Sharing experience with xiaomi redmi 3: discomert when not using full brightness. No discomfort with full brightness and i can deal with the light strength - but it may be issue for others.

In android there's an option to decrease brightness without touching pwm using apps that kinda put a filter layer on top of the screen. This doesn't work on the redmi 3 OS. Maybe it does work on cyanogenmod which is availble, but this requires an annoying process of unlocking the device - and only than installing a new rom. Haven't done that to my device yet.

My coworker somehow managed to erase the system partition (or created a permanent bootloop) on a HTC Desire 601 aka Zara_UL. It probably can't be fixed because it wasn't S-OFF and the only RUU I could find that would match it is an older version.

Anyway, I have the phone here. It's a nice LCD panel and is a very light device. 960 pixels like the iPhone 4 and 4S. Not the same PPI though as the screen is larger. Whatever panel is in this specific unit, it is a nice perfectly comfortable one on the bootloader that you could stare at all day, which is interesting because the GPU is an Adreno 305. Kitkat was the last software version released for this device.

I have a microscope in the house, and I think what I am going to do on a different day, I'm going to look at the subpixels on this device, and the 4S that I have that is also good, and then compare to other LCDs I have here and see if the pixels have the same shape or are different. I mostly just want to compare the 601 to the 4S subpixels.

That M8 I complained about so much? I use it, but for Pokemon Go. Lol!

    Sunspark you could stare at all day, which is interesting because the GPU is an Adreno 305

    Adreno is known to be problematic?
    The bootloader might be using a very basic 2D video mode. Maybe at XDA forums there's some unbrick thread for the device.

      5 days later

      Someone who really needs a new device, might like to try the BLU R1 HD from Amazon. No idea how it will be, but it's a mediatek chipset and a mali gpu. Most devices are qualcomms. Surprisingly good specs for the price of $110, why not? I'd order it, but it won't ship to Canada.

      https://www.amazon.com/BLU-R1-HD-Exclusive-Lockscreen/dp/B01H2E0J5M/ref=sr_1_1?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1470099822&sr=1-1&keywords=blu+r1+hd&refinements=p_6%3AATVPDKIKX0DER
      • JTL replied to this.
      • JTL likes this.

        Sunspark We are both Canadian? 😃

        Also reshipping and US mailbox services exist. Search it online.

          Hi.

          Tested the Sony Xperia Compact Z3 now a few days. What shall I say?! It don't hurt my eyes as much as other devices, but it causes eyestrain too.

          So I decided to order a HTC One M9. It's really hard to get an M8 with 30 days refund here in austria.

          update: Instead of normal HTC One M9 Amazon shipped me HTC One M9 prime camera edition. Which has a completely different CPU and GPU than the normal one.

          The first impression for my eyes wasn't that good, so i ordered another HTC One M9 and I will send back this (I hope I will get the right now - thanks for wasting my time amazon...).

          • Kray replied to this.

            just got one of these blu r1 hds . comfortable at first after turning off hardware overlay, but had problems after trying to watch a video. very different than the iphone 4s, where it's an immediate problem. similar to my cheap lumia winphone.

            on to the hacking...

            11 days later

            I recently bought a Sony Xperia z3 Compact (IPS-panel) and feel discomfort when looking at it especially when reading text. I don't know if this phone uses PMW or if PWM is the reason for my eyestrain.
            All I know is that looking at my old smartphone, a Samsung Galaxy Trend Plus (unknown panel, but definitely no AMOLED or IPS), is an absolute ease for my eyes.
            The picture of the Galaxy Trend Plus seems so much quieter and calmer than the one of the Xperia z3 Compact almost like it is painted there (although it has no HD resolution).
            I think the huge difference is due to the strength and kind of how LED-backlight shines through the panel. Sony feels somewhat piercingly to the eye whereas Samsung feels more flat and soft.
            If anyone knows which panel or glass exactly is used on the Galaxy Trend Plus I can search for phones with that feature and try them out.

            10 days later

            Now that I've been using the OnePlus 3 for over a month since my last post here, I feel safe to recommend it. I can't promise it will help you but it helped me so I think it's worth a try. I think Samsung is the only display supplier so issues like "different displays, different eye strain" probably won't happen.
            You just need to stay outside of the PWM range. The safe zone is 68-255 for the stock ROM and 65-255 for CyanogenMod.
            The setup guide may use PWM until you set a higher brightness when you're finally in the OS.

            The adjusted minimum brightness is not that low, but to my surprise I can use it even in totally dark rooms. All my other devices and monitors I had to set to 0 brightness to avoid headaches. But here, no headaches at all. I use the device like 7 to 8 hours a day (screen-on time).

