I recently had the chance to test the Daylight Computer tablet at a friend’s place, and I wanted to share my experience.
• When the backlight was enabled, it definitely caused me pain—strong muscle tension around the eyes, and the kind of neurological discomfort I usually experience with most screens.
• The device has two options:
1. A full backlight-off mode (pure reflective E-Ink display).
2. A setting to gradually warm the color temperature of the backlight (making the screen appear more red/orange).
• The warm-colored backlight made things even worse for me. As the screen became more reddish, the discomfort increased.
• When I turned off the backlight entirely, the symptoms were less intense. I still felt pain around the eyes, but it was more bearable than with any backlit mode. I think this is likely due to the absence of PWM and no emitted light.
• I kept the screen in my field of vision for a few minutes. Even without the backlight, the screen still caused some discomfort. After leaving my friend’s house, I could still feel eye tension for a while.
Normally, when I’m exposed to a problematic screen, the symptoms (pain, tension, neurological pressure) last for several hours — and that was the case here too, although slightly milder.
In conclusion:
Even though this device may be better than standard backlit LCDs or OLEDs, I personally could not work on it for long durations. It’s not a viable alternative for me, especially for extended tasks like reading or writing.