Usable Smartphones?
Hi,
the iPhone XR is the phone I can stand the best - no eyestrain, no headache.
So I was happy to read that the iPhone 11 uses the same display . I bought one and it was a pain I can hardly use it so I gave it away to my wife.
Some research showed that unfortunately Apple uses 3 different vendors for these devices:
Toshiba: C11 orF7C
LG: DTP or C3F
Sharp: DKH
Unfortuntely again I could not find a way to identify the display without using special hardware.
Perhaps others experienced the same.
regards
/egr
I bought iPhone 13 Pro. Unfortunately, it's not usable for me. Every day it gives me severe eye strain and blurry vision. I think it's not that bad when it comes to diziness and headache. I'm done with OLEDs. I don't know if it's PWM, but I think they are even slightly worse than IPS for me. Both are bad, but I need to choose the lesser evil.
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Dominic My understanding is the iPhone SE is not an OLED Panel. There's a big thread on MacRumors about it. Have you tried an iPhone SE?
ryans I didn't as it always seemed too small for me. I tried iPhone 11, XR, 7 Plus, 8 Plus, 6s (all of them are IPS) and I couldn't really use them, however iPhone 6 looked somehow better. Apple doesn't update its iOS anymore, so it may be the reason, but it also means I couldn't use many apps as newer iOS was required.
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Created a list of problems that are known for smartphones: https://ledstrain.org/d/1404-eyestrain-triggers/8
Also is accessible through wiki: https://wiki.ledstrain.org/docs/known-problems/known_smartphone_problems/
I have a Moto e4 Plus that I suspected of giving me headaches, but I could never figure out for sure what was going on. Turns out, when you navigate into Settings, the screen dims and has PWM. Also, when the phone's display goes dim (e.g., after 1 minute or whatever your settings are), and that has PWM as well. I suspect (but never confirmed) that the display uses PWM when the battery is very low (like 10%). Those were enough to give me headaches, but it was really hard to decipher what was going on.
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I literally spent about 8 hours reading through all the comments on this thread for the last 18 months and compiling a list of devices that seem to work well. I was looking for:
- At least two positive experiences on this thread
- No negative experiences on this thread
- No observed PWM at any brightness level
- IPS LCD screen (not OLED/AMOLED)
- Fairly new (released in the last year or so)
The Redmi Note 9T 5G Global is the only phone that met all those criteria.
Here are the two relevant comments that I could find:
Jackeyestrained After buying and selling countless phones - the ones I've personally found to be absolutely flicker free are:
Redmi note 9T…
@Jackeyestrained mentioned a few other devices, but they didn't meet my other criteria.
Vividblu99 Redmi Note 9t (absolutely no flickering detected, even with the screen brightness set to under 10%, however, I can only really use it with the screen brightness set low, otherwise the light from the lcd screen seems way too harsh, but doesn't cause strain in the conventional sense. It just feels too piercing at higher brightness levels.
I'm a bit worried about coverage in the U.S., but I've ordered a phone and once I get the IMEI I'll check compatibility on various networks. I don't care about things like the size of the phone or which carriers it works on, as long as I don't get headaches and I can find one carrier with fair coverage.
I'll post back when I find out what carriers support this phone, and I'll also post back when I've had a chance to use the phone for a while.
The Redmi Note 9T 5G Global arrived today. I played around with my scope for a few hours and was not able to detect PWM on any brightness level. I did not test reading mode. I'll post an update in a few weeks, but I'm feeling optimistic.
I bought mine on U.S. Amazon for $200. If you're suffering from headaches, 200 bucks seems like a small investment. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08SMGQWMV/ Minor point: don't be disappointed or worried if it comes with a "Europlug" wall charger. I believe the original charger is 3.0 Amps and 20 Watts, so just find one that's equal or larger.
Regarding carriers in the U.S.:
T-mobile: yes
Verizon: no
AT&T: I think no (I couldn't figure out how to check AT&T directly, but the phone is not compatible with Cricket Wireless, so I think it means that it's not compatible with AT&T). PM me if you know how to check AT&T directly.
I'll probably use Mint Mobile because I like Ryan Reynolds. Oh, and the price is good.
Motorola G100 with brightness over 65% is ok also. I suspect that G200 would be too, I plan to try it soon
Good luck buddy! Keep us updated.
It's worth considering downloading an additional blue light filtering app from the app store (a personal favorite is an app called twilight), and using that as an overlay.
Also, by entering the android developer options in the settings, and making sure "Disable HW overlays" is always activated (i.e always use GPU for screen compositing), it makes these external filtering apps more stable and effective.
I'm personally using the realme 8 5g now lol. I got it from my relative, and though I was initially hesitant after playing around with it due to the lifeless screen, I fell in love after he installed a matt anti glare screen protector, and immediately offered a trade. It's now so easy on the eyes, and I vastly prefer realme UI over MIUI (but that is a personal preference).
I've read x4 ebooks on it since, no reflective glare at all, and quite comforting on the eyes. Nice size and weight too. The screen isnt perfect, as it could be a bit more vibrant and punchy during videos etc, but otherwise, it's pretty decent.
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I remember testing the G100.
What put me off though, was the erratic bluetooth connectivity, and a strange hissing noise coming from the headphone jack. The overall sound quality was quite bad too, both via the jack and bluetooth.
Was also not keen on the aspect ratio and weight/bulk, but it's definitely a powerful phone no doubt.
The G200 looks exciting, but it's huge! I'm waiting for some thorough mainstream reviews. A bit of a shame they've ditched the headphone jack, and no stereo speakers, but it's lcd and has a top end processor!
Let's hope it's pwm flicker free too!
I found this video on Youtube of the oppo A9 2020 (LCD).
Can anyone confirm if this is temporal dithering? As this doesn't look like PWM to me at all.
What type of flickering is this? It looks awful and quite concerning
Vividblu99 G100 does have PWM under 65%brighrness. Of course, could be that they put different displays to it.
But sorry, one thing I cannot understand - if you get bad symptoms from most other devices and G100 problem free, why do you give a damn about the size or headphone hissing. Get bluetooth headphones or a used walkman or whatever, it is not such a big deal if the device is the only device that does not irritate your eyes
I'm not sure of you've read my previous posts, but I'm lucky enough to have identified a handful of lcd based smartphones that I have found comfortable, with the moto g100 just being one of them. So in my case, it isn't the only device, but one among many.
Unfortunately, the moto g100 is also quite highly priced where I am, especially during the first few months of its initial release, therefore the other factors such as sound quality and dimensions etc also contribute to a decision in purchasing a handset.
We are not all millionaires!
ok, if you have several devices that are ok, then of course it is a different scenario. Over the years in different forums I've just seen people complain that they are not able to find a device that would not irritate, then when I suggest on, they say it's too big or wrong color or whatever.
Has anyone here tested if the poco x3 gt has pwm? (Not the pro version) there is no review at notebookcheck...seems xiaomi didn't release it on many countries.
Sorry bad english
A success story: The TCL A30 (which I believe is a rebadge/identical to the Alcatel A3) with a skinomi screen protector causes zero symptoms. This is my new daily driver. It's a pretty shitty phone, but that is not as important as being pain free.
Skinomi does not make a screen for the device so I bought one for a Moto G6 (a bigger phone) and trimmed it down to fit my screen. I will be doing this for any device I purchase in the future that Skinomi does not make a screen protector for