OnePlus is now rolling out a new update for the recently launched OnePlus 15, which brings with it the usual performance
improvements and bug fixes. However, there is a change that you won't see in the update log, which we think is perhaps
Starting with version 16.0.1.305, OnePlus 15 users will be able to access the full 165Hz that the display is capable of
in three additional apps. This includes WhatsApp, Instagram, and X (previously Twitter). Previously, this refresh rate
was only accessible on a handful of games, with everything else topping out at 120Hz.
However, there is a catch. Aside from the fact that it's only available in those three apps, you also need to enable
Developer Options to access this feature, since that's where it is buried. While there is no risk in enabling the
developer mode and the procedure to do so isn't complicated, it can cause issues with certain apps, typically those from
banks, and they may refuse to work unless this mode is disabled.
Moreover, the way the feature is implemented is also odd. You don't get dynamic refresh rate in these apps once this
mode is enabled, and the display stays pinned at 165Hz instead of dropping down to 1Hz when there is no activity.
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It's not clear why OnePlus chose to over-complicate things in this manner. The company could have simply provided the
option to enable the full 165Hz in the Screen refresh rate setting within the Display & brightness menu, which is
concealed enough that most users still don't know it exists. Anyone who makes their way down there would already know
what they are getting into with the higher refresh rate (and the phone could just show a warning like it does right
now). And you could have also retained dynamic refresh rate this way.
Why not just use this menu, OnePlus?
There is also something to be said about making an advertised feature of your phone be obscured at all; if a feature is
important enough to be marketed to everyone then it should also be available to everyone by default, not through select
apps and buried within arcane settings.
Aside from the refresh rate feature, the update also brings with it the following changes:
Version 16.0.1.305 is now rolling out to OnePlus 15 units in India, and should be available to other regions shortly.