Best phones for PWM/Flicker sensitive people
Best phones for PWM/Flicker sensitive people
https://www.androidcentral.com/phones/best-phones-for-pwm-sensitivity
Publish Date: 2026-05-27 13:16:00
Source Domain: www.androidcentral.com
Back in 2022, I started getting regular headaches and having eye pain, something I had never chronically dealt with in my life. After months of trial and error (and several visits to the optometrist), I stumbled upon a Reddit post that would change my life. As it turns out, most modern smartphones don’t dim like a light bulb. Instead, they use something called PWM dimming, which rapidly turns the display on and off to trick your eyes into thinking it’s brighter or dimmer.
Flickering or strobing lights are a known problem for 10-20% of the population, so just know that you’re not alone in dealing with this problem, but you’re likely ahead of the curve now that you know it exists! Over the years, I’ve developed several testing methods and tested dozens of phones in my quest to find ones that don’t give people headaches, yet don’t sacrifice what makes a modern smartphone great. That’s why you can trust me (and Android Central) to help guide you to the right phone!
The OnePlus 15R is the best overall phone for PWM-sensitive people because it not only has a fantastic OLED display with impressive eye friendly features, but it also provides one of the absolute best daily experiences of any device on this list. But there are also lots of other options these days, so I’ve assembled a list of the nine best phones for PWM-sensitive people that will help you find your next smartphone and eliminate the pain that other phones cause in our lives.
At a glance
Best overall
Best overall
The OnePlus 15R sports the lowest modulation I’ve ever seen from an OLED and has no dithering at all. It’s also impressively affordable and has great specs, making this the best overall pick for most people.
Read more below
Runner-up
Runner-up
NXTPAPER displays were built to be eye-friendly, and the NXTPAPER 70 Pro is TCL’s most well-rounded phone yet. A gorgeous matte display with custom diffusion layers makes this a joy to read, day and night, and the price will have you doing a…
