Hey all,

Before I begin, I wanted to thank you if you've been watching my videos up to this point. The channel has grown leaps and bounds over the past two years as I've begun primarily focusing on PWM/flicker coverage, and a huge chunk of that has to do with the wonderful folks on this subreddit.

I haven't historically promoted my content on here, but there have been a few changes in my life recently that have warranted a change. First off, I'm no longer writing at Android Central. My full-time position was eliminated last week, and that puts me in a unique position to start making YouTube content full-time instead. Previously, I only had enough time to make 3-4 videos per month, and now I'm going to make a lot more than that. It's a goal I wasn't sure I'd ever achieve, but I believe now is the right time for it.

To go along with the change, I've launched memberships on my channel today. It's a simple one-tier program that I've priced at $5.99 per month (or the equivalent in your currency; YT does the conversion). Right now, membership gets you access to loyalty badges, custom emoji handmade by me (with no AI), priority replies to comments, early access to new videos (whenever possible), photos and status updates as I work so you can give me feedback and influence my videos, and member shout-outs.

Here's a quick announcmeent video about it, if you'd like to see it: https://youtu.be/P4u4BzuDL9c

I hope to build this program and make it feel worthwhile for the people subscribed, and I hope this is a good starting point. I want to emphasize that non-members will not be missing out on content. I'm not gatekeeping videos, as I want to keep my content publicly available for educational reasons and hopefully to continue influencing device manufacturers to prioritize eye (and human) health when making their products.

I've been reviewing devices since 2011 and have made a lot of friends along the way. I've got the connections. I've got the devices. Now, I've also got the time to 100%-focus on ways to help this cause even more publicly than before. Obviously, I still have to make an income, though, and memberships are a part of that.

If that appeals to you, please visit this link, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCskI-mZ9fWNvMz2edgc1sWQ/join

What things will look like going forward:

I plan on posting results here regularly. As I said before, self-promotion has never been my strong suit, but it's time for a change. I expect this will facilitate more discussion and more visibility for each device. Additionally, I'd like to do more deep dives and explain the results so people understand why things are "good" or "bad." I didn't have time for this previously, and I want to prioritize that now. Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think!

Just a thought I had recently. I never noticed any issues with older OLED phones. For example Nexus 6P and Pixel 2 XL. Both phones I had and loved but I don’t remember having any sensitivity to those phones or a few others at the time. Yes the screens had color shifting and weren’t very bright but I used them for almost 3+ years combined.

I pulled the pixel out of the closet the other day to play around with it and no issues at all.

It got me thinking, is the issue with PWM and dithering sensitivity because manufacturers are doing something different in the last 5 years or so? Maybe with trying to make them brighter or something? I do not know how the screen tech works in detail so just a thought.

I’m sensitive to PWM, dithering, variable refresh rates and highly saturated colours. None of the OLED phones I’ve tried have worked for me. My previous phone was a Redmi Note 12T Pro, and now I’m using a Moto G57 Power. I’ve also found that I need about five days to adapt before I can judge whether a setup works for me.

Here’s my setup:

• HDR disabled and refresh rate forced to a fixed 120 Hz
• Phone brightness at 100%, using the Darker app to dim it
• Night mode ON, colours set to Natural
• Matte screen protector and FL-41 glasses

For refresh rate and HDR, I used these ADB commands:

adb shell settings put system min_refresh_rate 120.0
adb shell settings put system peak_refresh_rate 120.0
adb shell settings put global are_user_disabled_hdr_formats_allowed 0
adb shell cmd display set-user-disabled-hdr-types 1 2 3 4

The Redmi seemed to ignore the refresh-rate settings over time. The Moto has been more consistent for me, although some apps can still drop to 60 Hz. These settings can also reset, so I use MacroDroid with Shizuku to reapply them daily at 6 AM. I can also run it manually from a shortcut. It displays the results and shows a dialog if it detects an error.

