The latest OnePlus 15 update has enabled a 165Hz refresh rate for three popular apps . We’ve already talked about that update recently, though this particular detail was not mentioned in the changelog.
Three popular apps can now use a 165Hz refresh rate on OnePlus 15, if you enable it
The update in question is OxygenOS 16 .0.1.305, and it enables 165Hz for WhatsApp, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter). This is very nice to see, as a 165Hz refresh rate was only enabled for supported games thus far.
There’s also a catch. A 165Hz refresh rate is not enabled for those apps by default. You’ll need to enable Developer Options in order to access the feature. That’s fairly easy to do, though if you’re not feeling comfortable doing it, that’s fine too.
We wouldn’t recommend using this feature, at least not yet
Despite all this, we wouldn’t recommend that you do this. Why? Well, because you don’t get a dynamic refresh rate for these apps if you enable a 165Hz refresh rate. It will stay pinned at 165Hz, instead of dropping to 1Hz, as it’s supposed to. That will increase power consumption, and doesn’t make sense at all.
Perhaps that’s why OnePlus buried the option in Developer Options. Perhaps it’s still not ready for primetime, otherwise we’d expect to see it in the Display & brightness menu within the phone Settings. Also, it does say that the feature is in ‘beta’, so it makes sense.
OnePlus could implement this feature properly in the future
It remains to be seen what will happen down the road, but OnePlus could change things up moving forward. In all honesty, a 165Hz refresh rate is probably not needed outside of games anyway, but… many people will want it anyway.
As a reminder, the OnePlus 15 went on pre-order in the US yesterday, with a delay. The government shutdown in the US postponed things a bit, but not by much. The phone’s pricing starts at $899.99, in case you’re interested.
