ryans Allright, just bought 2 Oneplus X bargains on Ebay, but will only reveive them after 1,5 weeks.. Might also buy another one tomorrow. I am very hopeful this will finally work for my eyes. And if it does I will not stop here, because Android 5 will soon be outdated.
Usable Smartphones?
randomboolean Thank you for your response, I don't think I'm sensitive to PWM. I tested the Nokia 3 ,5 and Moto E4 and according to notebookcheck they don't use PWM. But still they cause me eye strain. What I do know is that I only see with one eye, so I can't see depth. I appreciate your HTC suggestions however I need a dual sim phone because I travel a lot. Right now I I'm thinking of trying the Samsung J3 Duos (2017) which has a AMOLED screen.
It seems like many of us can't use past Android 5 or 6.... >= 7 is unusable. It's hard to rule out of it's because of the OS or because it's more modern hardware.
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ryans Do you know what your issues are (PWM, dithering, colors, blue light, or something else)?
PWM, some dithering (GTX 10xx feels "off", but not terrible.)
H990DS model.
https://i.imgur.com/SjDq2kS.png
worried Amazon might start rejecting my returns for trying out all these phones.
Can't help you there.
I have noticed that 2 lenovo phones k8note and k8plus cause less eye strain, though I have to tint the screen yellowish using a blue light reducing app. Both these phones use Mali gpu and Mediatek cpu. Also the LCDs seem to be slightly older tech without eye-popping colour.
Devotee Could you describe "less"? Do you still feel discomfort, blurry eyes? How much time does it take to return back to normal vision after using those phones? Which Android version did you use 7 or 8?
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Just wanted to share my experience. My problem is that I have not an eye strain, but headache and nausea. I am using Samsung Galaxy Alpha (Android 4.4.4) for 4 years and it has great screen which I can use without any problem. This year I decided to change the phone for a new one. I had to change three models and returned back to Samsung Alpha. So, my results:
1. Samsung S8 - immediate and strong nausea and headache;
2. Huawei P10 - nausea and headache;
3. Samsung A5 (2015) - nausea and headache both with Android 5, Android 6 and Android 4.4.4. This one was produced on January 2016. So the problem is not in Android version in my case. Probably, something was changed in screen hardware in 2015-2016. I am not sure if A5 (2015) produced in the beginning of 2016 has the same screen type as A5 (2015), produced in 2015.
Now I am very confused. Still using Samsung Alpha that is perfect for me.
Hi
Sony Xperia z3 i can use it for any period of time.
Sony Xperia zx can't use it even for 30 minutes.
The issue seems to be related to the brightness and i think most of our problems is dry eyes related even the doctor said it is not.
Riva I am glad you have found atleast one phone which works for you. What Android version are you running on Z3? Were you running Android 6 on XZ? I also tested XZ and the lowest was Android 6, if I recall correctly. I could still find new Z3 for sale so if it was OK for my eyes, would buy this phone...
Has anyone tried the new Galaxy S9?
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Also had three thoughts:
It can be hard to tell if the problem is in the software (OS) or hardware. Would it make sense to test the software by using Android emulator? If you are using it on a monitor that is known not to cause problems and the emulator causes problems, then the software is to blame. I don't know how well the emulator resembles the pixels actually shown on the phone.
Some people seem to have issues with colors. Samsung phones have ultra-power saving mode that makes the screen grayscale. Worth a try?
I wonder if cheaper hardware might be better for us: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/3/16/17130610/alcatel-1x-android-go-us-release-price
greyscale is helpful for me in windows.
Has anyone tried the Essential Phone?
randomboolean You say that PWM does not affect you because you have an old Acer which has flicker and the Galaxy S4 which had an OLED screen and thus PWM affected you. Have you figured out what does affect you?
ryans No, sorry. I am so confused now as I have "resurrected" my old Acer from 2011 (I installed windows 8 vs windows 10 and installed very old drivers) and tried it for a couple of hours and unfortunately it also gives me blurry vision... Of course no brain aches, no migraines, no eye pain, but still if compared to my external CCFL monitor, this one is not good. It did not for over 5 years 
So I think I damaged my eyes for good and now even good enough monitors give me strain. So I am still testing both with phones and laptops.
Tomorrow I am receiving Oneplus X 16GB. I hope it will be as good as my Lumia 930 (both have amoled displays). Unfortunatelly Oneplus One (with IPS screen) is not too good for my eyes. With Android 5 gives me blurry vision after 20-30 mins.
So OnePlus X gives me terrible headache and eye strain (worse than Oneplus ONE with IPS screen). I installed original Android 5.1.1, Twilight app, set brightness to 100% and dimmed the display with the app. The specifications of the phone are the same as on Lumia 930, so I assume there is something in screen that gives eye strain. I am not sure what else I could try. These phones are already outdated and they are unusable, so going "back" in time would mean buying only used laggy, unusable phones.
So we are stuck on 2013-2014 without the solution for the future. I think eventually we will need to go back to basics and buy Nokia 3310 (2017 edition). One of my clients are still using old phones, and when asked how do you check emails and everything he says - I don't, I just phone everybody, like on good old days. He is over 60 years old so he is used to it. Not a solution, but more of a bahaviour change. For example amputees cannot walk or write, we cannot look at the new screens and use new devices.