Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[MICHAELSD]

Update: I was able to reserve an iPhone 13 Pro for launch day pickup.

I went back and forth on getting the Max but for some reason the standard Pro was more appealing this year coming from my iPhone SE. It also has the same camera system which I’m grateful of Apple for keeping consistent between both Pro models.

The only issue I foresee is that they switched back to in-store trade-ins so that may complicate it a bit since I’ll obviously want to hold on to my iPhone SE until I’m sure I’ll be able to continue using iPhone 13 Pro. I’d get it shipped but my friend is on the Apple Upgrade Program and prefers to pick it up in the store on launch day.

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

Pre ordered the 13 Pro so We’ll see. This time, I am avoiding the forums, tech news, and YouTube releases until I’ve tried it for myself. Every year I go in defeated over something I’ve read. This time I want to be 100% sure that if I have issues, it’s truly the phone and not some self fulfilling prophecy I established in my mind. Best wishes to everyone.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Pro ordered the 13 Pro so We’ll see. This time, I am avoiding the forums, tech news, and YouTube releases until I’ve tried it for myself. Every year I go in defeated over something I’ve read. This time I want to be 100% sure that if I have issues, it’s truly the phone and not some self fulfilling prophecy I established in my mind. Best wishes to everyone.

If we’re determined to upgrade this is honestly the best way to do it at this point: order at launch and see what happens.

I went back and forth for weeks last year between iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max until I finally ordered one during the middle of December after agonizing over PWM measurements, forum experiences, and my own migraine-free experience trying my friend’s iPhone 12 Pro Max which then turned into a migraine once I looked at a demo iPhone 12 Pro but I digress.

Edit: I am slightly surprised I gravitated towards iPhone 13 Pro instead of iPhone 13 Pro Max but I like the idea of a smaller phone and I have mostly adjusted to iPhone SE, besides the typos that have become inevitable on the 4.7” display.

Even now there’s still a 13 Pro Max available in Sierra Blue for in-store pickup and I’m not super tempted to change my order.

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

If we’re determined to upgrade this is honestly the best way to do it at this point: order at launch and see what happens.

I went back and forth for weeks last year between iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max until I finally ordered one during the middle of December after agonizing over PWM measurements, forum experiences, and my own migraine-free experience trying my friend’s iPhone 12 Pro Max which then turned into a migraine once I looked at a demo iPhone 12 Pro but I digress.

Edit: I am slightly surprised I gravitated towards iPhone 13 Pro instead of iPhone 13 Pro Max but I like the idea of a smaller phone and I have mostly adjusted to iPhone SE, besides the typos that have become inevitable on the 4.7” display.

Even now there’s still a 13 Pro Max available in Sierra Blue for in-store pickup and I’m not super tempted to change my order.

I was always a “give me the biggest phone” guy. I’m 6’8 so most things that might bother the normal sized person don’t happen with me. But even still, the weight has gotten to be a bit much. Not bad when your at your leisure but on the go, walking, working out, etc. I prefer the smaller, lighter phone that still gives plenty of screen real estate. Plus, now that both phones are identical in features (aside from screen size and battery life), I’m even less tempted by the max.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I was always a “give me the biggest phone” guy. I’m 6’8 so most things that might bother the normal sized person don’t happen with me. But even still, the weight has gotten to be a bit much. Not bad when your at your leisure but on the go, walking, working out, etc. I prefer the smaller, lighter phone that still gives plenty of screen real estate. Plus, now that both phones are identical in features (aside from screen size and battery life), I’m even less tempted by the max.

Well-said. A lot of consumers are re-figuring out the benefits of having a smaller phone. Honestly I’ve found if the display is high quality enough I don’t mind. As of now I’m happy with my decision to try iPhone 13 Pro, and if I find myself still wanting a larger phone I could easily exchange it for the Max. It’s probably not even worth giving it any more thought since it’s all moot if the PWM isn’t manageable on this generation.

