If you’ve ever experienced headaches or eye strains after using your smartphone, then you’ve suffered from DES (Digital Eye Strain). This affects almost every smartphone user out there. But Oppo deals with this issue on the Find X8 series thanks to the high frequency PWM dimming display technology. So here’s how it works.

Oppo Find X8 series: How does PWM Dimming help?

Just a couple of weeks ago, Oppo introduced the Find X8 series in the Indian market. This global release arrived after the Find X8 and Find X8 Pro debuted in China. On the front, the X8 Pro feature a display with 2,160Hz PWM dimming technology, while the standard model supports 3840Hz PWM dimming from Tianma, both of which minimizes flicker even at low brightness levels. In other words, this helps reduce eye strain that can help lower headaches as well.

The Chinese brand brings this technology to offer a more comfortable viewing experience to sensitive users like children and pregnant women. It also pairs this with two other technologies, namely Adaptive color temperature and TÜV Rheinland Eye Comfort 4.0 certification. The former basically adjusts the screen’s color to match the ambient lighting to prevent harsh contrasts and reduce eye fatigue.

On the other hand, the TÜV Rheinland certification basically means that the device went through strict standards of testing for blue light reduction and flicker minimization. Oppo claims that using devices with high frequency PWM dimming can help mitigate the risks of DES and offer a more comfortable viewing experience.

Peter Dohyung Lee, Head of Product Strategy at OPPO, said, “Here at OPPO, our vision is that technology should benefit mankind. We know it’s a long journey with constant fine-tuning. By integrating advanced features like high-frequency PWM dimming at 2160Hz in the OPPO Find X8 Series, we are improving performance, enhancing user well-being, reducing eye strain, and making the digital experience more comfortable.”

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In a recent development, Li Xiaolong, the CTO of Huawei’s Consumer BG, shared a video that challenges the perceived benefits of PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) dimming at frequencies higher than 1440Hz for eye protection. The video highlights a testing process indicating that the actual harm caused by high-frequency PWM dimming on OLED screens may not be directly linked to the advertised “maximum dimming frequency.” Li Xiaolong suggests that the benefits of PWM dimming at a frequency of 1440Hz for eye protection are minimal.

Li Xiaolong Questions Benefits Beyond 1440Hz

Responding to these claims, Honor, a subsidiary of Huawei, has presented its viewpoint on the matter. Honor believes that the impact of PWM dimming frequency on eye protection is influenced not only by the frequency itself but also by factors such as fluctuation depth and duty cycle. They argue that even with high frequencies, if the fluctuation depth is significant, flickering can still affect the eyes.

Honor recently launched the Honor 90 series with a 3840Hz zero-risk dimming eye protection screen. They claim that when the PWM dimming frequency is high enough, it allows users to disregard the influence of fluctuation depth and eliminates the risk of screen flickering. Honor conducted extensive tests to support their position. They found discrepancies between their own test results and online test results, suggesting that testing equipment and accuracy significantly affect the outcome. Honor also mentioned that existing methods, such as the Stroboscopic Effect Visibility Measure (SVM), may not accurately quantify flickering on mobile phones.

The discussion surrounding the 3840Hz ultra-high-frequency PWM dimming technology of the Honor 90 series highlights the growing emphasis users place on the eye protection experience provided by electronic products. Honor reiterates its commitment to continuous exploration and breakthroughs in eye protection technology, emphasizing their investment in research and their dedication to achieving healthy displays.

While both Huawei and Honor present their perspectives on the impact of PWM dimming frequencies beyond 1440Hz on eye protection, it is challenging to determine who holds the more reasonable stance. Independent research and evaluations could provide further insights into this matter.

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• Best Nintendo Switch Games in 2023

(Via)

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Earlier this week, ASUS unveiled a new monitor under its ROG line of gaming peripherals. The ROG Swift PG349Q is an ultra-wide monitor with non-PWM dimming.

Measuring 34-inches and with a 3440 x 1440 QHD resolution, the ROG Swift PG349Q has a 120Hz refresh rate and supports NVIDIA’s G-sync technology. The display also has a 1900R curvature and a viewing angle of 178°.

The monitor has a 330 cd/m² brightness, a 4ms response time and 1000:1 static contrast. It also uses a non-PWM method to provide flicker-free brightness adjustment of the LED panel.

• RELATED: What is PWM and DC Dimming? Know More From Here!

The PG349Q has a stand shaped like a triple-blade fan with copper-colored accents. The back of the display has the famous ROG logo which has RGB LEDs built in. The lights can be customized by the Aura Sync RGB software. There is also an LED under the neck of the monitor. The back is where you have the power and control buttons for the monitor.

