I earlier posted here, that I had eye strain with latest Amazon Oasis both with light on and off. I am currently using Nook Simple Touch Glowlight (2012 or 2013 edition) and it does not cause eye strain. Before it I used first edition Nook and everything was also good.
I will need to replace my Nook soon as it is old and touch screen does not function properly, but I simply don’t know which device to buy. Earlier this month I bought All new Kindle 2019 (10th edition), but it also caused eye strain like Oasis, so I returned it. Maybe the problem is with new e-ink screens, as the older devices worked for me fine.

  • JTL replied to this.

    fox320 I bought All new Kindle 2019 (10th edition), but it also caused eye strain like Oasis, so I returned it. Maybe the problem is with new e-ink screens, as the older devices worked for me fine.

    Unless somethings changed since the older Paperwhite I'm pretty sure Kindles with the light have it "always on" (except very dim) even at "0" brightness.

      6 days later

      there's lots of dithering going on in the new readers. for reading i stick to a non-paperwhite kindle. for tablets, you just have to avoid the fast refresh settings & keep the backlight off. I like my likebook

      2 months later

      Anyone who use Onyx Nova 2 or 3 please report


      2 months later

      khartoom I am planning to buy a paperlike hd, mainly for coding; could you explain more in detail what wasn’t working with that device? Thanks!

          eugenio When I first got my Dasung, I had eyestrain but then I figured out what was going on.

          First off, you need your work area WAY brighter when using an e-reader. Whatever you have your current room lighting at to watch an LED monitor, you need to double that. I even have a lamp aimed directly at the monitor.

          Next, I use mine on the mode "M2" which has less greyscale. The max greyscale mode gives me eyestrain.

          I now use this monitor for hours. And although it's not perfect, the minor eyestrain I get from it is NORMAL eyestrain like you would get from reading too much. It's not like the LED eyestrain which causes all kinds of pain and cognitive issues.

          So my two tips for e-readers are. Use the most black and white mode that they have. Work in a very well it room. Use larger font sizes than you normally would.

              screenjunky Thanks for sharing your experience, it's very informative!

              My reply was mainly directed to @khartoom (I think you two are not the same user, are you?) because he/she said:
              "the biggest disappointment was my Dasung Paperlike, which I thought I would be able to use for programming, but that's another dream I've had to give up on..."

                12 days later

                Dithering on e-ink devices just seems so far fetched but there really does seem to be something going on. I can't use my Onyx book max 2 or 3 OR my Hisense a5 for very long these days. Yet, I can read a book without any huge issues, so I can't just say it is a convergence thing.

                4 years later

                Considering to buy Onyx Boox Go 10.3, does anybody own it? Does this thing strain your eyes?

                I have eye strain issues I think mainly because I'm always staring at computer/smartphone screen and I guess my eyes just need rest… IPS panels seems worst for me, TN is more or less ok, but I'm still feeling eye strain due to extensive screen use… I hope e-ink will give me some relief…

                Not with the lighting off.

                But the PWM lighting on at least some of the Boox models gives me eye strain.

                Some of the older ones I had no problem (Poke Pro, Nova 2/3). I found the lights on the newer Palma and Tab Ultra C very fatiguing so lit them with external lamps when sunlight wasn't enough. Colour e-ink needs much more light than B/W.

                The only ereaders I know of that were marketed as being DC-dimmed are Hisense (no eye-strain for me on my Hisense A9).

                dev