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.
Usable Smartphones?
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.
randomboolean Those brightness apps that dim the screen colors by using overlay permissions make my eyes hurt, too. They probably add one extra layer of composition. Maybe it's the same thing that makes color profiles unusable for me on these devices.
I would agree about trying to avoid screens whenever possible however for most office workers this isn't a choice. Many employers are now giving work phones/tablets to staff as well.
Most office hardware is (thankfully) 5+ years behind so it's not an issue.... yet.
However once smartphones/W10 machines/LED becomes compulsory (because all the old equipment has died) this does pose a real issue, unfortunately it seems to a very small minority of users.
I'm still OK with my iPhone 6S, I don't use it for hours on end but it is far more comfortable than any modern PC monitor/GPU.
KM Hmm did not know that these apps might do more harm than help us. I will try to root the phone and install f.lux and change to other drivers. Let's see if that helps. But this phone is hard to flash and root, have already bricked it for 2 times...
diop Exactly my thoughts. Thats' why I am thinking buying as many "outdated but new unused" devices(still possible to find unused 2014 phones, etc.) as possible and future proof ourselves. The technologies does not change so rapidly, so we might wait for new eye strain free devices for over decade.. And this is really bugging me as I am a IT project manager and I am almost unable to do my daily duties due to this problem. It is easier for programmers as they do not have so many meetings with so many different clients and devices. Sounds like I need to change careers
It's really strange how differently people are affected as iphone 6s is unusable for me, but many of you huys report it is good for you. What OS version are you using? I think there might be different manufacturers of screens so it might be you got a "good screen".
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randomboolean Hmm did not know that these apps might do more harm than help us. I will try to root the phone and install f.lux and change to other drivers.
Maybe it's enough to stay out of the PWM range. Set brightness to roughly 50% and PWM should be off. I think the exact brightness value for the OnePlus X where PWM turned off was 80 (out of 255) or slightly higher. Don't try too many things at once. I'd stay away from any apps.
randomboolean It's really strange how differently people are affected as iphone 6s is unusable for me, but many of you huys report it is good for you. What OS version are you using? I think there might be different manufacturers of screens so it might be you got a "good screen".
Most probably. After having read on the Apple forum's Macbook Pro eyestrain thread that some iPhone 4 are usable while others are bad, I kept buying iPhone 4 and 4s until I found ones with usable screens. The difference was like night and day and still is.
The Nokia 3 and 5, Moto G5 and Moto E4 were all causing me eye strain. Finally I found a phone that doesn't hurt my eyes not even with low brightness set.
It is the Samsung Galaxy J3 Duos (2017)
Hopefully this can help other people who are looking for a phone that's comfortable on the eyes. Good luck everyone !
randomboolean I received a brand new iPhone 6S+ less than a month ago, after Apple accidentally broke the battery compartment while attempting a battery replacement. The new phone works just as well as the old phone (with longer battery life of course!) I did notice some small unrelated alternations though. The sound and even feeling of the vibrate feature is different than my last 6S+
michiel The Samsung J3 uses a Samsung chip instead of the Snapdragon. Since it's a Samsung chip, the display is probably very closely matched, and probably has stellar driver support in the stock ROM. The chip is an Exynos 7570. It's also got a 720p screen.
Interestingly, the S8 also uses an Exynos chipset, but it uses the 8895 and has a 4k screen...