I have been using a Sony Xperia Z5 for the last 2 years and it was relatively good. Before I had an iPhone and it was absolutely disgusting.

My Xperia had some problems so I had to get myself a new one. I looked around and it seemed like the new version, Xperia XZ1 was pretty much the same, so I bought it.

It is completely unbearable to use !!!

Anyone aware of what the differences might be? From the specs they seem to be quite similar: https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=8804&idPhone2=7534

The GPUs slightly differ:
Adreno 540 Adreno 430
The OS (of course) too:
Android 8.0 (Oreo) Android 5.1.1 (Lollip
As well as the resolution:
1080 x 1920 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~424 ppi density) 1080 x 1920 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~428 ppi density)

Of course that in practical terms they may have completely changed the inner workings of the hardware and we will really never know.

I can imagine the OS making a difference (I see the fonts are different, etc), but even ignoring that, just looking for an instant at the mobile definitely gives me a different vibe than the old Z5 did. It's a feeling similar to what one feels when putting their hands near to a fire.. it feels warm.

As far as I know, I'm not really sensitive to dithering. I'm definitely sensitive to light (in general) and especially blue light / fluorescent / LED lights.

I'll try to give this phone back and get myself a Xperia Z5 but I'm just afraid it may have the same issue (maybe new generations of the Z5 have different hardware..?)

EDIT: well, there's a huge difference. It seems like the lowest brightness achievable with the new XZ1 is slightly brighter than with the Z5. If that explains all the difference or not, I'm not so sure..