 

[MICHAELSD]

There is some hope for the Pro models: it was confirmed that they house LTPO OLED displays.

In summary, when Apple Watch switched to LTPO OLED the amplitude of its PWM became incredibly flat.

However, the Galaxy S21 Ultra with its LTPO OLED isn’t drastically different from its predecessors otherwise I’d be more optimistic.

 

[Mr.Simple]

@MICHAELSD: I hope that will be the same with the new iphones. I have tried the S21 Ultra and it was not better than a iPhone 12 or Pixel 4 XL

 

[dimitricook]

There is some hope for the Pro models: it was confirmed that they house LTPO OLED displays.

In summary, when Apple Watch switched to LTPO OLED the amplitude of its PWM became incredibly flat.

However, the Galaxy S21 Ultra with its LTPO OLED isn’t drastically different from its predecessors otherwise I’d be more optimistic.

Thats to good hope we need ;-)

 

[MICHAELSD]

Thats to good hope we need ;-)

From a technical perspective I suppose this is the first time we’re new getting a new type of OLED panel, and the 120Hz dynamic refresh rate is a wild card as well so the PWM implementation could be creative on iPhone 13 Pro. Maybe there is a greater likelihood that some of us will be able to use this generation without issues than expected but I’m not holding my breath.

 

[brig2221]

Pre ordered the 13 Pro so We’ll see. This time, I am avoiding the forums, tech news, and YouTube releases until I’ve tried it for myself. Every year I go in defeated over something I’ve read. This time I want to be 100% sure that if I have issues, it’s truly the phone and not some self fulfilling prophecy I established in my mind. Best wishes to everyone.

Please make sure to check back in with us after you’ve had a chance to put it through it’s paces. Very curious to see if the screens are getting any better or not, or if it’s just the same thing with no end in sight.

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

Please make sure to check back in with us after you’ve had a chance to put it through it’s paces. Very curious to see if the screens are getting any better or not, or if it’s just the same thing with no end in sight.

I absolutely will!! Fingers crossed, low expectations, minimal hope. But, there’s still that chance.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Please make sure to check back in with us after you’ve had a chance to put it through it’s paces. Very curious to see if the screens are getting any better or not, or if it’s just the same thing with no end in sight.

It’s probably going to be the latter, but I’m getting tired of sitting out new iPhone generations and willing to try. If it doesn’t work out at least I’ll get to immensely enjoy iPhone 13 Pro for a few days.

 

[now i see it]

So I just upgraded my iPhone today.

I guess the iPhone 13 preorder buying frenzy wore off on me a little and I decided to bite the bullet - but it's not the bullet most would expect.

I finally decided to shelve my iPhone 6 Plus after 7 years still running iOS 9.3.5 and replaced it with a sparkling "new"ish Apple refurbished iPhone 8 Plus for $359. New battery, new screen, new case. It'll be delivered in a couple days.

I entertained the idea of getting a new big iPhone 13 Pro Max but I know it's flickering OLED screen will rip out my eyeballs... and I'm also not so keen on ever dropping $1300 on an iPhone since the camera isn't very important to me.

Since I can't tolerate the flickering of apple's garbage OLED screens, they're not an option for me and their newer LCD offerings (SE, 11) are both lower resolution and inferior looking and smaller compared to the lovely 401 ppi LCD screen on the 8 Plus.

So the 8 Plus it will be for a few more years until Apple gets its screen tech sorted out. I just couldn't commit myself to the dark side quite yet (Google OS).

While many of you may be sick of the 8 Plus and unloaded yours years ago and think it's "tired old tech", I can't be more thrilled to finally get mine - seeing from where I'm upgrading from.
Just being able to run iOS 14 on it and have a functional web browser again will be a huge improvement, not to mention the 3Gb of RAM compared to the 1Gb on the 6 Plus.

