Usable Smartphones?

Sunspark

I am going to be interested in taking a look at the iPhone XR to see how it is. The panel is Japan Display and they're using a plastic substrate instead of glass.

AGI

Sunspark By chance I stopped by an Apple shop. To be honest I had heard there were new products out, but did not even know their names/features, so I was not really expecting anything. I played around with the Iphone XS for 20 minutes and did not feel any of the usual disturbs developing instantaneously, nor the subtle, delayed feeling of sticky eyes which I often suffer from in the absence of acute symptoms (e.g., with Iphone 7). I tested not one, but three devices.
Has someone else checked on that phone? Any idea why it would behave differently? If not that everyone "sees" different...but I thought of asking whether someone else experienced the same! Thanks

Seagull

Does anyone have recommendations as to which phone operating systems are generally good vs generally bad? having a real hard time at the moment trying to find a replacement for my samsung S3 mini running android 4.2 jelly bean.

Soreeyes

Seagull

Everything Android up to Lollipop 5.1 is fine for me.

Marshmallow and later have all caused eye strain for me (tested Marshmallow on multiple devices I know are fine on Lollipop and they always became painful immediately)

This seems to be the general consensus too.

hpst

Seagull My Lumias have never bothered me but they don't even get security updates anymore and have few mainstream apps. Durable and easy to look at so it's a shame.

ryans

Seagull but there's the chap who swears by his skinomi matte protector, but doesn't benefit from any other.

That's ensete

Also, I see you use Galaxy S3 Mini Seagull that has OLED display? Do you suspect polarization has changed in OLED panels recently?

Interesting is the Essential Phone which someone reported usable on here might not have this polarization? https://old.reddit.com/r/essential/comments/74nkbz/type_of_polarizer_the_screen_uses_can_you_see_the/

Someone here says matte screen protector "cancels out" the polarization: https://old.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/4h7qwj/for_those_curious_how_the_htc_10_looks_through/

ryans

Soreeyes Have you found any recent found that's usable?

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.

hpst

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

AGI

Maybe a cumbersome solution but I thought it could be of interest

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/not-ereader-an-e-ink-mobile-phone-monitor/coming_soon

ryans

Google Pixel 3 is out, has anyone tried it? I'm still using Galaxy S5.

martin

Have you tried iphone xr? It has the same display density as iphone 4, so in case that could be a factor, it could be useable. Letters are said to be jagged so maybe it doesnt alias so much, if that is a factor as well.

Gurm

martin That's intriguing... reduced aliasing and lower DPI is a good thing...

AGI

martin Not yet. I will check it out.
Have you tried the XS? As said above, I did not feel any strain over 20 min, surprisingly. It has an OLED screen, so I expect it to burn my eyes within seconds like the Iphone X or the last Samsung phones.

Also, what is the status of the Face ID thing? Months ago I read various forums in which they identified that app as the reason for eyestrain in people who could use any previous model, including the Iphone 8, without any issue.

JTL

Gurm Well I kinda feel "sick" of my 27" 1080p monitor and I'm strongly considering getting an NEC 30" 1600p monitor (one of the elusive 10-bit and non W-LED models) after I sort out my "secret sauce" for Macbook 😃

I guess it comes down to personal preference and what "works" for you. I also like to do photo/video editing from time to time so I like having accurate colors.

Sunspark

Gurm Notebookcheck says no PWM on the device. Pixels are chevrons. Saw a forum post that said this thing has 2.5x more LEDs than other screens so for sure this means a new backlight controller too. Could be a good thing. People online say good things about the screen.

FaceID, there's a software switch that will let you turn it off. You don't have to use FaceID if you don't want to.

I'll go to the shop to take a look at the XR. Though it's certainly not a cheap device, so there's a part of me that hopes I won't like it.

Gurm

AGI Wouldn't that just be hilarious, if Apple finally made a phone we can use, and it costs $1500?

JTL

AGI I'd cover the Face ID sensor with electrical tape because I'd be slightly concerned about it causing long term eye irritation/damage,. Also I think I read somewhere that the infrared LED's were still "firing" despite Face ID being disabled (at least on the X)

AGI

Gurm Yeah, for a few seconds I thought I could buy it despite the price, but then I was immediately like: wait a sec, what if 20 min are not enough and then it is the usual crap? And, even more dreadful, what if I buy it and then they make an update and I cannot use it anymore? I would not be happy to invest so much money for something which could work a month...

AGI

JTL Also I think I read somewhere that the infrared LED's were still "firing" despite Face ID being disabled (at least on the X)

I do recall someone suspecting the infrared LEDs were still on with Face ID disabled. I can't imagine adding another variable to the puzzle, and for what? I just want a phone, damn it. I cannot believe I bought three phones in 2018 which I can't use, and I have been paying internet data for 9 months but the SIM card sits in a drawer cause it does not work in my old phone. This really sounds like a joke. I am living off Wi-Fi and I am often in the ridiculous situation of faking that my connectivity is low when the truth is there is no SIM card in the phone...Oh boy

Sunspark

AGI You can get a nano to mini or standard adapter. I have one. It's just a plastic frame.

tomek

I have now XR and it's more worse than XS which I've sent back to Apple last week. Using XR for 10-20 minutes give dizziness and eye pain. It was surprise that even with visual PWM XS was not bad and it gave me just middle eye strain. It's not perfect as old LG G2 but usable more than XR. Face ID is not cause for me and I see that it is used only when unlocking phone, and when Face ID attention is turned off it is used less.
I will buy XS due my old iP 6 have to be replaced and we will see in long time.

AGI

tomek Bad news about the XR :-(
I will check the XS again. Thanks for the update

tfouto

tomek Are you still using the XS phone? Are you ok with it? Have you tried the reduce white point?

« Previous Page Next Page »