The ROG Swift PG349Q has TUV Rheinland-certified ASUS Ultra-low Blue Light filters (up to four) to protect your eyes from harmful blue light and reduce eye strain from long gaming sessions.

READ MORE: Purported ASUS ZenFone 6Z AnTuTu listing reveals 363K+ score and keys specifications

ASUS hasn’t revealed details about pricing and availability yet. However, we don’t expect it to be cheap as the PG348Q launched for $999.

(Via: 1, 2)

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OLED panels have a lot of advantages. They have better color accuracy and contrasts (including better blacks) and are thinner and brighter than traditional LCD panels. So, it’s no surprise that smartphone manufacturers are shifting to OLED panels for their smartphones. Even the mid-range ones (like Mi 9 SE / Galaxy J6 Plus) have started getting this relatively expensive display panels. But there’s one disadvantage associated with OLED displays and it pertains to the way the panel handles low levels of brightness.

Most OLED panels use a technique called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) for dimming its brightness. This is different from DC dimming, which has been used by LCD panels to control its brightness levels. Most users won’t be able to differentiate between PWM dimming vs DC dimming, however, there’s a very small section of the population who are affected by the former technique. As OLEDs trickle down to mid-rangers and sometimes even budget smartphones, its user base is growing quickly. With a significant increase in AMOLED consumption in the past few years, you would often end up seeing comments like this on the internet.

In order to understand DC dimming, we need to first learn about PWM dimming and how it can make some users uncomfortable.

How does PWM Dimming work?

PWM stands for Pulse Width Modulation. As the name suggests, in this technique, you vary the width of the light pulse to control the brightness of the display panel. Simply put, you play with the amount of time the screen stays on or off. When you lower the brightness, the screen stays off longer than it stays on, which is perceived as lower brightness.

After reading that, you must be wondering — Wait a second, the screen goes off when the brightness is low? I have never noticed that!

That’s because the frequency of pulses is very high (usually over 200Hz), so the human eye won’t be able to notice individual pulses. Instead, the human eye averages out the amount of light from these pulses. So, it’s the ratio of the panel’s on and off state that decides the perceived brightness.

This following diagram shows how PWM dimming works.

At 100% brightness, you can see that the light is always on. When you lower the brightness to 50%, the panel alternates between on and off at equal intervals. However, when you further lower the brightness, the screen stays off for a longer time than it stays on. So, at extremely low levels of brightness, there’s a considerable flicker effect.

What’s so bad about PWM Dimming and its flickering?

Usually, even at low brightness levels, the average human eye won’t be able to see the flickering from PWM dimming. But that doesn’t mean it won’t affect you in any way. Some people are more sensitive to this flicker. And in these people, PWM dimming can lead to eye strain, headaches, and migraines if exposed for long periods of time. This is especially true when the ambient lighting is low.

What is DC Dimming?

DC dimming essentially controls the brightness by varying the power supplied to the circuit. Since Power = Voltage x Current, increasing or decreasing either of these inputs will vary the power supplied to the display panel, and thereby its brightness.

Sounds pretty simple right? So why aren’t manufacturers using DC dimming in your AMOLED smartphone?

Well, smartphone manufacturers have been using DC dimming on LCDs for years, but it was only recently that they started to add it on AMOLED smartphones. This is because DC dimming has a big drawback. At low levels of brightness, the colors often come out skewed on OLED panels. In OLED panels, a change in voltage could change the emitted colors. So, at lower levels of voltage, the perceived quality of the smartphone display could go down significantly.

So what is the solution?

Smartphone manufacturers have become increasingly aware of the possible health issues associated with PWM dimming. However, considering how only a selective group of people are actually affected by PWM flickering and the drawback associated with DC dimming on AMOLED panels, recent smartphone manufacturers are opting to provide it as an add on feature. OnePlus has already confirmed that it’s testing DC dimming on its smartphones. The feature could be added via a future update. In fact, Chinese smartphone companies seem to be all in for this feature. Xiaomi, Vivo, OPPO, and even Meizu have come forward and confirmed DC dimming on its existing or upcoming smartphones.

Despite the fact that PWM dimming can cause discomfort in some users, most people won’t feel the difference. So, it’s very important to know that your sensitivity to the flicker effect decides how it will affect you.

Therefore, if you are having an eye strain or headache from being hooked on your smartphone screen for far too long, don’t blame PWM dimming just yet. Try to build good smartphone habits, which includes setting your display brightness to comfortable levels (instead of at 100% at all times) and keeping a decent distance between you and your smartphone screen.

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