Weekly poll: picking the perfect display (refresh rate, resolution, curved or flat)

Samsung never enabled 120Hz mode at 1440p+ resolution for the Galaxy S20 family, despite what some early rumors claimed. This year it’s looking like the new LTPO panel on the Galaxy S21 Ultra will finally enable 120Hz at the top resolution. The two vanilla S21 will get 1080p+ displays side-stepping the issue. All of this is just rumors for now, of course, the official announcement isn’t until next week.

But while we wait we wanted to ask which do you prefer – resolution or refresh rate? A 1080p+ high refresh rate (HRR) display and a high resolution one? You can’t have both as a 4K 144 Hz display may sound awesome on paper, but will murder the battery in no time.

High refresh rate vs. high resolution

It’s not just the Galaxys either, the Sony flagships are in the same boat, for example. The Xperia 1 II boasts the only 4K OLED display in the mobile market, but it has a 60Hz refresh rate. The Xperia 5 II is Sony’s first phone with a HRR display, but it has 1080p+ resolution.

For gaming phones the answer seems to be clear – fast-paced games benefit from refresh rate much more than resolution. For multimedia, the opposite is true. Which is option is better-suited to your needs?

We have a feeling we can guess the answer to this next question, but we’ll ask anyway. Flat screens vs. curved screens, which is better?

Curved screens vs. flat screens

A curved screen makes the phone narrower and is good for the swipe gestures of modern Android. It also looks so much better.

A flat screen is easier to guard with a case and protector. Makers are pushing curved panels as a premium feature, usually reserved for the top models (the upcoming S21 series will be an example of that). But sometimes makers get caught up in fads despite protestations from fans.