The Galaxy S26 Ultra has a major display flaw that cheap Android phones solved years ago

With the launch of the Galaxy S26 series, Samsung has grabbed headlines thanks to its new Privacy Display technology on the S26 Ultra. While it’s an interesting innovation, it also highlights areas where the company continues to lag behind.

Samsung’s integrated hardware in the S26 Ultra’s display adjusts pixel viewing angles for extra privacy. Yet it still hasn’t adopted basic display and software changes that could improve the experience for users who are sensitive to display flickering. Considering the impact on usability, this is a major letdown.

PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) dimming is a method to control display brightness by rapidly switching LEDs on and off. This differs from DC dimming, which controls brightness by controlling the current delivered to each LED.

While the rapid on-off cycling of PWM dimming isn’t consciously perceptible, lower frequencies have been associated with discomfort, including eyestrain, headaches, and nausea. This is due to the flickering it causes, especially at lower brightness levels, which can affect people with PWM sensitivity. While you may not consciously perceive this flickering, your eyes and nerves may still detect it.

This discomfort is most apparent at lower PWM frequencies, which is why high-frequency PWM dimming is important to many people. When high-frequency PWM dimming is unavailable, users can switch to DC-like dimming or use accessibility features to reduce flicker.

Samsung could’ve adopted a few approaches to improve the usability of its devices for those sensitive to flicker. The best way to address this would have been to increase its PWM frequency to above 1,000Hz, as this is associated with fewer negative effects. This wouldn’t even be costly or unprecedented.

Smartphone makers like HONOR and OPPO have established high-frequency PWM dimming across many devices. Even the HONOR X9d, a budget Android smartphone, features a PWM dimming rate of 3,840Hz. Last year’s OnePlus 13R has a higher PWM dimming rate (2,160Hz) despite being significantly cheaper than the Galaxy S26.

Yet the S26 series remains at a low 480Hz PWM rate, as confirmed by company representatives. It could be worse; the standard Pixel 10 runs at 240Hz. Samsung’s dimming frequency is also in line with devices like the iPhone 17 and Pixel 10 Pro. But just because it’s not the worst out there, it doesn’t mean the company shouldn’t improve it.

Samsung could have also chosen to use DC-like dimming (also known as hybrid DC dimming) or at least introduced a software feature to reduce flickering. For example, the Xiaomi 15 uses DC dimming over low-frequency PWM dimming. Meanwhile, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra uses a combination of DC dimming and 1,920Hz PWM dimming. The newer Xiaomi 17 Ultra includes DC dimming and is also TÜV Rheinland Flicker Free Certified.

But many brands also include software features to reduce flicker. The Realme GT 7 Pro lets you enable an anti-flicker mode to reduce eye strain. The OnePlus 13 also allows you to toggle DC dimming on if you’re sensitive to flickering. Meanwhile, the Pixel 10 Pro lets you boost the phone’s PWM dimming rate, though only from 240Hz to 480Hz.

This isn’t, by any means, an exhaustive list of smartphones that offer high-frequency PWM dimming, DC-like dimming, or software features to combat flickering. Yet it shows that Samsung could have — and should have — taken any of these approaches and still didn’t.

You might argue that PWM sensitivity affects only a minority of people, and therefore, flicker reduction is a niche concern. But giving people options that increase accessibility is a goal worth pursuing.

Something that makes flicker-reduction options essential is how it compounds the problems faced by people who are also sensitive to bright screens. Flicker becomes more apparent at lower brightness levels with PWM dimming because the duty cycle (the percentage of time the LED is on) is reduced.

As someone who lives with chronic migraines, this means that most of my devices are below 50% brightness most of the time due to photophobia (sensitivity to light). This makes high-frequency PWM dimming (or DC-like dimming) essential, since flicker worsens migraine pain and can trigger attacks.

There are already so many steps I take to prevent my smartphone from giving me migraines. But there’s only so much you can do when the hardware and software don’t give you the features you need. Your smartphone is often the screen you spend the most time on. To have a screen that can exacerbate existing sensitivity is a huge letdown.

I’d also argue that PWM sensitivity affects more people than we realize. Even though I was diagnosed with chronic migraines in 2021, I didn’t realize the effect flickering could have on me until much later. However, I noticed that when I used my HONOR 400 Pro during migraine attacks, I experienced less nausea and sensitivity than with devices with lower PWM rates. But I only made the PWM connection much later.

There are also plenty of people who may attribute their eye strain and headaches to screen time or blue light, rather than flickering specifically.

Photophobia affects the vast majority of people with migraines. Meanwhile, migraines affect over 1 billion people globally. But this isn’t the only condition that causes photophobia and sensitivity to flickering. I would say that something that affects a significant proportion of the global population isn’t a niche concern.

The least companies could do is make it easier to find information about the dimming rates and eye-care features for their smartphones. This would help consumers make more informed choices when buying the latest Android smartphone. Right now, though, there isn’t much consistency, and the surfacing of these display features and specs depends on what the company shares.

Accessibility benefits everyone. While Samsung isn’t the only brand guilty of low PWM dimming rates, as the world’s biggest Android smartphone company, I want it to hold itself to a higher standard. The Privacy Display is a neat feature, but it feels gimmicky when the display on its latest devices lacks these accessibility features.