I wish there were laws that regulated lights. Light bulbs, car headlights, computer monitors, phone displays, or anything else that outputs light.
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Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up
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Yes, that is the way to go. I’m very happy with my XR. I would have wanted the telephoto camera, because I’m not a fan of wide angle photography, but that is only available on the OLED models. (And the iPhone 8 Plus of course). I’m very happy that Apple does offer a model with a flicker free LCD display that has almost everything the OLED models have though. I hope that will continue until the flicker issue is solved with OLED.
from what I've read this will be the last year for an LCD option, for 2020 the entire iPhone lineup will be OLED.
That is the rumor, but I very much hope it's false. Especially if the flicker issue isn't solved. I don't like OLED in any case since there are issues with degradation over time, but if it's flicker free it's at least an option for everyone. Also, it would suck if there's no flicker free option when Apple finally moves to USB-C. If next year is all OLED with flicker I'd have to buy the iPhone 11 of the largest capacity before it goes out of stock and hold on to it for as long as possible.
I can use the Note 10+ just fine. The Pixel 3XL OLED display has been one of the best for my eyes so far, even helping relieve my nearsightedness a bit, somehow. If I work at it, I can detect the flicker on these displays but they don’t jump out at me.
But put me in front of an iPhone XS or XS Max display long enough and I might land in the hospital with seizures.
Because the word out there is that Apple chose the same display tech for the IPhone Pro as Samsung makes for the Note 10 series and S10 series, I have hope that some of us will be able to use the new phones without problems. Unfortunately we have no way of knowing if Apple tweaked them to become problematic. Because even as early as the S8 and S9 series, I was able to use those OLED displays just fine but still could not use an iPhone X or XS.
I have a Pixel 2 with flicker that gives me serious eye strain but not seizures.
Whatever Apple did to customize the previous OLEDs to their standards was really detrimental for many migraine sufferers.
Since I can use a Note, I thought about taking a chance on the new Pro series but I don’t like the sizes of them. Little one is too cramped. Big one is too much to carry around given that I also carry a Note 10+. iPhone XR/11 is just right. And the price is right, too. Feature parity is excellent this year.
I went ahead and ordered the Pro. It’s smaller than I’d like but I want a crack at having all 3 lenses after all. If it gives me a headache I’ll send it back and get the regular 11 like I did last year. I am really curious now if I’ll be able to use it. Because I can use the Note 10+ without a problem. And the new iPhones are supposed to be using the same displays unaltered. If I end up with a migraine we will know they’re definitely messing with them somehow. 
Yeah I found I can’t tell by reading reports or even looking at them in the store. I’ve got to spend a few uninterrupted hours unless the display is really freaky. I actually did fine for about 3 days or thereabouts on my XS Max. And then my brain spasmed. I was sensitive to my S9+ display for over a month. I didn’t normally have trouble with that display. But once I was sensitized by the Max I had trouble with all kinds of flickering for awhile.
I sent a detailed account to Apple in one of their surveys. I know they’re aware this is going on so they’re being stupid if they didn’t fix this quietly.
I went ahead and ordered the Pro. It’s smaller than I’d like but I want a crack at having all 3 lenses after all. If it gives me a headache I’ll send it back and get the regular 11 like I did last year. I am really curious now if I’ll be able to use it. Because I can use the Note 10+ without a problem. And the new iPhones are supposed to be using the same displays unaltered. If I end up with a migraine we will know they’re definitely messing with them somehow.
please let us now how you do with the iphone 11 pro. I got the non pro in fears the pro would cause eye strain again but if you seem ok on the pro then I may give it a shot.
Will do. It may take a few days to know for sure. I can always see the flicker but that won’t mean I will have a problem even with eye strain.
Is there any debate that OLED iPhones use PWM technology for the display's backlight and it refreshes/flickers at a slow rate which causes headaches, eye strain, inability to look at the phone, and so on? The data, measurements, and testimony as proof exists.
I don't understand why someone would get an OLED iPhone, knowing this, just to see if they notice any symptoms or not. Why would you subject yourself to that even if you didn't notice anything?
I don't understand why someone would get an OLED iPhone, knowing this, just to see if they notice any symptoms or not. Why would you subject yourself to that even if you didn't notice anything?
I don’t know what formal studies exist. Everything I know of is anecdotal. What triggers some of us doesn’t trigger all of us. It’s a lot of personal trial and error to discover what each person can tolerate and we report back.
I can use most other OLED displays fine. I own a number of Android phones with OLED displays.
I didn’t know I would be sensitive to the Apple OLED display until I got it last year. I had an iPhone X the previous year that gave me eye strain and I thought that was a fluke. So I tried again last year and ended up with worse symptoms faster.
I’m taking a chance on this year’s OLED model because I saw it reported in different articles that this year, Apple is using the same display technology as the Note 10+ and S10 and Apple decreed these displays sufficient to their standards so that they’re not altering them. So, because I’ve been using the Note 10+ and previously an S10+ with no issues, I figure it’s a calculated risk that works in my favor.
