresh rates have become common standards in premium devices.
The 60 Hz refresh rate of the Huawei P10 is functional; it can be used for simple operations, for watching movies, and for some casual gaming. The user experience for most people who use it in everyday terms and for those who have never used a device with a higher refresh rate will seem satisfactory. On the contrary, people who are power users, techies, or have used devices with displays of 90 Hz, 120 Hz, or even 144 Hz will find the 60 Hz refresh rate of the Huawei P10 somewhat restrictive and outdated.