Usable Smartphones?

Quad43

degen testing this out

degen

Quad43 it’s starting to bother me more. 12 days in now.

degen

degen Update: I would no longer say my iPhone SE 2020 is an eye-friendly device. I now use it strictly for phone, text, and navigation. It is often the case that I initially find a device or display usable, but experience small cumulative eye strain over weeks which eventually limits its use.

deepflame

Was in a shop yesterday and tried the new iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro.
The nonpro version had the same issues as every other OLED iPhone before ( 60 Hz flickering ).

The iPhone 12 Pro however seemed much better. Can someone confirm?

Lauda89

deepflame The iphone 12 pro is not a 120hz display so it should be the same of the iPhone 12. I think they have more than one pannel supplier so it could be a sort of display lottery.

KM

Just be careful with iPhones and iPads. Once you upgrade the OS, you can't downgrade. And if you decide to stay on the same OS version forever, soon apps will require a newer version.

Maxx

I find my Motorola 5g Plus to have PWM at 65%, so for me it is usable. if I use it at over 65%.

Maxx

I have tested Xiaomi Mi 10t Pro now for a few days. On and off with my Motorola 5g Plus. Motorola has been completely eye strain free for 4 months now.

10t Pro unfortunately causes mild but unbearable eyestrain. It has PWM somewhere similarly at 65% like Motorola, so I keep the brightness where it does not have PWM, but yet after using it for several hours, My eyes get strained.
The search for a flagship continues. But before the Motorola goes out of sale, I think I'm stocking another one as it seems to be the only phone I can use.
I suspect that it has a combination of PWM and dithering. So the dithering is the culprit here.

I could probably use it, I I would limit my usage to an hour a day or so. But as I have a phone that can use as much as possible, I see no reason to keep it, so taking it back.

but please try the Motorola

HAL9000

Maxx

You have a Motorola G 5G plus as well? I too see PWM at high brightness but even above this level I still cant use the device as it causes me eyestrain even at 100% brightness - I used an app 'oled saver' to lower the brightness with a filter as this was the only one that would also lower the top and bottom areas of the screen (where notifications / one screen buttons are) but still something was hurting my eyes. Maybe its just much higher PWM and it still affects me badly.

Does anyone have a Motorola G9 plus - can they test for PWM on that?

cristi_repciuc

Maxx
My saga started with a S10 lite which I returned in 3 days as my eyes wee burning an got bloodshot. Going through the Internet, I found about the pwm on oleds, and I initially blemed it on a poor implementation on that phone. I then decided to try a lcd phone since I have 0 issues with laptop and monitor screens. My first choice was mi 10t pro, but I had the same symptoms as you are describing. Over the days it was more and more damaging for my eyes and I had to return this one too.
Well OK, I noticed the level where there's no pwm, and still felt pain, then what gives? Then I thought that maybe te oled ain't the issue (as I was OK with my previous phone with oled, p20 pro), let's give it another try with the Mi 10, because these are some terrific phones and the tactile feeling was pure joy. But again my eyes said no since the first day of use.
I am trying to find a common factor for these phones, but I cannot understand what it is.
May it be the software implementation in the xiaomi phones, considering I had the same issues with both phones? The Samsung one was worse, with nausea and migrenes.
Can the cause be determined by an eye doc?
Anyways, I am now trying my luck with oneplus 8t, waiting for it to arrive, but seeing the high nits this one has, I somehow have a feeling that it will be similar.

Sunspark

Very happy with my A70 on Android 9 (as is Peter). It's actually so comfortable once you adjust the font size and zoom and get used to the screen, that it makes me wonder if I might be able to find an OLED monitor with a similar level of comfort except I'd be worried about screen burn-in from icons, etc.

Peter

Sunspark Hi, have you upgraded the A70 to Android 10? I maybe forced to do it due to security reasons and i wondered how the phone behaves. Up to now with Android 9 it is perfect, even the battery life is great.

Also, have you found any other phone like Samsung A70? It is possible we respond in a similar way to displays.

Thnx

Seagull

HAL9000

All OLED screens have flicker, regardless of PWM. Because they are an emissive display, each pixel goes dark when it updates from one frame to the next.

HAL9000

Seagull

This is an Adroud App called 'oled saver' it lowers brightness by drawing a filter over the screen, this is the only such app I found albeit in my limited search that also filtered the very top and bottom of the screen where the notifications / clock etc are located and the lower on-screen buttons. Other filters didnt cover these areas and they were very bright.

The phone itself (motorola g 5g plus) has an LTPS / IPS screen but PWM around 60/75% brightness and below. Above this I do not see PWM but it still affects me and I cannot use the device. Maybe this is dithering or something to do with the screen being LTPS as I have not had such a screen before I do not think.

Seagull

HAL9000

My mistake, thought that phone was oled.

Could be LCD inversion. Each frame the voltage across an lcd pixel switches polarity. They have to do this as a dc current would damage the liquid crystal. This creates a flickering effect. There are different ways to do this, some look nicer but use more power, others the opposite. Phones and laptops tend to use the lower power, more flickery implementations.

http://www.techmind.org/lcd/

K-Moss

I like the price point of the ZTE Blade A3 as I'm just looking for a basic Android phone for a particular business purpose. Does anyone have any experience with this or a model similar to this?

And is the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite universally acclaimed for eye comfort? I may pay more and go with that one.

Lauda89

cristi_repciuc I am sorry for you! It is totally incomprehensible what the problem is. I can use the iPhone X without problems. At Christmas, I'll buy a pixel 4a and I'll be able to tell you how it goes!

neca980

cristi_repciuc
I am also interested in 8t, would love to heat about your experience.

K-Moss

Too frustrating trying to find something suitable. Just looking for a decent low cost Android unit. Any suggestions?

K-Moss

From a review of the Moto G7 that seems highly loved. Any thoughts on this unit for eye comfort?

Seriously, this phone was what, $250 when I bought it? I came from lines of iPhones until Jobs died and the quality of Apple went with him. I jumped to multiple other flagships, HTC, Galaxy, etc. But getting out of debt taught me just how much a waste of money flagship phones are. I went to a prepaid service, sold my old Galaxy S6 and got an entry level Samsung. Well, 4 years later almost, that phone gave out and I needed a new one. The last Motorola I had was a flip phone from Cingular way back in the day, so I was already kinda familiar with the brand. I'm not a power user by any means, all that my phone needs to do is stream music, take some decent pictures, use Facebook and use my banking apps. Simple, right? This phone feels great in my hand. It seriously does. I've blown people's minds when they check out my phone compared to the $700-1000 phones they have. And I bought mine cash outright for a quarter what they paid. While they constantly search for power outlets, I use mine for 2-3, maybe 4 days without a charge. I don't use the fingerprint scanner, so I can't comment on it. For being someone my age (mid 20's), I prefer simplicity over newest tech. Something I love specifically however about this phone is the Moto gestures. Chop the phone twice, flashlight comes on. Shake the phone sideways twice, camera comes on. For the amount I work on cars and take visual notes or just need a quick light with gloves on, these are godsends and a genius idea. I feel the build quality of this phone seriously beats out Apple's laughing matters now, and quite a bit of the competition in the price range. This should be a $500 phone, easy. Pick this thing up, and enjoy a solid mid-level phone that mocks the flagships for a quarter of the price.

K-Moss

Looks like I will try the ZTE Blade A5 2020 unless anyone else has any better suggestions. It has a non-removal battery, but I unerstand that's the norm now. At least it's not too expensive or else the non-removal battery would bother me more. The Moto above at almost twice as much also has a non-removal battery.

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