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iPad Am I the only one with eye issues on iPad Pro M4
- Thread starter usmaak
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Don't talk about technical things on a technical forum. Got it.
Very good advice. Environment, stress, and limbic system impairment are some of the factors. Folks who are exposed to mold or have different levels of Lyme have PWM sensitivity issues.
Does it happen in all the lighting conditions? Is it better at different locations? A medical provider can probably give better insights.
All I asked, if you look at my initial post, is if I was the only one with eye strain. Notice that this is not in any way asking for medical advice. I was just trying to get a feel for the number of people that might be having issues.
I doubt a medical provider can give me better insights about how many people are having an issue with these screens.
It's not uncommon with OLED; why so defensive about medical advice, it isn't out of spite, but something that may help your situation. The way devices are moving to OLED, I would personally get a handle on the root cause of the issue if it bothered me. My neighbor got Lyme, and he couldn't use any OLED without strain; he just avoided anything OLED. Medical Providers may or may not help you, but worth a try. Some may do well with the iPhone 15 and have problems with the Samsung S23 or the other way around. Some folks may do well with iPad Pro and not other devices. Too many factors specific to individual situation.
It's not a question of being defensive, it's just that it doesn't make sense in the context of this thread. My question was simple and not something that one would ask a doctor. I wasn't asking for reasons, just trying to get a feel for prevalence of the issue.
Actually, I did this past year.
Because of a new device’s screen, I started to have watered red sore eyes, so I went to the ophthalmologist. After a thorough revision, she told me my eyes were healthy, no infection, the retina was okay… then I explained her I usually have my eyes sore or strained when using OLED screens (I even explained her the technical differences between such technologies), and she told me, quite frankly, that the effects screens are having in our eyes are barely studied, and we will only start seeing the consequences of the new LED and other modern light sources in 10 years or so. And when eye-health problems (if there are) start arising in higher numbers, more focus will be put on the effects of the screens on our eyes… I foresee a lot of cataracts and early retina damage, but I’m not a doctor. But even doctors seem clueless about this phenomena.
My ophthalmologist advice? Trial and error, try the new device and if it hurts or bothers, return it and get a different one, until you get a screen/model that doesn’t cause any discomfort.
These panels are literally some of the best on the market regardless of product. Read or watch the companies that actual test these panels and you might be surprised, so if these are “cheap” panels then every other OLED on the market is trash.
If you want very specific answer, put it as a poll. It’s a public forum and every one has an opinion on the issue. Polls can be helpful, if a wider discussion bothers you.
I’ve had the 13” M4 for ~two weeks and have had no problems. I use it a lot, at least eight hours a day. I really like the way movies and photos look. I sometimes find myself just staring at some of the backgrounds because I notice details I hadn’t seen before.
Sorry you are having an issue.
Sorry you are having an issue.
I didn't mean Apple using cheap quality product. I mean at the most cost effective rate technically possible.
Of course the iPad Pro display is the best in the world as of now, even better than $20000 Flanders Scientific reference display as mentioned by linus.
Burn in also seems to be not an issue as seen in Jerry rig video of literally burning the display with lighter.
Only remaining issue is the use of PWM for controlling brightness which affects small group of people and hence can be ignored otherwise they would have found some solution to not cause issues related to PWM.
It’s the OLED tech that’s the issue, not the silicon compute chip. For people affected by PWM there is no OLED solution
If it is that, it might be fixed/improved on future software updates.
This is the first OLED screen that I've had a problem with. I've read on here of people who are sensitive that do well with screens that have a higher frequency. By my statement, I meant that with the next iteration of the iPad, whatever they call it, perhaps the screen will not flicker at a rate that bothers me. I understand that this is not an issue with the processor.
I have intermittent issues with new screen tech. The M3 MacBook Pro's display was making my eyes uncomfortable for a while. Eventually I realized that we are adaptive creatures and that over time, we adjust to these things. So I just kept using the device and as expected the discomfort essentially went away. And to be honest, part of the issue was my anxiety about the fact that there could be an issue.
We get used to things. If you really want to use this iPad, you might want to try picking another one up and giving it a solid week or two.
We get used to things. If you really want to use this iPad, you might want to try picking another one up and giving it a solid week or two.
