The Galaxy Z Fold 5's display made me want to curl up into a ball and die

[AC News]

Samsung's phones are quite literally painful for me to use these days, and it's all thanks to the company's flickering displays.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5's display made me want to curl up into a ball and die : Read more

 

[politebat2001]

How many people are afflicted by this 5% of the population? Why would Samsung change for a small % of the population. Just buy a different phone.

 

[mustang7757]

Ive had almost every Samsung made lol i haven't run into this issue.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

How many people are afflicted by this 5% of the population? Why would Samsung change for a small % of the population.

The actual number is higher, though I don't know the exact %. The 5% figure only accounts for people who have epileptic reaction (like the old Simpsons episode). There are also non-epileptic individuals with flicker sensitivity, as well as glaucoma patients.

 

[apatcas]

Really? Bringing this up right now feels like a smear campaign. I feel bad for the author, but specifically picking on Samsung when a new phone is announced feels like China is filling his pockets.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

How many people are afflicted by this 5% of the population? Why would Samsung change for a small % of the population. Just buy a different phone.

It's probably less than that to be honest, but if it's an easy fix they should fix it

 

[khaneric]

Thanks again for brining this issue to light Nick, as someone who suffers from this daily the more exposure the better.

And for everyone else saying this is a smear campaign or whatever, grow up. Just cause it doesn't affect you doesn't mean it doesn't affect people around you. Also while generally the number affected by PWM is low that can always change. My wife for years used to think i was crazy seeing the lines and stuff, until it just happened to her one day.

Secondly, if you notice the vast increase in people suffering from migraines, and new migraine drugs, it doesn't take a whole lot to connect the dots.

 

[MutableLambda]

My experience is that even people who "don't see it" actually experience other symptoms like dry eyes, eye fatigue. I really want it fixed, ideally not only in phones, but in LED lightbulbs / traffic lights / headlights / street lights as well. I don't have nausea or head spinning etc etc, but like after an hour of looking at PWM screen I feel like there's sand in my eyes. Typically it's because eye pupils are trying to adjust to ever changing brightness and eventually muscles get overexerted.

There are also reports of heart palpitations and even A-Fib because of PWM flickering.

 

[MagnumXL]

I quit reading after I read the author has astigmatism and that glasses solved his problem. In other words, it had nothing to do with PWM! It seems irresponsible to me to blame some company for an untreated eye condition as this article appears to be doing.

Maybe it's real for others, but maybe the are due for an eye doctor appointment too (people hate going to doctors when they think they're fine).

I've had astigmatism for ages and wear glasses around the -6.0 diopter range (severely nearsighted) and I've got a Samsung phone. I've never heard of or experienced such a thing. But then I've had proper corrective lenses for a long time. If anything bothers me, it's looking down too much (neck pain), but say that comes with the territory and why home computers are still preferable when available with an ergonomic workstation.

I do agree companies like Apple need to offer more customization. That traces back to Steve Jobs thinking his settings were best for everyone. Sadly, little has changed since then. A little warning that changing the setting may negatively impact battery life is all that's really needed.

 

[finbaar]

Three things from this article. Firstly Samsung does not "make the best phones" - WTF does that even mean? What is the best phone? Is there a best car? No, that is utter rubbish. Second, this is a genuine issue for some, stop denying it people. Thirdly, this article SHOULD have been entitled "Suffering from flickering screen syndrome? Then get your eyes checked". In the vast majority of cases it's your eyes tot their screen that's the problem.

 

[Stanley Kubrick]

My experience is that even people who "don't see it" actually experience other symptoms like dry eyes, eye fatigue. I really want it fixed, ideally not only in phones, but in LED lightbulbs / traffic lights / headlights / street lights as well. I don't have nausea or head spinning etc etc, but like after an hour of looking at PWM screen I feel like there's sand in my eyes. Typically it's because eye pupils are trying to adjust to ever changing brightness and eventually muscles get overexerted.

There are also reports of heart palpitations and even A-Fib because of PWM flickering.