We may be subjected to yucky iPhone flickering OLED screens for many many more years to come. The iPhone 8 Plus may be the last of its kind and is getting on in age. It didn't seem wise to keep on putting off buying one since its been on my mind for years - only to find out in the not too distant future that they've disappeared forever.

Want to be thrilled with your next iPhone? Wait 7 years staying on the same OS with the same phone and you will be!

Zollotech YouTube review: iPhone 8 Plus in 2021

 

[matthijst]

Ordered a pro max. Hoping it'll be easy on the eyes. Been testing since the X but so far, no luck.

 

[RealSkyDiver]

So I just upgraded my iPhone today.

I guess the iPhone 13 preorder buying frenzy wore off on me a little and I decided to bite the bullet - but it's not the bullet most would expect.

I finally decided to shelve my iPhone 6 Plus after 7 years still running iOS 9.3.5 and replaced it with a sparkling "new"ish Apple refurbished iPhone 8 Plus for $359. New battery, new screen, new case. It'll be delivered in a couple days.

I entertained the idea of getting a new big iPhone 13 Pro Max but I know it's flickering OLED screen will rip out my eyeballs... and I'm also not so keen on ever dropping $1300 on an iPhone since the camera isn't very important to me.

Since I can't tolerate the flickering of apple's garbage OLED screens, they're not an option for me and their newer LCD offerings (SE, 11) are both lower resolution and inferior looking and smaller compared to the lovely 401 ppi LCD screen on the 8 Plus.

So the 8 Plus it will be for a few more years until Apple gets its screen tech sorted out. I just couldn't commit myself to the dark side quite yet (Google OS).

While many of you may be sick of the 8 Plus and unloaded yours years ago and think it's "tired old tech", I can't be more thrilled to finally get mine - seeing from where I'm upgrading from.
Just being able to run iOS 14 on it and have a functional web browser again will be a huge improvement, not to mention the 3Gb of RAM compared to the 1Gb on the 6 Plus.

We may be subjected to yucky iPhone flickering OLED screens for many many more years to come. The iPhone 8 Plus may be the last of its kind and is getting on in age. It didn't seem wise to keep on putting off buying one since its been on my mind for years - only to find out in the not too distant future that they've disappeared forever.

Want to be thrilled with your next iPhone? Wait 7 years staying on the same OS with the same phone and you will be!

Zollotech YouTube review: iPhone 8 Plus in 2021

Thats the one I’ve been using since lunch in 2017 and even though I’m upgrading next week I can tell of all the iPhones it aged by far the best (I’m only upgrading because of all the videos and photos I have to take I need a better camera, especially in low light). Im really impressed and pictures can still look fantastic under good lightning conditions (natural sunlight). I also love how the screen is native 1080p and ID touch is super fast. Battery healthy is down to 76% so that is something I need to take care of, wether I’m gonna keep or sell it after.

 

[orange23]

This is my 1st iPhone order in 2007, just to share with you how thrilled I was back that time! I upgraded nearly every year since 2007 until iPhone 8P and iPhone 11...

Now I have to hold on to my iPhone 11, what pathetic!!!

 

[DJTaurus]

Let’s make some noise guys. Macrumors should make an article for all of us

Will iPhone 13 Trigger Headaches and Nausea?

Apple introduces another generation of OLED-only phones, potentially shutting out the flicker-sensitive

spectrum.ieee.org

 

[JM]

Let’s make some noise guys. Macrumors should make an article for all of us

Will iPhone 13 Trigger Headaches and Nausea?

Apple introduces another generation of OLED-only phones, potentially shutting out the flicker-sensitive

spectrum.ieee.org

I doubt Apple cares. If they admit this is a problem for some people before Apple comes out with a screen that has no PWM (and the inevitable big “we care about your health” PR nonsense), it’ll just tarnish Apple image.

It’s probably too expensive for consumers (I’m assuming here you already understand how consumer pricing works) to fix the PWM screen problem: PWM screen at Apple quality would be too expensive or unable to produce in the millions.

another possibility is that there is no screen that exists that is Apple quality that does not have PWM flicker.

