Usable Smartphones?

ryans

Gurm Did you get a new one? iPhone 7 prices have dropped.

hpst

Anyone know good Android phones that have a Lineage OS image that are not straining? I don't want an expensive flagship...but also want something not ancient.

Gurm

@ryans Not yet. I made do with a battery pack on my HTC for the week I was away, but it's on my short list.

ryans

Pixel 3 was just out today. Anyone will try?
This claims iPhone XS Max is better for your eyes. Does not mention OLED PWM or dithering. https://www.cultofmac.com/581646/iphone-xs-max-display-is-scientifically-healthier-for-your-eyes/

degen

ryans Notebookcheck already confirmed Xs Max has PWM.

JTL

I haven't heard of this Maximum Permissible Exposure benchmark before.

I doubt either will be PWM free.

degen

!!!!! Got the Skinomi MatteSkin (don't confuse with the clear TechSkin)) !!!!!

Not even close. SO much more comfortable on my iPhone. Remember I originally liked the iPhone 7 Plus which Best Buy threw a cheap plastic screen protector on. Around the same time I removed the screen protector it became much less comfortable. Now months later I installed the Skinomi MatteSkin and it's even better than the Best Buy screen protector. It's definitely not high fidelity or anything, and I'm pretty sure most people would not like the grainy appearance. It's VERY matte. But somehow it makes the screen so much easier to FOCUS on.

Having said that, it still causes eye muscle tightness (although it’s better than before) and I wouldn't recommend it for long sessions. Personally I just use it in short bursts.

tfouto

degen The thing is PWM which is sinusoidal. Much better to the eyes, brain than the digital PWM.

CCitrine

Hey guys -- Been following this thread for a long time, thought I'd chime in. I'm pretty sensitive to PMW -- Galaxy S8 gave me awful headaches, LED lighting gives me these eye-seizures, even the LCD screens on the HTC 10 and LG G7 were basically unusable long-term.

The only (modern) phone I've found that works for me is the Essential Phone (LCD) -- No eyestrain at all, and it's a pretty great phone as well. Prior to that, could only use the iPhone 5.

Seriously consider it -- It took me forever to find something that actually works, so I'm hoping this can help a few people out.

CCitrine

CCitrine As for the LG G7, I read on Notebookcheck that it has pretty significant PMW, more than the G6...

AGI

CCitrine Thanks for your recommendation. Have you actually measured there is no PWM?

ryans

CCitrine do you still use essential phone? Think I might wind up returning the LG g7. Giving me eyestrain still and causing these random muscle twitches after using!!

Does anyone have any theories why LG G7 and HTC 10 are intolerable but essential phone is? It's completely baffling.

ryans

Gurm Well, CCitrine reported it (Essential Phone) is usable, but Sunspark says it was not usable for him. Probably different issues affect them (their original posts linked in my tag). Did you ever get your functional vision checked (eye teaming, etc), Gurm ?

I don't think Sunspark tried the Paranoid Android ROM? I still don't know why Paranoid ROM is okay but nothing else is.

Gurm

CCitrine Yeah, PWM is so not my problem. It's rendering/dithering. I think...

AGI

KM Thanks.
Uhmmm, so CCitrine it might be PWM is not your problem? Or who knows? Maybe, as someone pointed out, two nominally identical phones do not behave the same way?

KM

Essential Phone PWM:

https://www.reddit.com/r/essential/comments/96v6ft/essential_phone_screen_flicker/

@Slacor the reddit link gets destroyed by the forum software

Edit: olgomar actually tested the Essential Phone here in our forums not long ago:
https://ledstrain.org/d/21-usable-smartphones/683

Slacor

https://www.reddit.com/r/essential/comments/96v6ft/essential_phone_screen_flicker/

KM JTL

Disabled it

JTL

@Slacor possible to disable auto embed stuff?

I was already annoyed with it some time ago trying to embed Amazon links to a "preview" that had ads too.

JTL

Slacor Thanks, was driving me nuts.

Seagull

I can recommend the Microsoft Lumina 650, admittedly I am not sure I can use it, but its the closest I've gotten to a usable smartphone in years having tried a great many, plus it was only £25 on ebay - because who wants a windows phone! Be fine for work use though.

Might be worth a punt for anyone else who can pick up a cheap one on ebay.

Gurm

Seagull Yes, the cheap end of the Lumia series has 720p (or maybe even like 630p) displays and they are 100% fine on the eyes at all times. They're low powered and... y'know... Windows. But perfectly good to look at.

degen

Unbelievable improvement with this Skinomi matte screen protector. Using my phone for longer periods now. I can't even believe it's the same phone. Wonder if something like this might help on a monitor..

randomboolean

degen how long does it take for eye strain to accumulate? Is the strain more like temporary or gives you blurry vision for days? Also which iphone do you use and which iOs version?

hpst

degen Is it soft? glass? blue blocking? etc. Does it change the polarization of the display? (can check with polarized glasses).

degen

randomboolean Builds up for days if I let it and vision gets blurry, a takes a few days to return to normal. It's a gradual build up as opposed to fast without the protector. iPhone 8 Plus on iOS 12. Still not nearly as good as my PC set up by I'm resigned that a comfy and modern smartphone is some years away.

I'm happy personally but I don't want to give the impression this is particularly easy on the eyes and have someone buy the phone and regret it. It's hard to get even close to the comfort of my primary Win 7 + GTX 650 Ti + BenQ EW2440L setup, so everything falls short.

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