Ok, got it😊👍🏼 and it’s a bummer you are bothered by these screens. I myself have a vague issue with the iPad mini, as I don’t like too look at it for longer periods. No headache or something like that, just… uncomfortable. Weird 🤷🏻♂️
FWIW - my eyes had to adjust to both the LG 27" display and Apple's 27" Studio Display. Both times, I was excited, then crestfallen, then it worked itself out over time...like my brain just needed a bit of time to adjust (like getting into a new car and re-learning steering ratios, corners of vehicle, etc).
Come to think of it, it happened with recent large screen TVs as well - I was hypersensitive to the transition from plasma to LED...until I wasn't.
Come to think of it, it happened with recent large screen TVs as well - I was hypersensitive to the transition from plasma to LED...until I wasn't.
Yes that's not how it works and nobody has time to do a burn in test for every device launched (may be someone will do for these tandem oled), but all oled display tested by him showed permanant damage but no affect on these tandem oled displays.
So which display you will choose (ignoring the relevance of these test done by youtubers) Those which shows permanent damage within 5 second or no damage at all?
Same goes with the bend test. No one will choose the device of build quality like that of iPhone 6 if they have the option to choose same device having build quality of an iphone 14/15.
So, in a word. YES.
I came from a 12.9” IPad Pro 2018 model.. has been my daily driver for many things for ~ 5 years? I bought it refurb from apple sometime during the pandemic. Use it with a Folio Keyboard, probably 6-8 hours a day.
Have no problems with that.
I’ve had this 2024 IPad Pro M4 13” for two weeks now and yes, I have eye pain when using it even for relatively short periods of time. At first, I didn’t really know what it was, I’d been using it for 4-5 days, but going to bed at night my eyes were just sore. Like burning in pain sore. I thought I had just worse dry eyes, etc.
then I though about the new ipad, and did some research and up comes the issues with PWM as a possibility. So, I went BACK to my 2018 for a week. And overall the problems went away.
I put in the return order - which extends it out another 14 days and just yesterday I decided to go back to the 2024 M4 IPP for a few hours - and without even thinking about it - since I was thinking about how nice it scrolls and how snappy it is, etc. - I noticed the eye pain and had to remind myself - oh, yeah this is the 2024 M4.
Which is now DEFINITELY going back I’m sad to say.
So in a word, YES for some people I guess it can be a burden. I wish there was a way to adjust it, other than say just doing MAX brightness all the time. 1) I don’t LIKE max brightness and 2) it’s a waste of battery when unneeded.
Hopefully, in the future there will be a fix or apple will max some adjustments to the screen refresh rate to make it easier on the eyes.
I came from a 12.9” IPad Pro 2018 model.. has been my daily driver for many things for ~ 5 years? I bought it refurb from apple sometime during the pandemic. Use it with a Folio Keyboard, probably 6-8 hours a day.
Have no problems with that.
I’ve had this 2024 IPad Pro M4 13” for two weeks now and yes, I have eye pain when using it even for relatively short periods of time. At first, I didn’t really know what it was, I’d been using it for 4-5 days, but going to bed at night my eyes were just sore. Like burning in pain sore. I thought I had just worse dry eyes, etc.
then I though about the new ipad, and did some research and up comes the issues with PWM as a possibility. So, I went BACK to my 2018 for a week. And overall the problems went away.
I put in the return order - which extends it out another 14 days and just yesterday I decided to go back to the 2024 M4 IPP for a few hours - and without even thinking about it - since I was thinking about how nice it scrolls and how snappy it is, etc. - I noticed the eye pain and had to remind myself - oh, yeah this is the 2024 M4.
Which is now DEFINITELY going back I’m sad to say.
So in a word, YES for some people I guess it can be a burden. I wish there was a way to adjust it, other than say just doing MAX brightness all the time. 1) I don’t LIKE max brightness and 2) it’s a waste of battery when unneeded.
Hopefully, in the future there will be a fix or apple will max some adjustments to the screen refresh rate to make it easier on the eyes.
The Apple Studio Display doesn’t have PWM flickering. So it is very strange your eyes were hurting with it?
There are other reasons for the discomfort outside of PWM though. There's also temporal dithering, pixel response times, contrast level, etc.