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Galaxy Note 9 update has hidden 120Hz display option

By Chris Burns/

The next big update for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 has a hidden setting that apparently switches between 60Hz and 120Hz refresh rate. This feature appears in the Beta release of Samsung's OneUI 2.0 update built on Android 10. Unfortunate for Samsung Galaxy Note 9 users, there's no possible way to enable 120Hz image refresh rate on a display that does not physically support such an option. But this feature wasn't made for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 – which is why it was hidden in the first place.*

According to leaks of the Korean and Chinese versions of the OneUI Beta 2.0 for the Galaxy Note 9, there'll be three options for the next Samsung smartphone. One will be to keep the 60 Hz refresh rate on the device's display indefinitely. Another option will be to stick with 120Hz refresh rate indefinitely. The third option appears to be an automatic switching option – with the Galaxy smartphone itself choosing which refresh rate is best at any given time.

This is very similar to what's inside the latest Google smartphone – the Google Pixel 4. That device has the ability to automatically switch between image refresh rates on its display, too – albeit between 60 and 90Hz. The Google Pixel 4's automatic switching wasn't well received with early users. It looks like the next Samsung phone won't take the same chances – or at least will allow users to opt-out.

Meanwhile the Galaxy Note 9 update here doesn't actually allow the user to switch between display refresh rates. Instead, the Galaxy Note 9 is stuck at 60Hz – which was pretty much standard for every phone other than "gaming" phones back when the Note 9 was released. If you're looking to ramp up, look to the Samsung Galaxy S11, the Samsung Galaxy Note 11, or a phone like the Razer Phone 2.

*The settings were "hidden" here in a part of the software that'd normally not be accessible by the average user. This wasn't an accidental release by Samsung to a standard user, but a discovery by a user who dug deep past the layers of the software that were meant for public consumption. The final-looking aesthetics in the leak suggest that they're nearly ready for prime time – as in Samsung Galaxy S11 prime-time, ready for MWC 2020.

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