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How to Check Whether Android Apps and Games Support 120Hz or Higher Refresh Rates

Check the phone’s display mode and watch Android’s refresh-rate overlay while an app is active—but use a game FPS counter to confirm rendered frames.
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To check whether an Android app or game uses 120Hz or higher, first confirm that your phone supports a refresh rate above 60Hz and that its high or adaptive refresh setting is enabled. Then watch the system’s refresh-rate overlay while the app is active. That overlay shows the display’s refresh behavior—not necessarily the number of frames the game is rendering. For game FPS, check the game’s own settings or use an FPS measurement.

Refresh rate and game FPS are different measurements

Refresh rate, measured in hertz (Hz), describes how often the display updates. Frame rate, measured in frames per second (FPS), describes how often an app or game produces a new frame. A display reporting 120Hz does not prove that a game is rendering at 120 FPS: the game may produce fewer frames, and the display may adjust its refresh behavior to the content.

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Use precise wording for what you measure. If the Android overlay shows 120Hz, the display is currently refreshing at 120Hz. Say a game is rendering at 120 FPS only if a game-level counter or frame-time measurement confirms that rate. Google Play Console’s performance guidance equates 120 FPS with 8.333 milliseconds per frame; this is a conversion, not a promise that a particular game or device reaches that rate. Google Play Console performance guidance

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Check the phone’s display capability and setting

Confirm the exact model supports a rate above 60Hz

Check the specifications for your exact phone model or its system display settings. Different variants in the same product family can have different displays, so do not assume one model’s 120Hz capability applies to all of them. Android’s developer documentation describes Display.getSupportedModes() for enumerating a display’s supported modes, but that is a technical method rather than a universal consumer menu path. Android Developers: Optimize refresh rates for games

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Enable high or adaptive refresh

In Settings, look for a display, motion-smoothness, or refresh-rate control and select the high or adaptive option if one is available. The exact label and location depend on the manufacturer, model, and Android version; use Settings search if you cannot find it. Some devices adjust refresh rate automatically rather than holding a fixed rate.

Watch the display refresh rate while using the app

  1. Enable Developer options if needed. The steps for enabling this menu vary by device. Use your manufacturer’s instructions for your model and Android version.
  2. Find the overlay setting. In Settings, search for “Show refresh rate.” AOSP documents this Developer options overlay, but manufacturers may place or label it differently. Android Open Source Project: Frame rate
  3. Open the app or game and interact with it. Observe the displayed value while scrolling, animating, or playing—not just on the home screen. Adaptive behavior can change with the content and activity.
  4. Record what the overlay says. Treat it as the display’s current refresh rate, not as a game FPS counter.

Android 15 supports adaptive refresh rate only on enabled devices, and the behavior depends on the platform and device implementation. A changing overlay value is therefore not, by itself, evidence that the game is malfunctioning. Android Developers: Adaptive refresh rate

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Check whether the game itself can render at a higher rate

Look for a frame-rate option in the game’s graphics or performance settings, then consult the game’s support information for device eligibility. A high-refresh display is only one part of the chain: the game must support and request a higher frame rate, and Android may still choose a lower rate.

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Android Developers says Android 15 sets a default 60Hz refresh rate for games to optimize power consumption. For games on that platform to request higher rates, the guidance points to the Frame Rate API or Swappy. This is Android 15-specific guidance; it does not establish that every existing game supports either approach or offers a 120 FPS setting. Android Developers: Optimize refresh rates for games

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If you specifically need to verify game FPS, use a game-level FPS counter or a reliable frame-time measurement and identify it as an FPS measurement. The refresh-rate overlay alone cannot answer that question.

Why the rate may stay below 120Hz

An app’s request does not guarantee that Android will select the requested rate. Android Developers notes that the scheduler weighs multiple factors when choosing the display refresh rate. Power-saving mode and thermal throttling are among the documented reasons a requested rate may be limited. Android Developers: Surface.setFrameRate() Android Developers: Optimize refresh rates for games

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  • Confirm the phone’s high-refresh or adaptive display option is enabled.
  • Check whether battery-saving settings are active.
  • Consider whether the device may be thermally constrained.
  • Retest under comparable conditions, since display behavior can vary with content and device policy.

High refresh rates can increase power use, and Android’s game guidance notes that system decisions may account for power and temperature. A display setting does not override those constraints.

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Compare like with like

When comparing phones or games, keep the measurements separate: supported display modes, whether refresh is fixed or adaptive, the game’s own maximum FPS option, measured in-game FPS under comparable conditions, and whether power or temperature settings affect the result. A phone’s general 120Hz specification is not proof that a particular game runs at 120 FPS.

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