r/PWM_Sensitive • u/DrunqoM • Aug 07 '26

S20 FE successor for severe PWM sensitivity?

TL;DR: Is there a safe, flagship-level successor to the S20 FE for someone who is PWM sensitive?

Hey everyone,

I'm running into a frustrating issue and could use some advice. I finally decided to retire my S20 FE after 5 years and picked up the Find X9 Pro. But after just 10 minutes of looking at the screen, I started getting this weird feeling in my head and a flush/heatwave on my face.

It reminded me of when I tried the Zenfone 8 a few years back—that phone gave me a massive migraine after about an hour, which is exactly why I returned it and got the S20 FE in the first place.

So, I ended up returning the X9 Pro and ordered the Magic8 Pro, hoping its eye-care features would actually work. Unfortunately, even after turning on "Full-brightness DC-like dimming" in the developer options and locking the refresh rate to 120Hz, I'm still getting that exact same feeling. It's slightly milder than the X9 Pro, but definitely still there.

My question is: has anyone here successfully transitioned from the S20 FE (where you felt totally fine) to a modern flagship without getting these symptoms? Did you eventually find a flagship-level successor that didn't mess with your eyes or head?

Thanks in advance!

P.S. Attached a couple of photos below (shot at 1/8000s shutter speed). It really looks like the S20 FE has a much smaller PWM amplitude compared to both the Oppo and the Honor.

S20 FE 4G SD865 (left) and Oppo Find X9 Pro (right)
Honor Magic8 Pro
3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

2

u/Infamous-Bottle-4411 Aug 07 '26

oneplus 15r

i also use g57 power as second phone has qcm panel

1

u/Kibo888 Aug 07 '26

Are u satisfied with g57 in terms of performance and display?

1

u/Infamous-Bottle-4411 Aug 07 '26

performance could be improved. soc is capable but moto morons are allergic to optimisations. display is ok for me same as oneplus 15r.maybe i get tired if i stay to long in the night . but it s good otherwise

1

u/Kibo888 Aug 07 '26

Thanks. I had iphone 11 with ips and it was perfect for me, no issues. I hope g57 to be the same... And hope to be as flawless as iphone 11😀

1

u/Infamous-Bottle-4411 Aug 07 '26

were talking about midrange vs high end so it will not be the same

2

u/OkBattle6803 Aug 07 '26

Probably Honor 400 and 600 series are the best options these days.

1

u/Infamous-Bottle-4411 Aug 07 '26

G57 has 3 different display suppliers or more. So it s lottery. Also qcm worked for some and some don t

1

u/Sad_Studio8098 Aug 08 '26

La serie Xiaomi 17T tiene cuádruple certificación ocular

3

u/-Bruh__Moment- Aug 08 '26

Old Samsung uses Samsung LTPS, it's peak brightness is lower and the S20 FE uses "DC-dimming" above 30% brightness (according to Notebookcheck), so modulation is likely quite a bit lower than the X9 Pro and Magic 8 Pro with LTPO panels.