This video might shed some light on some complaints about OLED eyestrain that users have. (not PWM and definitely not TD related)
(note: the pursuit shots / testufos he has done comparing the mobile OLED vs OLED TV is inaccurate, you don't do pursuit shots like that. also the TV does strobing, not a even playing field)
You can see the scanline (it's the usual brief black 'flicker' which is 5% of refresh cycle, resulting in a small brightness drop which should not but could be noticeable) and the slow response times of lighter transitions, which AMOLEDs tend to suffer from.
Another thing which could impact motion performance is VRR flicker (very prevalent in VA displays, maybe it's a thing on newer VRR phones)
This is why I keep on saying it's hard to pinpoint the issue to one specific cause, as it can be multiple (PWM dimming flicker and/or artifacts, motion blur, wide color gamut, brightness) related to the display as well as external factors such as general health.

P650SE
I can definitely attest to this, most older smartphones have atrocious response times. I'm on a XZ2 Compact and the motion handling is very bad, but at least I don't suffer from the usual OLED PWM eyestrain with it :/
I wish there were more reviewers which would test response times of phones, which have essentially evolved into pocket PC's+monitors in the last decade.
240Hz OLED smartphones without PWM dimming and bad response times/overdrive algorithm (due to burn-in prevention?) can't come soon enough :/

    P650SE Mi Mix 2s has quite bad ghosting, Mix 2 and Mix 2 SE are OK for me, even pixel response time is low and when you focus on scrolling picture, you can see ghosting. I am just happy I have phone I can use without headache etc., so I am not trying to find more disadvantages.

      I've had the Poco x4 GT since it launched and it has worked well. That is until a couple of days ago when i started getting migraines. Perhaps due to the update to MIUT 14. Any one else experienced this?

        New phone… I've lost count…

        History:

        Iphone 12: terrible for my eyes. Low PWM value

        Iphone 13: great great improvement, but uncomfortable with multimedia. High PWM value.

        Samsung S21: terrible for my eyes. Low PWM value

        Samsung S21 Plus: better. But I think it was because extradim arrived to android. Also being bigger than S21 might have helped. Low PWM value

        Xiaomi 11T Pro: 0 problems (DC Dimming…). I had an option to turn off the flickering but I didn't need to do it. But I wanted so bad a pixel phone (hard to get in my country…) that I sold it.

        Pixel 7: I chose the base model due to higher pwm values. Some headaches. No problem with my eyes, just head. Had to sell it. Medium PWM value

        Xiaomi 12T Pro: Since I had 0 problems with Xiaomi 11T Pro I imagined I would be fine with this newer model. But 1920 Hz from 12T Pro is no match for DC Dimming from 11T Pro. I could use 12T Pro as my daily driver. But I still felt some discomfort, especially during the… day. At night it was more comfortable to use it. But I'm thankful to Xiaomi for doing something about PWM.

        Xiaomi 12 (Xiaomi 13 just released is way to expensive): DC Dimming like 11T Pro. Started using yesterday and so far so good. Not quiet as good as 11T Pro but I rarely fell discomfort. Antiflicker option is still off. If I feel some discomfort I still can turn it on.

        So, every phone with DC Dimming doesn't cause me problems. Phones with high PWM values, like 1920 Hz, are the step in the right direction but still not quite there yet.

          FlickerTest

          That's great news. Glad it's PWM free!

          Although I wish my first impression of the display was more positive. I didn't find it comfortable 🙁

            There is no phone so far I can read for a long time.

            Rui Your test helps me a lot. I have a VIVO Y70T, and display hurts me, I am trying to avoid using phones as possible as I can.

              After a few days using Xiaomi 12 I'll probably sell it. There's still a slight discomfort. If I turn antiflicker mode I'll have to use it at 60hz. And while on Xiaomi 11T Pro (which had also antiflicker mode) you barely noticed if it was on 60hz or 120 Hz, on Xiaomi 12 you notice.

              The discomfort is minimum. But still I want to pick a phone and use it without thinking about the possible discomfort it will eventually cause me. If it causes some kind of reaction in my eyes/head, I'm afraid what it will do to my eyes on a long term.

              I should test a week with antiflicker on and another week with antiflicker off. But my patience is running out and I'll just probably buy Poco X4 GT with an LCD.

              I would try Realme 10 pro plus with 2160hz pwm but it's not easy to find on the places I buy.

              Usable phones:

              Xiaomi 11T pro (antiflicker mode) - zero problems, with antiflicker on or off.

              Xiaomi 12 (antiflicker mode) - just a slight reaction on my eyes. Probably most sensitive users would consider this perfect but I have to fell nothing when I pick my phone. No headaches or burning eyes while writing this long post. Just making a little more effort if I had written this post on an LCD phone.

              Xiaomi 12T Pro (1920 PWM) - Just a slight/moderate discomfort in my head.

              Huawei Mate 20 is my smartphone.

              By far best ever lcd smartphone and no eye strain.

              5 days later

              KM Can I ask how you were able to downgrade the iOS after you'd installed it? I just literally got off the phone with Apple asking if I could roll back to my (now starting to not work) iOS 13 if I tried the iOS version update (likely 15.3) on my phone and the answer was "No, there's no way of rolling back your iOS, the restore point only keeps your data."

              • KM replied to this.

                  Rumors are circulating online that Oppo/BBK are pulling out of some European markets (including the UK) due to legal issues with Nokia concerning patents.

                  This means all Oppo/BBK subsidiaries (Realme, Oppo, Oneplus, Vivo, IQOO) may no longer sell/release handsets within the affected markets.

