The setting to forcibly enable the Pixel 4 to a 90Hz-always mode has been brought back as of Android 11 Beta 3. So far as we can tell, the setting was removed in Beta 2. However, it has been brought back — seemingly with a new name.
In earlier Android releases, the setting was labeled “Force 90Hz refresh rate,” as you can see in our coverage here. But in Beta 2, Google removed the setting. That was especially unfortunate, as it was one of the ways of mitigating the Pixel 4’s “flickering” issue, caused by slightly different gamma calibrations in the two different refresh rates as the phone switches between them. It’s incredibly maddening.
While Beta 2.5 fixed the flicker issue for some, the setting to forcibly enable 90Hz all the time was still gone. But as of Beta 3, it’s back in developer options, though with a slightly different name: Now it’s under Smooth Display, with a non-nested toggle. While the setting isn’t explicit about forcing a 90Hz mode, we have tested with Android 11’s built-in refresh rate monitor and can verify it does what it’s supposed to.
While Beta 2.5 fixed the flicker issue for some, the setting to forcibly enable 90Hz all the time was still gone. But as of Beta 3, it’s back in developer options, though with a slightly different name: Now it’s under Smooth Display, with a non-nested toggle. While the setting isn’t explicit about forcing a 90Hz mode, we have tested with Android 11’s built-in refresh rate monitor and can verify it does what it’s supposed to.