            When I'm outside and its sunny, I set the brightness to 255. I think there is a difference between stock ROM and CyanogenMod. Since I'm using CyanogenMod I can bear full brightness. Or my eyes have somehow adjusted to it - can't say for sure.

            Just thought I should recommend this now for I know how hard it is to find a working device. And how much money it can require. I still have some BlackBerries and my unlucky HTC One M8 lying around which I should probably sell in time before they become worthless. I think you could send the OnePlus 3 back if you don't like it. I read something about a 15 day period.

            A downside currently is customers may have to wait some weeks for delivery.

            • JTL replied to this.

              KM Would it be helpful if someone figured out how to adjust the PWM frequency for the other settings? I've had some ideas.

              • KM replied to this.

                  JTL Would be very helpful. If not for this particular device but certainly for AMOLED devices in general. Not sure how much Hz we need though. The values we need might be out of the device's safety zone.

                  • JTL replied to this.

                      KM Alright

                      Think I'm going to use my mother's old Galaxy S4 as a testing device when she replaces it. It's on an ancient bootloader version too.

                        20 days later

                        Harrison

                        Harrison, sorry to hear that HTC One M9 causes you eye strain as well. I dont know why it causes eye strain to you, because it works find for me. Maybe it is true that HTC has 2 different panel manufacturers, one causes eye strain and the other doesnt. Or maybe everyone suffer from multiple causes of eye strain, so a device that works for one person may not necessarily work for another person.

                        By the way, what version of android does your HTC comes with? Mine is on Lillipop 5.02. As you know, software or different OS versions may cause eye strain as well. If Marshmallow causes eye strain, then I am not going to update my phone software. I dont want to risk getting eye strain on my phone (HTC One M9+ Supreme Camera Edition). This is the only phone model that I can use with eye strain whatsoever.

                            hey Kray

                            We already talked about that, but I'll share the information for all of you here:

                            I've tried HTC One M9 (normal edition and supreme camera edition), but both weren't really good for my eyes. So I decided to purchase another HTC One Mini 1. This was the phone I'd used for 2 years now, however the battery has broken and it's not that easy to swap that battery. Moreover it's difficult to get such an old phone here. Nevertheless I bought a secondhand refurbished HTC One Mini at Amazon, but this one has some defects and I've sent it to the HTC Support in order to have a "new" HTC One Mini1. Thought the support just sent me back an new HTC One Mini 2. The first days and hours were really hard for my eyes, but now it seems that I don't have any problems any more with this new HTC One Mini 2, but do not count your chickens before they are hatched.. Maybe my eyes also need some adjustment with every new display. So Maybe there's a chance to also get used to newer HTC One M9.
                            Also I've to say, that I've never get used to any display after some time so far.

                            Long story short. Maybe there are different HTC Display manufacturers, maybe also the Android versions counts and last but not least you guys ever should give your eyes to "adjust". So always test a new system for at least a hole week before you say that you are getting eyestrain.

                              Although most people here (like me) are Android or iOS, has anyone tried any windows phones with success?

                              I've looked into the Lumia line and it looks like the budget model (Lumia 550) uses an LCD display according to the tech specs. Curious to know if it's actually a ccfl-type display being used..

                              • Gurm replied to this.
                                6 days later

                                iPhone 7+, few minutes with demo unit at store = hard eye pain. No change with Apple at all.

                                • KM likes this.
                                4 days later

                                Hi All
                                This is Special request and i Desperate for help , i have a smartphone screen problem i trying to use many of smartphone from a lot type and company all of the screens that i use make me extremely eye strain I notice after about 10 - 15 mins of use, I get dizzy and my eyes hurt like they are burning ,the only phones that I can use without eye strain are “Stupid Phone” like Nokia 108/105 I visited many eye doctors over the years and none of them could explain this issue,It all started with the first iPhone in 2007 over the years Smartphones were more useful and allow us to be connected all the time, I began to realize that sooner or later I'll need to use smartphone and i started to make a research to figure out this problem i've tried to turn the brightness down all the way and instell app thet dimming the screenand Nothing of it helped,With every screen I feel diffrant pain and i triyng to understand What makes my eyes Get hurt from the screen
                                Maybe its type of screen or the Refresh rate or screen technology,maybe you can advise from your experience have any idea here ?

                                Many Thanks
                                BoB

                                Hi Bob, it's frustrating, but we're all still trying to figure it out as well.

                                Do you have issues with any other digital devices besides phones? What about LED computer monitors?

                                dev