PWM and Smartphones, AMOLED flaw?

Off-topic Chatter
1

What do you think of the newer Samsung smartphones which all use 240Hz PWM for lowering brightness under 75%?
Wow it is so distracting especially when you are tired.

Here you can see a limited list of PWM freq. used for various devices

http://www.notebookcheck.net/PWM-Ranking-Notebooks-Smartphones-and-Tablets-with-PWM.163979.0.html

Some claim that it is an inherent flaw of AMOLED, and that only low frequencies can be used.
I have not seen such low frequencies in any non-AMOLED screens in Samsung phones.

It is rumored that Apple will launch and AMOLED Iphone this year, would they allow such ultra disturbing low frequencies to be used in “Apple”

I notice that more and more people seem to report headaches while using their smartphones at night for long periods of time. I would not be surprised it is the low PWM that is causing that since the brightness must be reduced to low levels.

2

That’s quite interesting, do you know iv’e never noticed any kind of PWM on my galaxy smartphones. Not that i feel i am that sensitive to it anyway rarely get headaches

3

Maybe if I spin it back and forth really fast I can do some kind of pulse-width modulation.

4

I’ve never owned any of the Samsung smartphones just because I don’t like the AMOLED technology. Between the burn-in issues and the loss in color quality over time, give me a TFT LCD any day.

5

Same reason I never owned a Plasma TV. Plus they did have visible flicker to my eyes especially noticeable on white backgrounds

6

I skipped the plasma TV generation entirely due to the crazy amount of heat those put out… I remember my brother’s (he’s the early adopter) first plasma TV and it would make you sweat if you stood too close to it. I kept my old 27” tube TV until the prices started dropping on the LED/LCD sets a few years ago and am not disappointed (at least with the screen technology). My LG LED/LCD TV is great, except for HDMI security communications issues. Any HDMI connected source using protected material (DVD/BluRay) will cause the screen to blank frequently for a second or two. I’ve noted the same thing when playing dvd movies from my dedicated player, PS3, and Xbox, regardless of which input is used. As a result, I have to connect my BluRay player via the Component input and am limited to 1080i. Fortunately, Xbox games play properly, but the PS3 games will cause the same issue. I tried updating the firmware on the TV but that didn’t help…

7

i’m using samsung galaxy s7 for half year, as far as i can say
very satisfied with the screen
one of the things of AMOLED i like best is the very deep black
and Always on Display
which IPS/TFT screen never can do
never experience Burn-in of amoled, samsung really improve their screen

8

I always go for oled displays, I still use my Samsung S3 virtually every day as an ebook, and the display is still 100% i have an Nokia 1020 oled, Samsung galaxy tab S1 10.5" oled and have never had a problem with screen flickering, though some people are more sensitive to it especially the young.

And i always keep the brightness low to prevent burn-in and slow the aging of the blue pixels which age a lot faster than the red a green one`s

John.

9

I thought they licked the blue pixel aging problem?

10

I dont know what the latest developments are, but i read last that they were going to add a metalic substance to the organic mix to extend the life, but this was months ago.

But a oled TV would be amazing if they could sort out that problem, way out of my finance's at the moment, I just have to hold my 10.5" oled tablet a few inches from my nose is as close as i will be getting.

John.

11

I am a proud owner of samsung phones with AMOLED screen

The oldest one that I have is the galaxy S2. I have it since 2011-2012 and I have not noticed any screen color/intensity deterioration at all… for my eyes… no changes. But…. I always have the brightness on the lowest level except when being outdoors

Also I can not notice any PWM

In fact… is the phone that I use to read ebooks. Excellent for reading books at night with total darkness (not like TFT screens)

I use aldiko and configured the screen with black background and brown letters and…. for me… perfect for reading at night. Specially when you sleep with another person in the same room. If you try to use a phone with TFT IPS screen… the other person can not sleep due to the light that emits the screen at the borders. Also it disturbs your eyes.

Another more recent phone with AMOLED screen that I have is the galaxy J5. And same thing. No PWM and excellent screen.

AMOLED forever!

12

I can see the PWM on the J5 and many others, A5, A3, S3, etc.
It has been measured to be 240-250Hz in reviews, not that it matters that much, but well.

Now this is getting really weird how very few people can see it.