Nobody really knows for sure what Apple does, though, so the only way to find out is to buy one and use it. It’s no skin off my nose if it doesn’t work out. I’ll return it and send Apple another blistering commentary explaining why I can’t use their expensive new phone. They will dismiss me as part of the inconsequential few mutants who can’t use their glorious product and everyone will move on. I’ll get an iPhone 11 to keep me on iOS.
Yes, I could get sick but if I do, that’s the week I don’t have much scheduled. Usually the worst of it passes in a day.
Thank you, it'd be really helpful to hear your experience with the supposed "new OLED" screen. It's a slim chance, but *maybe* Apple did something different with the PWM implementation this time.
I’m thinking about trying the 11 Pro to see if it will work for me. I can watch TV’s all day with PWM and have zero issues with it. So I don’t know why smartphones seem to be a problem for me.
To GrumpyMom, buddyspencer and anyone else who has been sensitive to the previous Apple OLED phones and are going to test the new iPhone 11 Pro’s to see if Apple has made “de-sensitizing” adjustments to their OLED implementation...
THANK YOU!
I am eager to hear how it works out and I truly hope it’s a positive experience!
I have been considering an iPhone 11 (non-pro), but the thought of a lower resolution screen compared to my 8+ is a bit disappointing (and, objectively, the 8+ is a great phone and doesn’t truly warrant replacing from a practical standpoint). However, I would very seriously consider an 11 pro if I knew I wouldn’t get headaches.
As a long-time Apple fan, it troubles me to think that Apple may be going to an all-OLED iPhone lineup next year (per the current rumors) that I will be unable to use. That is another reason I am considering the iPhone 11 (non-pro)...to get the last LCD iPhone and milk it for as long as I can.
My bigger concern is Apple eventually moving to OLED iPads. My iPad is my second brain and I manage many aspects of my life with it. Having to transition to another ecosystem in the future because of Apple’s OLED screens would be a real bummer.
During the keynote I recall watching the trailer for “See” and humorously thinking to myself that it was an Apple documentary showing us the future a few years after the release of their OLED iPhones.
THANK YOU!
I am eager to hear how it works out and I truly hope it’s a positive experience!
I have been considering an iPhone 11 (non-pro), but the thought of a lower resolution screen compared to my 8+ is a bit disappointing (and, objectively, the 8+ is a great phone and doesn’t truly warrant replacing from a practical standpoint). However, I would very seriously consider an 11 pro if I knew I wouldn’t get headaches.
As a long-time Apple fan, it troubles me to think that Apple may be going to an all-OLED iPhone lineup next year (per the current rumors) that I will be unable to use. That is another reason I am considering the iPhone 11 (non-pro)...to get the last LCD iPhone and milk it for as long as I can.
My bigger concern is Apple eventually moving to OLED iPads. My iPad is my second brain and I manage many aspects of my life with it. Having to transition to another ecosystem in the future because of Apple’s OLED screens would be a real bummer.
During the keynote I recall watching the trailer for “See” and humorously thinking to myself that it was an Apple documentary showing us the future a few years after the release of their OLED iPhones.
Ironically, what if their move to an all-OLED lineup is the thing that gets them to take PWM seriously? I could see them not worrying about PWM right now because they offer a LCD phone. Maybe in the future, when their entire lineup is OLED, they’ll be forced to offer some kind of solution (Increased Hz, DC Dimming, alternative brightness control, etc) or lose us all as iPhone customers since there would be no LCD alternative.
In the meantime, thanks to you guys who are testing the new phones for us
This is right. It will be very interesting to see whether Apple has adjusted the PWM implementation. As you say, it can be done with less impact. It's a little funny that notebookcheck.com is the only place that tests that as part of the display review process.
No, if you cruise through a bunch of high-end phone reviews at nbc.com you'll find a lot of different implementations, some at much higher frequencies (which tend to be much less troublesome).
?
Can you provide some examples?
https://www.notebookcheck.net/PWM-Ranking-Notebooks-Smartphones-and-Tablets-with-PWM.163979.0.html
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If you go to that list, then sort by smartphone, you can see the entire range of different implementations. I attached a pic with some samples. iPhones have a Hz rate of ~240 btw.
There could also potentially be other factors besides Hz, because some people have no problem with other PWM phones that have the same Hz rate as the iPhone (Like the Galaxy line, Pixel, etc).
Attachments
Yes, I am aware. My point is that the OLED phones do not have high refresh rates. There is one odd phone with a ~500 Hz frequency (which I wouldn't consider high, regardless), but even that is probably a miscalculation or an oddity. The others are in the 300-range at the most. The problem, of course, gets better with the higher frequency, but I wouldn't expect the issue to go away for most of us until we hit frequencies of close to 4 digits.
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