Apple confirmed Vision Pro's display refresh rate.
Vision Pro features dual OLED microdisplays with a combined total of 23 million pixels, more than any other headset ever shipped.
In a WWDC23 developer talk, Apple confirmed that the display refresh rate is 90Hz for most content. However, when watching 24fps content the refresh rate will automatically change to 96Hz.
Most movies are mastered to 24fps. It's considered an essential element of the "cinematic look". Because of this, audiences typically react negatively when filmmakers experiment with higher framerates, despite the improved motion clarity that delivers.
So why does Apple Vision Pro use 96Hz for 24fps content? Because 96 is a multiple of 24, so each image frame of the movie will be displayed for exactly 4 display frames in the headset.
At 90Hz consecutive image frames would stay onscreen for a different number of display frames. This uneven frame pacing would appear as judder.
This is also why Oculus chose 72Hz as the refresh rate for Oculus Go and Oculus Quest - 72 is also a multiple of 24. In fact, 72Hz is still the default for Quest 2 apps unless the developer specifically chooses a higher refresh rate.
It's unclear how exactly the 96Hz is triggered. Does it require using a system video playback API, and can developers use it for other purposes?
We'll likely get answers when Vision Pro launches next year.
David Heaney
