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PWM Ranking - The Best Displays for the Eyes

Typical PWM graph of the luminance, in this case from the HP EliteBook 840 G3 at 200 Hz
Typical PWM graph of the luminance, in this case from the HP EliteBook 840 G3 at 200 Hz

PWM is short for pulse-width modulation and describes a flickering of the background illumination to reduce the luminance. Sensitive users may see this flickering below a certain frequency and get tired eyes or headaches. These problems might not even be obvious. More than 500 Hz are generally not an issue, but there seem to be many users with problems below 250 Hz. Beware, there are even reports from readers that suffer from frequencies above 10k Hz. These users should look at the individual reviews and look out for completly flat lines in our measurements as small brightness changes may lead to sore eyes, headache ... for them.

We use the following table to show the measured frequency of the flickering. Some devices do not use PWM at all, but still showed a measurable brightness flickering during our review (e. g. poor shielding of the power adapter). Those devices are listed here as well. Devices listed with a "0" did not show big brightness fluctuations in our measurements. A detailed analysis and a screenshot of the measurement is available in the linked review.

Show Restrictions
PosModelScreen ResolutionScreen TypeResponse Times PWM Frequency ↓
OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G2412x1080IPS
0
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G2400x1080IPS
0
OnePlus Nord N10 5G2400x1080IPS LCD
0
OnePlus Nord N1001600x720IPS
0
OnePlus 8T
OnePlus 8T Smartphone Review – Faster charging for less money
OnePlus 9 vs. OnePlus 8T smartphone camera comparison: Is Hasselblad the winner or is it OIS?		2400x1080AMOLED
458.7
OnePlus 82400x1080AMOLED
373.1
OnePlus Nord CE 5G (Nord Core Edition)2400x1080AMOLED
373.1
OnePlus Nord2440x1080AMOLED
367.6
OnePlus Nord 31240x2772AMOLED
366.58
OnePlus 11 5G3216x1440AMOLED with LTPO3
361.61
OnePlus 10T2412x1080Fluid AMOLED
360.8
OnePlus 7T2400x1080AMOLED
357
OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G2400x1080OLED
354.6
OnePlus 10 Pro
OnePlus 10 Pro Review - Successful Flagship Smartphone with Questionable Adjustments
Camera test - 4 years of smartphone development with a result that raises many doubts		3216x1440AMOLED
342.5
OnePlus 9
OnePlus 9 smartphone review: Strong OnePlus phone without major progress
Xiaomi Mi 11 vs. OnePlus 9 smartphone camera comparison: Disappointments on both sides
OnePlus 9 vs. OnePlus 8T smartphone camera comparison: Is Hasselblad the winner or is it OIS?		2400x1080AMOLED
323.6
OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition3120x1440AMOLED
294.1
OnePlus 7T Pro
OnePlus 7T Pro Smartphone Review – the fastest charger
Camera comparison OnePlus 8 Pro vs. 7T Pro: Test results completely different than expected		3120x1440AMOLED
294
OnePlus 8 Pro
OnePlus 8 Pro Smartphone Review: Now also charges wirelessly
Camera comparison OnePlus 8 Pro vs. 7T Pro: Test results completely different than expected
Camera Test: Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra vs Huawei P40 Pro vs OnePlus 8 Pro vs Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro – low-light fiasco for Samsung
Camera comparison OnePlus 9 Pro vs. OnePlus 8 Pro as blind test - Progress at first glance?		3168x1440AMOLED
258
OnePlus 51920x1080AMOLED
250
PosModelScreen ResolutionScreen TypeResponse Times PWM Frequency ↓
OnePlus 3T1920x1080Optic-AMOLED
244
OnePlus 3
OnePlus 3 Smartphone First Impressions
OnePlus 3 Smartphone Review		1920x1080Optic-AMOLED
243.9
OnePlus 5T2160x1080AMOLED
242.7
OnePlus 6T2340x1080Optic AMOLED
240
OnePlus X1920x1080Active Matrix OLED
237
OnePlus 62280x1080Optic AMOLED
236
OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition2340x1080AMOLED
227.3
OnePlus 72340x1080AMOLED
200
OnePlus Nord 2T2400x1080AMOLED
193.1
OnePlus 9 Pro
OnePlus 9 Pro smartphone review: High-end phone charges twice as fast
Camera comparison OnePlus 9 Pro vs. OnePlus 8 Pro as blind test - Progress at first glance?
Camera test - 4 years of smartphone development with a result that raises many doubts		3216x1440AMOLED
192.3
OnePlus 7 Pro3120x1440AMOLED
122
OnePlus Watch 2466x466AMOLED
121
OnePlus Nord 2 5G2400x1080AMOLED
119.6
OnePlus Pad2800x2000IPS
60.01
(-) * Smaller values are better. / n123 Number of benchmarks for this median value

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Benchmarks / Tech > PWM Ranking - Notebooks, Smartphones, and Tablets with PWM
Redaktion, 2016-04-19 (Update: 2019-07- 8)