High refresh rate locked when address bar is visible on Dynamic AMOLED Screen

L0ki

Hello,
I'm using Vivaldi Android 6.9.3451.43 on a smartphone with a Dynamic AMOLED screen that supports a variable refresh rate. I’ve noticed that the screen refresh rate stays at its maximum when the address bar is visible. However, once the address bar is hidden (e.g., when scrolling down a page), the refresh rate dynamically adjusts according to usage, ranging from minimum to maximum.

This behavior is specific to Vivaldi as other browsers allow the refresh rate to change based on activity even when UI elements like the address bar are visible.

Is there any way to make the refresh rate more adaptive, even when the address bar is displayed?

L0ki

After updating Vivaldi to version 6.9.3451.58, when only a blank tab is open (as shown in the screenshot), the screen refresh rate dynamically adjusts as expected. However, if I open a page in this tab or add a new tab with a page loaded, the refresh rate goes back to the maximum and stops adapting.

Veddu

I see the same behaviour. See attached video here.

So basically when the address bar is visible it stays on 120hz even though I dont scroll but when collapsed it goes down to 60 sometimes 24hz. This is not present on firefox it goes down to 24hz immediately even when addressbar bar is visible and not scrolling.

Veddu

@L0ki

I thought it was a chromium bug so I tried with chrome and it didn't have the same issue...

Looks like it is related to vivaldi only so I have filed a bug report (VAB-10082) I would suggest you do the same..

L0ki

@Veddu
Thanks! I’ve just submitted a bug report as well (VAB-10083).

mib2berlin

@L0ki @Veddu
Hi, I marked Veddu's report as duplicate, Loki's mention the address bar influence.
It create more work for the team if they get two reports for the same thing, so less time for fixing it.

Don't worry, I fixed it in a few minutes, mib

Veddu

@L0ki,

Did you figure out what's causing the problem?

I tried again with Vivaldi 7.0 and compared it to other Chromium-based browsers, and there were no issues with them...

L0ki

@Veddu , Yes, I checked again with Vivaldi 7.0, and the issue still persists. The behavior is almost the same as before: when the address bar is visible, the screen refresh rate remains at its maximum. The only difference I've noticed is that if the browser starts with a single blank tab, the refresh rate can drop below the maximum. However, as soon as a page with content is opened, the refresh rate stays at its highest as long as the tab bar is visible. I haven’t encountered these issues in other browsers.

In addition, sometimes the tab bar "sticks" and doesn’t disappear when scrolling down on certain pages.

Veddu

Yeah same as before then...

What android device are you using @L0ki ?

L0ki

@Veddu, I'm using the Galaxy S24 Ultra (SM-S928B with Snapdragon) on Android 14.

Veddu

@L0ki
Hmm, I wonder if it's related to Samsung phones. Because I have an S24+ and have the same issue. But when I asked in the forum for a status update for the associated bug report, I got the response "cannot be reproduced."

But that doesnt explain why all other Chromium-based browser don't have this issue...

L0ki

Also, when I have removed the text from the address bar of the open page, the frequency droped to the cursor blink rate. I tried disabling everything I could in the settings, but the change only occurred in this case when the tab bar is visible and the page is open.

glx

Same here, Samsung phone, Android 14, Vivaldi 7.0.3505.47, phone not in power save mode, so 120 Hz kicks in.

Veddu

Yeah looks like it is samsung related. Have you filed a bug report for it @glx ?

Veddu

@glx @L0ki

It looks like it is fixed with the latest snapshot. Now it is going down to 24hz even though when the addressbar is visible.

L0ki

@Veddu
Yes, I can confirm that on snapshot 3547.3. The screen refresh rate now adjusts correctly.