Usable Smartphones?

KM

randomboolean Hmm did not know that these apps might do more harm than help us. I will try to root the phone and install f.lux and change to other drivers.

Maybe it's enough to stay out of the PWM range. Set brightness to roughly 50% and PWM should be off. I think the exact brightness value for the OnePlus X where PWM turned off was 80 (out of 255) or slightly higher. Don't try too many things at once. I'd stay away from any apps.

randomboolean It's really strange how differently people are affected as iphone 6s is unusable for me, but many of you huys report it is good for you. What OS version are you using? I think there might be different manufacturers of screens so it might be you got a "good screen".

Most probably. After having read on the Apple forum's Macbook Pro eyestrain thread that some iPhone 4 are usable while others are bad, I kept buying iPhone 4 and 4s until I found ones with usable screens. The difference was like night and day and still is.

michiel

The Nokia 3 and 5, Moto G5 and Moto E4 were all causing me eye strain. Finally I found a phone that doesn't hurt my eyes not even with low brightness set.
It is the Samsung Galaxy J3 Duos (2017)
Hopefully this can help other people who are looking for a phone that's comfortable on the eyes. Good luck everyone !

Gurm

michiel The Samsung J3 uses a Samsung chip instead of the Snapdragon. Since it's a Samsung chip, the display is probably very closely matched, and probably has stellar driver support in the stock ROM. The chip is an Exynos 7570. It's also got a 720p screen.

Interestingly, the S8 also uses an Exynos chipset, but it uses the 8895 and has a 4k screen...

MagnuM

randomboolean I received a brand new iPhone 6S+ less than a month ago, after Apple accidentally broke the battery compartment while attempting a battery replacement. The new phone works just as well as the old phone (with longer battery life of course!) I did notice some small unrelated alternations though. The sound and even feeling of the vibrate feature is different than my last 6S+

Peter

Gurm

Also it does not use Amoled. It has a PLS TFT LCD display. I am also testing and it seems I can use it. I was lead to this after using Samsung Galaxy Tab E which does not use Amoled as well and it is fine for my eyes.

randomboolean

Peter Definitely going to try it. But it comes with Android 7,0. Doesn't it bug you at all? By the way where are you from? We already noticed that screens differ per country/region, it would be nice to buy it from your country.

Peter

randomboolean

I am testing a friend's J3 which is is bought sometime ago from Amazon.co.uk (UK resident). I am still testing it, when i visit her and play with the phone for an hour or so, it does not bother me. Can i check something within the phone that it would be useful to share?

michiel

randomboolean
I bought this 2017 verion of the J3 with Model number SM-J330F and Android 7.0 in The Netherlands
https://www.coolblue.nl/product/791865/

randomboolean

Peter Thanks, I just received the phone and will let you know how does it go for me. If it gives me eye strain it would be nice to compare the android, build, kernel, etc. versions between my device and yours to check for differences. If it gives me eye strain I will return it.

Gurm

I wish someone would make a phone with decent specs that uses one of these less offensive chipsets and screens. My dad has the J3, it's an ok phone but certainly less powerful than I'd like. I also briefly used a Samsung Galaxy Prime and that was also fine but again the chipset was garbage.

There was a trend of people making stripped-down phones, for example HTC had the mini for a while which was a 720p screen with a decent processor and less storage (but a MicroSD slot remedies that).

Devotee

randomboolean Android is version 7. 'Less' means that I get strain after about 30 minutes, but no migraines, just that the eyes get tired. Significantly there are no migrainous symptoms like nausea, etc. for about that much time. On increasing the brightness to say 20%, mild symptoms do appear after about 10-15 minutes, though not as severe as they do with other phones so far. It's hence possible to get some quick work done.

randomboolean

Devotee I tested the phone yesterday and get the same feelings. No headaches, but still blurry vision after 15-30 mins. Might be a good enough option just for answering/calling people, reading quick mail, but no prolonged use(youtube, email writing,etc.). I will still return the phone as they shipped the wrong color and will think about this for couple of days.

valex13

Did anybody tried Sony Z5. There was stated here that Z2, Z3 and Z3+ are good enough for our eyes, and XZ is terrible. The Z5 is produced after Z3+ and before XZ. As far as I understand all of them have the same matrix. But Z5 has fingerprint scanner and I would prefer this model. Is Z5 still OK for us?

George1989

Sharing my personal experience is i've never had problems with any 3.5inch smartphones. Old or more recent, I have zero symptoms. Of Course such phones are almost useless nowadays and antiquated. Not sure what is specifically different in larger phones other than the screen size which I don't believe to be the issue. I can vouch that the Htc One X has been the only usable smartphone above 3.5inch for me although not completely free of symptoms. Im ordering the Htc One M8 to see if its manageable.

Does anyone have any advice on whether there is in adjustment period for some devices such that devices that don't give you instant eye strain have potential for adaption. My migraines peaked in 2011/2012 where I couldn't use any devices for more than 10 minutes without medication, during that period I was taking 10mg Amitriptyline for migraines. Most devices become usable for 2-3 hours.

Gurm

George1989 If the HTC One X was ok for you, the M8 should be (although there are multiple screen vendors, you might get unlucky) as long as you keep it running Lollipop (Android 5). It becomes unusable on Android 6/7.

Sunspark

Unusable is relative. I found 6 the most comfortable compared to 4 and 5. This is with my specific modified firmware and using Sense on the panel in my device. GPE 6 was also fine up to H14 (not H15).

That said, while it's a great flagship, it's dated now, and never had Netflix in HD (plays in 480p).

Gurm

Sunspark Which modified firmware did you use? I'd love to be able to upgrade to Marshmallow, but doing so makes my eyes hurt the minute I try. What firmware and what ROM did you use?

Sunspark

Gurm You tried it already.. it's the one that was the HK audio mod. It has newer ADSP module in it. i put it on top of my developer edition firmware. https://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one-m8/development/mod-audio-hk-bs-aroma-switcher-4-1-0-t3035354

George1989

My Htc one m8 phone arrived today, and sadly it's not for me. Causing me eye strain from the get go. I took note of what others have said and i checked the operating system and its android 6. Even though it was sold as new it had been upgraded at some point. Starting to wonder if that's my issue as there is a correlation. I will keep trying with other phones and post my updates with or without success as to at least help others. I appreciate all the work done and information available in this thread

Gurm

George1989 If you want to keep trying the One M8, it is almost 100% certainly possible to downgrade to Lollipop (Android 5). There are many walkthroughs on https://www.xda-developers.com/ and/or a couple of us here are pretty capable when it comes to that sort of thing. But it can be hard to return it to a state where the vendor will take it back, so be warned on that front.

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