Usable Smartphones?

Peter

I am also in the process of finding a new phone as my trusted Android 9 Samsung A70 cannot support the newer versions of my work apps. I could keep it as a personal phone but for business use i need a new modern phone.

I also tested Honor 400 4g a week ago bought from Germany and I got a terrible headache in just 20mins. Other phones I tested that are not usable for me are: Moto g35, Moto Edge 60, realme 14 pro, realme 14x, TCL 40 Nxtpaper, and Pixel 8a. The Pixel was the least offensive of the above phones but still not as pleasant to work with as my Samsung A70.

Garman

Peter

If older phones would be acceptable, the Samsung A40 received updates until Android 11 and should be from a similar phone generation.

Staycalmsyndrome

Peter You must have disabled system updates on your phone because I see on gsmarena that the Samsung A70 is upgradeable to Android 11. I think if you do one system update and disable it again it will upgrade to Android 10 and that should still work for most of your apps. You can find genuine batteries on ebay or from similar phones that are sold for spare parts. If you are uncertain, buy another A70 and test on that.

K-Moss

Peter Sonim XP400 or XP800/Pro OR Moto G 2025 are the phones I am currently recommending for the most sensitive users. However, since you are able to comfortably tolerate the A70, you are not one of the most sensitive individuals, and I am therefore surprised the Edge 60's pOLED with flicker prevention gave you issues.

Also will be helpful if you state concretely what issues you are experiencing with each phone.

Too many in these communities are terribly vague. They say they can't use a phone and consider that a sufficient anecdote. The more detail you provide, the more everyone is helped.

lillo9546

Hisense A5 Pro CC it is the real gamechanger

Peter

K-Moss All besides the Pixel caused a very strange headache/migraine. I did not feel any severe eye strain, just a migraine that accumulated with increased use to an intolerable level that lasted a few hours after stopping.

The Pixel had a different effect, initially i had zero symptoms but with prolonged use I first got eye strain (blurred vision, red eyes) which progressed to migraine and cramped neck. I thought that this could be because of prolonged use, but the next day I got the same symptoms but much faster.

K-Moss

Peter Any history of concussions? How quickly are these phones causing your head issues?

Peter

K-Moss Not that I am aware off. Usually with 5-30 mins of use I start getting symptoms.

H-Wilson

It is interesting that the Moto G phones have been recommended by some. I have had one (a G53 5G) since mid 2023 and it has been pretty good. It only gave me mild symptoms when I first got it. However I have found that with certain updates the screen drivers have changed and has given me weird symptoms like headaches dizziness even making it hard for me to think clearly. Over time I seemed to get used to the changes. I mention this only that the latest 'security' update 7th January has taken problems to the next level to the point where I wrote to Motorola customer support asking them for help. I can barely look at the phone for more than half a minute before a headache and tightness in the back of the head occurs. I then feel dizzy for quite some time afterwards, much longer than I was actually looking at the phone. It seems it is possible to buy a good device only to have the manufacturer wreck it some time after with a so called 'security' update! I have found a way to set the device back to early 2024 spec so will be trying that soon.

K-Moss

H-Wilson The Moto G 2025 is inexpensive and very comfortable for most sensitive users. Zero flicker, zero dithering.

Don't be dissuaded by the low specs until trying it out. It works really well as a daily driver.

The lower resolution screen is much easier to drive. Same reason back in the day I used 800 x 600 since I required 100 Hz refresh for satisfactory eye comfort and health. Adding more pixels quickly increases hardware demands.

It is also possible there are inherent issues created when a crammed together little phone running on battery is trying to power so many pixels. It is said here Apple LCD's are the worst, but that could also be related to Apple being passionate about delivering extremely high PPI.

Moto G 2025 is the most comfortable modern phone I've used when excluding the Sonim XP Pro.

bz12

K-Moss I tried the Moto G 2025 back in February of 2025 and couldn't get it comfortable. I've actually tried several Motorola devices with no luck. Moto Edge 2021, Moto G 2025, Moto G54 5G, and Moto G Play 2024. Did you do anything specific to make it a comfortable device? The same question applies for the Sonim XP Pro. I also see there's a new revision of the XP Pro called XP Pro E. Both PWM and dithering bother me. I think somewhere near the end of Android 11 is when Android started to get uncomfortable for me.

Vividblu99

Here are some images of my own Honor 400 Smart 4G (Gold) alongside the black Honor 400 Smart 4G I bought for my nephew.

I set both devices to identical colour temperature, brightness and eye‑comfort settings.

The black Honor 400 Smart 4G exhibits a very harsh backlight (the well known “toxic backlight” issue plaguing recent phones), and its eye comfort mode is effectively ineffective. By contrast, my Gold Honor 400 Smart 4G is very comfortable to view, the display feels gentle and soft, and the eye comfort mode gives a gentle amber hue.

Placed side by side, they look like entirely different phones when using the display, it’s quite bizarre.

In hindsight, this makes me reevaluate all the phones I previously found comfortable and recommended to others, only to be told they did not find the displays comfortable, and vice versa. Perhaps the real explanation is the display “lottery” issue.

Vividblu99

Also notice the difference in text size. Both were set to identical font/display size settings too, yet the fonts/text on the black Honor 400 Smart 4G appear larger.

Aquila

Vividblu99 Hello, that's incredible, so the panel's lottery give us a big handicap to find a safe smartphone.

I had problems in these days with my Mate 20 , after 6 years, battery, lag, low ram and I changed my device password, and I forgot it after 2 days, smartphone blocked, volume and power bottons are faulty,.so I picked up my 2nd Mate 20 and luckily it has the same comfort, panel and OS version, but 4gb of ram in 2026 is too low and many times I have crash in daily tasks.

I ordered an used pair to new Honor 20 Pro 8/256.

I hope it'll works well, waiting for a safe modern device.

What about Redmi 15 4g ?

jayd

Vividblu99 I haven't posted on here for a while and have owned a Google Pixel 3a since 2020 and for a few years it was my main device. I bought another last year and instantly had eyes issues that the first one never caused.

Someone suggested to me that Google were using either LG or Samsung displays on the Pixel 3a at the time which is why there is a display lottery.

I am aware that this is also happening with PC monitors as I have seen two Dell displays side by side with different colour temperature etc.

I am certain my first Pixel 3a has an LG display and I read on another forum that users were seeking out LG displays as they realised that these provided better eye comfort.

So, when people are reading which handsets are helping others they have to bear in mind there is a chance the display lottery may not produce the winning ball or screen in this instance.

Fortunately for me I have been using a Motorola Edge 30 Neo for almost 2 years now as my main device and apart from some mild tiredness for the first few months my eyes acclimatised to it and it causes no problems now.

K-Moss

bz12 XP Pro should work well right out of the box, but what kind of discomfort did you experience with the G 2025?

bz12

K-Moss just not comfortable to look at, eyes don't feel calm, slight brain fog feeling.

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