Low Power Mode 30 htz refresh rate?

[High IQ Person]

I tested a friend’s M3 MBA 8GB/8core GPU the other day and noticed some UI stuttering. I didn’t do a more comprehensive test on it since I just had it for a few minutes, but it seemed like the screen was refreshing at 30 htz.

Does anyone know if Low Power Mode caps the refresh rate?

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

MacBook Air doesn’t have variable refresh rates so it can’t ‘cap’ anything. Only the MacBook Pro can cap at 60hz and VRR up to 120hz.

 

[High IQ Person]

MacBook Air doesn’t have variable refresh rates so it can’t ‘cap’ anything. Only the MacBook Pro can cap at 60hz and VRR up to 120hz.

What? Variable refreshrates are about how fast displays can change their hertz. It doesn’t mean the hertz can’t be capped at a level below its limit.

Unless I imagined things, it seemed like some elements of the UI run at 30 hertz under low power mode.

 

[High IQ Person]

Update: I did a UFO test and can confirm that Low Power Mode caps the refresh rate at 30 Hz.

 

[bill-p]

Does anyone know if Low Power Mode caps the refresh rate?

For some clarity on this: it doesn't actually cap the refresh rate but it may cap the update rate of some animations and/or JavaScript. In this case, it makes the UFO test display as 30fps, but the screen should still be 60Hz.

If the screen was 30Hz, there should be pretty obvious flickering compared to 60Hz for some users. You can also test which refresh rate it is by using a high speed camera.

Also P.S.: low power mode for M2 and M3 don't seem to cap the update rate to 30, but I do get 60fps on a 120Hz screen, as opposed to 120fps without low power mode enabled.

 

[High IQ Person]

For some clarity on this: it doesn't actually cap the refresh rate but it may cap the update rate of some animations and/or JavaScript. In this case, it makes the UFO test display as 30fps, but the screen should still be 60Hz.

If the screen was 30Hz, there should be pretty obvious flickering compared to 60Hz for some users. You can also test which refresh rate it is by using a high speed camera.

Also P.S.: low power mode for M2 and M3 don't seem to cap the update rate to 30, but I do get 60fps on a 120Hz screen, as opposed to 120fps without low power mode enabled.

This makes more sense. That’s why it felt so weird. There were instances where I saw lower frames in some animations but not others. Will need to do more testing when I get a chance to play with it again. I believe YouTube videos do run at 60fps if the option exists under low power mode.

The JavaScript elements do seem to run at 30 fps. That’s for certain.