Microsoft has already released a preliminary version of Windows 11, allowing many people to get a first-hand experience with the new OS. Users have been mentioning features that were not announced during the official unveiling. One of them was the dynamic adjustment of the screen refresh rate.
The autonomy-boosting feature is detailed on the Microsoft Developer Blog. It involves dynamic refresh rate (DRR) on laptops with high-frequency refresh rates of the screen. Just like on smartphones, this solution will ensure a balance between the laptop’s battery life and the smoothness of the displayed content. Thus, during everyday tasks (working with e-mails, documents, etc.), the refresh rate will be reduced to 60 Hz to save battery. But as soon as the user starts scrolling the page or drawing on the screen with the stylus, 120 Hz is enabled to ensure the utmost smoothness of the animations.
Worth noting, DRR does not apply to games. Moreover, the list of supported applications remains very limited. The feature already works in Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Office, Snip & Sketch, Microsoft Whiteboard, Microsoft Sticky Notes, Microsoft To Do, Microsoft Photos, Drawboard PDF, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Illustrator, and Inkodo. This list will only grow longer in the future.
If desired, the user can disable the dynamic adjustment of the screen refresh rate. You can do this in Settings→System→Display→Advanced display parameters→Refresh rate. Here you need to select the desired refresh rate value.