I still think that it’s a bean counting thing to select a screen that keeps the consumer price low enough for people to buy AND is a “good enough” screen quality for Apple standards.

 

[VadimVV]

Hi everybody! Glad to see familiar faces. Every year we gather in this thread in the hope that we can use the new iPhones normally without the terrible side effects.

There is some hope for LTPO displays. My Apple Watch 4 has an LTPO display, I measured its pulsation coefficient (flicker index), it got a value of 4.4%. This, of course, is noticeably more than 0.6% for iPhone 11 or iPhone 8plus, but still lower than for OLED iPhones (X, XS, XS Max, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, all 12) - from 7.3 to 103.4% at different brightness levels.

 

[JM]

Hi everybody! Glad to see familiar faces. Every year we gather in this thread in the hope that we can use the new iPhones normally without the terrible side effects.

There is some hope for LTPO displays. My Apple Watch 4 has an LTPO display, I measured its pulsation coefficient (flicker index), it got a value of 4.4%. This, of course, is noticeably more than 0.6% for iPhone 11 or iPhone 8plus, but still lower than for OLED iPhones (X, XS, XS Max, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, all 12) - from 7.3 to 103.4% at different brightness levels.

View attachment 1837265

Thanks!

my AW never bothers me, but I also notice I can see the pixels. (So pixel density is lower).

If the iPhone had the AW pixel density it wouldn’t be a Retina Screen anymore.

but that sounds fine to me 😄 I’d love to be able to look a current tech iPhone screen again.

 

[VadimVV]

Thanks!

my AW never bothers me, but I also notice I can see the pixels. (So pixel density is lower).

If the iPhone had the AW pixel density it wouldn’t be a Retina Screen anymore.

but that sounds fine to me 😄 I’d love to be able to look a current tech iPhone screen again.

Apple Watch 4 has 325 ppi, Iphone 13 will has 476 ppi, so the pixel density will be higher and pixels will be less visible.

Basically this is not a problem for me. I had to switch from 8plus to 11, which also has a lower pixel density and at first it was noticeable, but later I got used to it and stopped noticing it.

What matters to me is that there is no headache after a few minutes in front of the phone screen.

 

[Mr.Simple]

This would be good when Apple can such a flicker index achieve on the iPhone 13 Serie. The Honor Magic 3 hast 3-4% on max brightness and 7-8% on 50%. But on low brightness it is over 20%. When Apple could keep the flicker index under 5% by over 50% brightness then there could be hope for us.

 

[kevjen888]

when i was using iphone X, my eyesight deteriorated (more nearsighted). then i've been on the max iphones ever since: XS Max, 11 pro max and 12 pro max, and my eyesight have been stable in those years. but this year i decide to give 13 pro a try. getting tired of the bulkiness of the max phones, but i was hesitant to do so due to my eyesight. has anyone experienced the correlation of .6" difference in screen size have impacted their eyesight?

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

when i was using iphone X, my eyesight deteriorated (more nearsighted). then i've been on the max iphones ever since: XS Max, 11 pro max and 12 pro max, and my eyesight have been stable in those years. but this year i decide to give 13 pro a try. getting tired of the bulkiness of the max phones, but i was hesitant to do so due to my eyesight. has anyone experienced the correlation of .6" difference in screen size have impacted their eyesight?

For me personally, my experience has been the same on both sizes.

 

[now i see it]

Smaller screens, either LCD or OLED shrink everything down smaller. Smaller things, especially fonts are harder to see so we have to strain our eye muscles trying to get a sharper focus that usually is a losing battle. When the eyes get fatigued, its harder to focus and if they're overworked, they become weaker and focusing becomes more difficult.

I experience the same thing switching back and forth between two LCD iPhones that have no PWM - The bigger plus and the smaller regular. The smaller iPhone starts bugging my eyes after a while, where I can stare at the big iPhone all day long with zero issue.