I agree with the hatred for the "newer" type headlights on cars! They are terrible and blinding and glaring! The older type with the somewhat softer yellowish tint were just fine. These new blueish LED headlights suck and need to be destroyed!

 

[politebat2001]

Thanks again for brining this issue to light Nick, as someone who suffers from this daily the more exposure the better.

And for everyone else saying this is a smear campaign or whatever, grow up. Just cause it doesn't affect you doesn't mean it doesn't affect people around you. Also while generally the number affected by PWM is low that can always change. My wife for years used to think i was crazy seeing the lines and stuff, until it just happened to her one day.

Secondly, if you notice the vast increase in people suffering from migraines, and new migraine drugs, it doesn't take a whole lot to connect the dots.

yeah, just get a different phone. Some video games make people sick, do they stop making video games? Some people get car sick, should we stop making cars? How about boats and motion sickness? I hope they come up with some solution for you guys but it's not a Samsung problem. My cousin can't have peanuts, should I file a complaint with Jif?

 

[Mr. Lucky]

It's just a matter of time before Section 508 is expanded to the private sector. Companies should get with the program now, before it is a requirement.

 

[AndroidFanboy8]

Me neither!

 

[mustang7757]

[Hi everyone, let's keep the post respectable here , I did a clean up in the thread ]

 

[Laura Knotek]

I quit reading after I read the author has astigmatism and that glasses solved his problem. In other words, it had nothing to do with PWM! It seems irresponsible to me to blame some company for an untreated eye condition as this article appears to be doing.

Maybe it's real for others, but maybe the are due for an eye doctor appointment too (people hate going to doctors when they think they're fine).

I've had astigmatism for ages and wear glasses around the -6.0 diopter range (severely nearsighted) and I've got a Samsung phone. I've never heard of or experienced such a thing. But then I've had proper corrective lenses for a long time. If anything bothers me, it's looking down too much (neck pain), but say that comes with the territory and why home computers are still preferable when available with an ergonomic workstation.

I do agree companies like Apple need to offer more customization. That traces back to Steve Jobs thinking his settings were best for everyone. Sadly, little has changed since then. A little warning that changing the setting may negatively impact battery life is all that's really needed.

I feel the same as you. I've worn spectacles since grade one and have -10 diopter correction plus astigmatism. I'm typing this now on a Samsung phone with a small font.

 

[parksanim]

More Samsung hate from Android central. Makes you wonder who is buttering their bread?

 

[thelungmeister1138]

I've been in the tech industry for 25 years... I've never heard of this, and I've worked in IT at some very large companies....
"Curl up in a ball and die?"... Dramatic much?

 

[mr.stealth]

If your astigmatism correcting lenses fix the flicker problem for you, then the problem was never the flickering. It was your eyes/astigmatism. Your glasses cannot block the flickering from reaching your eyes. It's possible that any glare/blue light/etc filters on them might be helping reduce eye strain. But your problems are definitely not related to PWM flicker if glasses can fix it.

I'm definitely sensitive to light flicker-induced strain/headaches. I can see the 120hz flickering backlights that every current LG LCD TV uses. Magnetic ballast fluorescent lights and CRT displays will quickly cause headaches for me. I've seen AMOLED screens that have a visible flicker to me at low brightness. My Fold4 and at least 2 other phones I've owned with similar PWM frequencies have not been a problem for me.

That's not to say that others aren't more sensitive to it. But the potential link with astigmatism should be an indicator that something other than flicker is the problem for some of these people. Perhaps something with the funky light refractions of astigmatism interacting with subpixel layouts or how these displays implement dithering. I would also be curious to know if these same people had issues with CRT displays that we know for sure had 60-120hz flickering, or with 60hz florescent lighting.

Also worth noting that I suffer from keratoconus (in addition to normal astigmatism), which is effectively an irregular/inconsistent astigmatism across the cornea surface. It is not correctable with glasses, which are all I'm able to wear. So I live with astigmatism distortions 100% of the time.