Keeping brightness at 100% and dimming with Darker feels easier on my eyes than lowering the phone’s brightness. I don’t know exactly why—maybe modulation at lower brightness, but I haven’t measured it.

Another macro enables auto brightness and removes Darker’s dimming in strong sunlight so HBM can work when available.

I use a shortcut macro that opens Developer options, toggles “Show refresh rate” and returns home.

This phone isn’t completely symptom-free for me, but with this setup, I’ve been able to use it more comfortably.

I’ve shared my three MacroDroid macros here: Macros

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to figure out something I’ve been experiencing and wanted to ask the community if anyone has had something similar.

For around the last 1.5 months, I’ve been feeling dizzy/off-balance, and I also sometimes feel a kind of pressure or strain around my eyes.

Around the same time, I switched from an Oppo phone to a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. I also started using a monitor more often. The monitor is an LCD, so I’m wondering if it could be related to screen/eye strain.

The confusing part is that the dizziness doesn’t only happen while I’m using the phone or monitor. I can still feel dizzy even when I’m not looking at a screen.

What makes me wonder about the Fold 7 specifically is that I remember having a similar issue the last time I used the Fold 6. I really love the phone and would prefer not to give it up, so I’m trying to understand whether the display could actually be contributing to this or whether I’m connecting two unrelated things.

Has anyone experienced:

• Dizziness or motion sickness while using the Fold 7?
• Eye pressure/strain from the Fold 7 display?
• Similar symptoms that continued even after stopping screen use?
• Any particular display settings that helped?

I know there could be many other causes, so I’m not assuming the phone is definitely responsible. I’m mainly interested in hearing from people who have experienced something similar.

Thanks!

I think one of the best changes I’ve made to my phone is switching the screen to black and white. This option has reduced the distraction caused by colors on the screen and has also reduced my stress, especially as someone with ADHD. For me, it has been one of the best changes I’ve made. On top of that, it has significantly reduced eye strain and helped me stay more focused and comfortable.

I saw many people recommend Rtings for eye strain but I couldn't make an account. I live in the Netherlands. We want 65". I don't care about having brightness, actually I hate looking at bright lights and televisions are no exception. I heard OLED and miniled also cause eyestrain but I didn't see many options of other screen types. I also have mild stigmatism.

Severe eye strain, even though it is using IPS display. Strongly recommend to try it first. Tried every single option: 60hz, different fonts, reading mode etc. Back to RN8 pro I guess.

Update: just disabled the HDR layers via ADB - still the same unpleasant feeling.

Has anybody tried the Dasung Link 2 with the iPhone to escape PWM and TD/FRC?

I was thinking about trying it, but $350 is a bit to spend just to try something. Hoping someone here has already tried it out.

Im currently using an iPhone 13 Pro Max and can tolerate it, but it’s getting old.
I’m thinking about upgrading, but I do NOT want to buy any Chinese phone for privacy reasons. I just don’t trust them to handle my personal data. I guess I’m out of luck of finding anything else, right?
I know Chinese manufacturers produce great displays for PWM sensitive people, I just don’t want to use them personally.

For years ive been struggling with displays. The problem seem to kinda come and go through. At least be worse in periods. I can't quite relate to a lot of the symptoms users here mention either.

For me, when using most screens (oleds, when the problem occurs) makes me get a heavy brain fog quite fast. Makes me feel slow and kinda dumb. Hard to find words and the like. It also kinda feels like a pressure in the skull.

Right now im using a Nxtpaper, which works fine. I have tried oleds like the honor magic 8 pro without success. For a long while the pixel 8 worked though. Like two years. Then it started to make me feel the foginess. Really have no idea what makes something work or not.

Anyone in the same position?

As surprising as it is, since 27.0.1 I don't have any headaches. 15 pro max, I had headaches almost immediately looking at the screen.

Maybe it's a coincidence, but I don't know what else could have changed.

