Chrome OS 101 to enable variable frame rates

Once again, Kevin Tofel of About Chromebooks was the first to come across a new feature after a system update (on his primary device in developer mode): variable refresh rates.

With Chrome OS version 101, you can apparently enable it for screen rendering by activating the following Chrome flag:

chrome://flags#enable-variable-refresh-rate

Of course, this will only work on screens that support it.

The refresh rate (frames per second: FPS) will be variably adjusted according to the displayed content, i.e., synchronized, if this function is active, like on current smartphones. If hardly anything changes in your screen content, such as on a Google Docs page, when you are not scrolling, only a low refresh rate is necessary. If you are playing a car racing game or a 3D shooter, the opposite is true. This way, the game’s frame rate can be adjusted to the screen’s refresh rate. Maybe you already know Nvidia’s G-Sync [Wikipedia] from the PC. It’s the same procedure.

On the one hand, slight lags (visible jerks or an offset in the display), which sometimes occur today, can disappear this way, and on the other hand, it’s much more convenient for the eyes. [“Screen Tearing” effect: Wikipedia]

A Chromebook can save energy accordingly with a lower refresh rate so that the battery will last longer.

There probably isn’t a single Chromebook out there right now that has these capabilities in its built-in screen, but this future-proofs Chrome OS. If Steam starts up soon [my article on the alpha] and more people use Chromebooks for gaming, the chance of corresponding devices hitting the market increases. But a variable refresh rate also offers advantages in regular use for the reasons already mentioned. External monitors can also be supported this way, of course.

That’s a great thing 🙂

Important Notes

Notes for beginners: My posts usually contain some basics that you can understand how to proceed. I partly repeat the basics in other posts, so you don’t have to jump back and forth all the time.

Here is the meaning of the abbreviations after the headings: [E] Everyone [A] Advanced [B] Beginner [P] Professional

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