Fancy a ZenFone 6 with a faster display refresh rate? It is now possible with the custom Proton Kernel

The Asus ZenFone 6 (6z in India) is one of the best value flagships you can buy in 2019, and it has earned a very good 88% in our review. The phone sports a great IPS panel with good colors and near AMOLED-like black levels. However, unlike the ROG Phone 2, the ZenFone 6 does not sport a high-refresh rate display — it was never intended to in the first place. 

Android being Android, the custom ROM scene is a very busy one and thanks to Asus releasing the bootloader unlock tool and kernel sources, developers have been pretty active in releasing custom ROMs for the ZenFone 6. Senior XDA member kdrag0n has released a custom kernel for the ZenFone 6 called the Proton Kernel that can be used on the factory Asus ZenUI 6 Android Pie ROM. The Proton Kernel overclocking the display refresh rate from the default 60 Hz to 75 Hz alongside a host of other useful features including scheduler optimizations and security features based on Qualcomm's CodeAurora Forum (CAF) sources. 

The original version required one to manually enable the 75 Hz option after every boot. Version 1.1+ allows for automatic setting change without having to do it manually. You can download the latest Proton Kernel version from here and flash it using TWRP. 

High-refresh rate displays have started making their mark in the Android world, particularly in gaming phones such as the ROG Phone II and even in flagships such as the OnePlus 7 Pro. Recently, mods were released for the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro that enabled 75 Hz refresh rates. 

Do remember that unlocking the bootloader can void your device warranty. Also, high refresh rates may potentially cause display artifacts and result in higher battery drain so proceed with caution.