OnePlus 7 Pro literally made the typical 60Hz display a legacy tech, as people are finally embracing the crispy animation and smoothness of the 90Hz refresh rate. Believe it or not, some modders even overclocked the stock display panel of Mi 9 and Redmi K20 series to achieve the similar experience.

redmi_k20_pro_75hz_aida64
Redmi K20 Pro with modded 75Hz refresh rate

Higher refresh rate obviously takes a toll on the battery life, so OnePlus came up with an interesting implementation. The Chinese OEM included an option inside system settings so that one can manually control the refresh rate.

Shortly after the release, the community reported that OnePlus 7 Pro’s 90Hz refresh rate was not compatible with every browser out there. Even after choosing the higher value, some browsers (and other apps) failed to reach the expected rendering sequence.

oneplus_7_pro_screen_refresh_rate_90hz_selected
Screen refresh rate selection option in OxygenOS

Later on, XDA Recognized Contributor C3C076 found the actual reason behind this anomaly. OnePlus hides the ‘true’ 90Hz refresh rate while the visible option can operate on the basis of an internal whitelist. You can think it as a protective method to save battery juice.

C3C076 also disclosed a way to access the universal 90Hz refresh rate across everywhere, but there is no simple way to achieve the same on a per-app basis. Some XDA members wrote different Tasker based solutions (root/non-root), but those are too much technical for regular users.

oneplus_7_pro_brave_browser_90_hz
Brave browser (1.0.95) on OnePlus 7 Pro: Notice the 90Hz refresh rate which was not possible without forcing

Behold as arter97 decided to play this game. In case you are not aware of him, he is a famous kernel and app developer who is also associated with Paranoid Android (aka AOSPA).

Auto90, a nifty app coded by arter97, does two things. First, it will offer you a nice interface to choose between the default 60Hz, (whitelisted) 90Hz and ‘true’ 90Hz refresh rate for your OnePlus 7 Pro (5G).

auto90_how_it_works

Secondly, the app has an option of create multiple profiles. Under each profile, you can select the apps to follow your choice of refresh rate. Create as many profiles you want and apply them on the fly, and boom! While you favorite browser is being rendered in 90Hz, the video player automatically switches to 60Hz.

auto90_app_list

While power users can extend the existing Tasker profiles, Auto90 is a godsend for regular OnePlus 7 Pro owners who just want to get things done. You need to set it up for the first time using a PC, afterwards the app is good to go.

The app is now available on Google Play Store with the price tag of $1.5/ €2,39 / ₹85.00. OnePlus should implement something similar with the upcoming version of OxygenOS based on Android 10 – what do you think? Comment below.

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Kingshuk De
896 Posts

I came from a mixed background of Statistics and Computer Science. My research domains included embedded computer systems, mobile computing and delay tolerant networks in post-disaster scenarios. Apart from tinkering with gadgets or building hackintosh, I like to hop on various subreddits and forums like MyDigitalLife and XDA.

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