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| Windows 11 saves laptop battery |
Microsoft introduced a new DRR feature in Windows 11, designed to save laptop battery power and increase refresh rate when you need it most.
Many laptops now come with a display with a refresh rate of 120Hz or higher, which makes scrolling, panning, and viewing Windows ink much smoother.
Increased smoothness is good, but operating at a higher refresh rate affects battery life.
Windows 10 requires that you choose between 60Hz and 120Hz through your laptop, which is a consistent choice.
Microsoft is currently developing a dynamic refresh rate feature in Windows 11 that will allow laptops to dynamically adjust the refresh rate.
The Microsoft Graphics Team Program Manager explained that this means that Windows 11 can seamlessly switch between a lower refresh rate and a higher refresh rate depending on your operations on the computer.
And you need a laptop that supports dynamic refresh rate and refresh rates of 120Hz or higher.
This feature means that normal tasks (such as creating emails or documents) are performed at 60Hz, and when dynamic refresh rate is enabled, the Share and Scroll screen is raised to 120Hz.
The application must support the dynamic refresh rate function. When previewing Windows 11, DRR support is limited to the Office Productivity Pack for increased scrolling.
Office Suite, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Whiteboard, Microsoft Photos, Snip & Sketch, Drawboard PDF, Microsoft Sticky Notes, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Illustrator, Microsoft To Do, and Inkodo also support dynamic ink refresh rates.
Windows 11 conserve battery life
Do not confuse DRR with VRR. This is because the dynamic refresh rate feature does not apply to games, only Windows applications.
Windows 11 is a prerequisite for dynamic refresh rate functionality. With a laptop that supports a variable refresh rate of at least 120 Hz.
You will also need a new WDDM 3.0 graphics driver. Microsoft said it is working with its graphics partners to enable the feature on various devices running the preview build of Windows 11.
The dynamic refresh rate feature appears to be a good fit for Microsoft's Surface series of devices as the company is focusing on enabling dynamic refresh rates in ink scenes.
There are currently no Surface devices with a 120Hz refresh rate display, but that could indicate that the Surface's display is comparable to Apple's ProMotion display.