OnePlus 15 update enables 165Hz for these three apps | Infinium-tech

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 one change you won’t see in the update log, which we think is probably the most important.

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 (formerly Twitter). Previously, this refresh rate was only available on a few games, with everything else topping out at 120Hz.

However, there is a catch. Besides the fact that it’s only available in those three apps, you also need to enable developer options to access this feature, because it’s hidden in there. Although there is no risk in enabling developer mode and the process of doing so is not complicated, it can cause issues with some apps, especially banks’ apps, and they may refuse to work until this mode is disabled.

Furthermore, the way this feature is implemented is also strange. You don’t get dynamic refresh rates in these apps once this mode is enabled, and the display remains pinned at 165Hz instead of dropping to 1Hz when there’s no activity.

oneplus 15 5g

It’s unclear why OnePlus chose to make things overly complicated this way. The company could have simply provided an option to enable full 165Hz in the screen refresh rate setting within the Display & Brightness menu, which is so hidden that most users still don’t know it exists. Anyone who goes there will already know what they’re doing with a higher refresh rate (and the phone may just show a warning like it does now). And you could also maintain the dynamic refresh rate this way.

OnePlus, why not use this menu?

There’s also something to be said for leaving any advertised feature of your phone obscure at all; If a feature is important enough to be marketed to everyone then it should be available to everyone by default, not through select apps and buried within mysterious settings.

Apart from the refresh rate feature, the update also brings with it the following changes:

Version 16.0.1.305 is now available for OnePlus 15 units in India, and should be available in other regions soon.