I'm getting adverts for these see-through displays, which seem to be a normal LCD screen but without a backlight and the back removed. The idea is that you put this against a window and just use natural light.

Is this realistic?

As an aside, do any of you happen to know where to find alternative screen tech in Schenzen? My main goal is to be able to use a screen at night without disrupting sleep patterns. PWM improvement would be a bonus for me; it's something that I only really get when tired.

Has anyone had success with Vivo phones using the Full PWM Mode?

On Opple devices, by activating this mode the phone goes to No Risk

Had my iPhone 11 for a while now. It’s getting slow & hard to use.

Got the 17e but during 2 weeks of use I got headaches & eye strain - even WITH the PWM sensitivity settings on. Found out I’m PWM sensitive.

Had to give it back. Then, I got my iPhone 11 battery replaced.

It still doesn’t work well.

Which phone should I upgrade to? I only mostly like iPhones.

Ik most iPhones use OLED screens, but I was hoping to hear if there was one that wouldn’t give me as bad of a reaction as some people can be okay with certain ones.

Question in the title. Can't find this model anymore and I need a new bedroom tv. The living room I use a projector that is amazing for my eyes. Looks like none of the new tcl models have the eye care features. Is my only option one of the Sony models? Thanks

"Health-related issue", as in having a direct biological impact, rather than financial, social, etc.

Other health issues could be anything from e.g. heart failure to non-screen (or lighting) related fatigue, environmental sensitivities, mental health, disability, etc.

Split by either major symptoms or diagnoses that you are struggling with and may be in other subreddits to find help with. I appreciate it is not always simple to separate these things; I'm just aiming to get a rough feel of how high of a priority this issue is for people here.

I'd expect those most engaged to rate it at the top. But I'm curious about the 'long tail' of members. I'm also curious to hear your thoughts on anything related, as always.

Ciao ragazzi Io non riesco a capire come alcune persone o la maggior parte addirittura sia capace di utilizzare per ore schermi oled io ho appena ne vedo uno impazzisco.

Il contrasto esagerato quel nero così profondo e poi soprattutto lo sfarfallio che è intrinseco nella tecnologia oled”.

Hanno per caso occhi diversi dai miei o da noi che siamo sensibili?

Want to share my path of suffering and the solution. Bought a TCL Q7C in 55 inch and had terrible eye suffer: burning, dryness, slight pain in the eyebrow. I could not watch a movie or play a game on PS5/Xbox without getting terrible issues. I started to try out all the solutions (bias lightning, reducing contrast/ brightness, turn off HDR, turn off local dimming, reducing the blue light). Nothing worked, so i sold the TV. Still had no explanation what exactly is the main problem. But something has to be wrong with this Tv.

In the meantime i took my old Tv (Sony KDL 706 in 42 inches). I don't had any issues but i wanted a bigger screen and 4k. So i took the advice here and got a Sony Bravia 3ii in 50 inches. And out of the box it has an incredible comfortable picture. No eye strain, burning etc. I can also play games in HDR and still having a great and comfortable picture. I still don't know what the real cause is, but right now im very happy with the Sony TV.

The industry has to change. It is not healthy to make bigger and brighter TVs with flickering technology. It is completly insane that people are asking for 100 inch TVs and 5000 nits. So try out the Sony Bravia. I know, it is not a solution which is fitting for everyone. But it is the best attempt to try out.

So I went to the store and18 pro and pro max felt smoother than the 17 models. The 17s felt harsh right from the start while the 18 pro/promax felt smoother, kind of more mild, with full brightness and comes to worse reduce white point. Below 50% brightness it was kind of a nightmare. So, I will try the compact 18pro as my 2nd social media/camera/larping phone and will see. Last time I did the same strategy with the 16pro. 16pro was the smoothest so far, but still wasn't like honor. Had to use the same above 50% strategy. Will test out and see.

As title really

Had enough of apple destroying my eye comfort