                  This probably explains why the Realme 10 pro hasn't been released yet in the UK 😥😥😥😥

                  I hope this rumor isn't true. Realme release some very good IPS flicker free displays on their mid range devices. It'd be SUCH a shame

                  I have in my hands Realmi 10 Pro Plus with 2160 PWM.

                  I decided this is gonna be my last amoled. I'm using as a primary phone my work phone A32 5G with TFT LCD and HD resolution. Terrible screen but no eye strain.

                  Since I have to use it all the the time and rarely use my personal phone there's no point in spending so much money trading phones until I find one that makes me feel comfortable.

                  My conclusion after owning so many phones is that my sensitivity decreases the higher the pwm value is.

                  As for Realme 10 Pro Plus. I've used just for the weekend. I've the sense that if I kept it longer (I'm going to return it) probably I would get used to. But I'm afraid what it might do to my eyes. That's why I'll stop using amoleds.

                  The main problem I have with pwm is when I'm watching multimedia. When I was configuring realme 10 pro plus I was almost fine. Just felt some effort from my eyes. But as soon as I opened YouTube that it me hard. The 2nd night I used it it was much better. And now I just feel a little pressure in my eyes.

                  The question remains. If I would use it more intensely as my main phone would my eyes adjust or would I get worse? Guess I'll never know. I'm so tired of spending money that I just want to return as fast as I can't to prevent any marks of usage that would make the store refuse the return.

                  Conclusion (the phones I would use if I didn't have to use all the time my bad work phone):

                  Xiaomi 11T Pro (DC dimming?) - the only one that didn't gave me any problems. No need to use anti flicker option, extradim, nothing…

                  Xiaomi 12 (DC dimming?) and Realme10 pro plus (2160 PWM) - little effort on the eyes. Sold the first and I'm going to return the 2nd because I'm afraid what it might do to my eyes in a long term. Antiflicker mode on Xiaomi 12 didn't seem to work as well as Xiaomi 11T pro. I didn't use this option in 11T Pro like I said, but I remembered making slow motion videos and you could tell the difference. On Xiaomi 12 not so much difference.

                  Xiaomi 12T Pro (1920 Pwm) - Small headache's, especially during the day. At night it was almost ok.

                  Realme 10 pro plus is not available anywhere but it was rather easy and fast (24h) to get from my neighbouring country here in Europe. I got the Russian version…. Yuck

                    Rui I haven't done a detailed analysis, but I have reason to believe the various attempts at antiflicker options for OLED displays aren't the same between devices, even when they're marketed the same (i.e 1920, 2160hz).

                      You already found a device that you said was very comfortable, the X8A..

                      What is the issue? Are you a big heavy-graphics phone gamer? A big photographer? If the answer is no to both..

                      Rui Why don't you keep using Xiaomi 11T Pro? It's still a very capable phone.

                      • Rui replied to this.

                          Rui Well after been using a phone with 1920 Hz pwm for a few days (Xiaomi 12T Pro) all I can say it's almost that same… problem. It's not so agressive to my eyes as other phones. But the discomfort it's still there. I'll change to 60 Hz to see if it helps. But I'll sell it.

                          Next phone has to have DC dimming. I had no problems with Xiaomi 11T pro that had antiflicker option. But it's getting old and I like to have latest security updates. Xiaomi just released Xiaomi 13 with DC dimming and Xiaomi 13 pro with 1920 Hz pwm. I'll probably buy the normal version because it has DC dimming

                          Conclusion. If it mentions PWM, even to say 1920 Hz or whatever, there's a good chance you'll feel discomfort.

                          I think the base PWM on which the DC Dimming is applied over matters too. In the Case of the 12T Pro the base PWM is only 120Hz while with the 11T Pro it is above 240Hz. This is why it's been a few days, I am crazily tempted to make one last leap of faith and go for the Xiaomi 11 Ultra. The screen is said to be true 10-bit if I am correct and the base PWM that the DC Dimming is applied to is over 400Hz. Plus the DC Dimming works even at 120 refresh rate.

                          Has anyone herer tried this phone?

                              BloodyHell619

                              Well crap, the Mi 11 Ultra actually isn't truly 10-bit -.- it uses TD.

                              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb0BG0ixuQA

                              3:50

                              God dammit. Not even one goddamn high-end phone does both things right. I'm starting to develop conspiracy theories, maybe these screen building companies are trying to f up our visions, lol

                              https://en.xiaomitoday.it/xiaomi-mi-10-ultra-best-display-in-the-world.html

                              This article says that the Mi 10 ultra is true 10-bit though. If anyone could get their hands on one, give it a try. It has a PWM Frequency between 223Hz to 486Hz plus DC Dimming.

                                studioceleste The downgrade method required for the iPhone 4 is unofficial (a hack) and won't work on later devices. I don't remember the exact steps, its too long ago. But I'm sure there are still manuals out there. However, as said, this won't help you at all with your current iPhone. You'd need to wait until there's a jailbreak, and one that can be used to downgrade the OS. I am not up to date with what's possible on newer gen devices.

                                  tfouto

                                  Well for me security is also very important. The phone is still being updated but it will stop soon since it's "old". I won't fell safe using it in a few months.

                                  And the other reason why I won't go back to Xiaomi 11T Pro. I've seen numerous people ok with a certain model. For various reasons they bought the exact same model for the 2nd time. And the experience was not the same in terms of eye comfort like the 1st one. Too risky. That would really make me mad and definitely made me stop pursuing and testing new phones that are doing something to give us safer screens.

                                  I've returned Realme 10 Pro Plus 2160 pwm. Nice budget phone, almost there but still not there in terms of comfort.

                                      dev