I have the 7 plus still and it’s working great. I even installed iOS 15 on it today and it’s still working good. I have an iPhone 12 but it hurts my eyes so it’s up for sale.
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Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up
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I pre-ordered the 13 Pro and the iPad 9th Gen, will definitely share my experience here. I’m not super optimistic, but I’m hoping the “New Display Engine” that they mentioned in the A15 infographic could potentially mean some good news for us flicker-sensitive people.
We’ll see 🙃
We’ll see 🙃
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That’s an interesting take and one I do fully believe to be the case for others. In my case, moving from the 401 ppi of the 8 Plus to 326 ppi of the iPhone 11 led to zero increase in eye strain. Matter of fact, I don’t notice a drop in sharpness or quality either. However, I do have the PWM issue no matter which iPhone the OLED screen is on. It’s weird how our eyes can be so different from each other.
Unfortunately, you are absolutely right.
The previous measurement on Apple Watch 4 I took at the maximum brightness level. I measured it now at the minimum - the value was 8.3% and this is most likely too much.
Well, one more year with iPhone 11, wish him good health, and his owner patience while waiting for a modern device, the use of which does not lead to headaches and eyestrain.
Woah! Amazing catch.
I feel like the brightness symbol next to the “New Display Engine” is a nod to PWM specifically. This could be the year we finally see it addressed.
Edit: This is it. This is finally the keynote announcement we’ve all been waiting for. I can’t say with certainty that it will be enough for everyone but the new display engine is definitely in reference to PWM.
After watching YouTube videos I’m starting to think the iPhone 13 Pro models may be a drastic improvement. They seem brighter and more vivid than iPhone 12 Pro when put side-by-side and more importantly there’s no flicker visible in videos.
I’m starting to become much more optimistic this year. Also I’m beginning to want the Pro Max but I’ll likely stick with the Pro first. Honestly the “S” years have been the best since there are so many subtle improvements and refinements.
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Wow, I really hope that this is the case! Wouldn't it be great? I haven't had a flagship phone since the 8+ (then the XR and 11 but they're not flagship). I would love for my new 13 Pro to be easy on my eyes and usable. Didn't people ask reviewers for flicker info last year or am I misremembering?
None of the typical reviewers address PWM and those who do aren’t experts like we are in this thread, lol, so they don’t provide useful information or measurements.
Honestly this year I’d prefer to wait and try it myself. I got such horrendous residual migraines from iPhone X I sat out iPhone XS and iPhone 11 Pro models due to the PWM measurements. iPhone 12 Pro Max was slightly better but still caused me 24/7 migraines and headaches. Nonetheless I don’t regret trying it, and this year if Apple made the changes I think they did I’m already planning on trying iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max and hopefully even keeping one…
I like your optimism, let's hope for the best
Same here, I'm still stuck on the 8+, *definitely* need an upgrade.
Yup, the vast majority of them don't even know what PWM is (I don't blame them, I'd have no idea either if I wasn't flicker-sensitive). The good news is that ZolloTech's iPhone reviews have a specific section devoted to PWM, so we'll hopefully have a more in-depth look at the flicker when that comes out. IIRC, he actually had sensitivity to PWM from the X, but seemed to be okay with the XS and further phones.
Every so called reviewer on YouTube that gets a pre-release iPhone to talk about (and surprise surprise recommend) is on the A list over at A- headquarters- so long as they don't bash their products.
Create a YouTube Vid slamming the awful flickering of all OLED iPhones? No more prerelease units for you.
I haven’t had a single issue from an Apple Watch. It would be great if the Apple display team was advised by the PWM implementation on the LTPO Apple Watch and we do see these incredibly low flicker coefficients on iPhone.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.
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Just because Samsung didn’t make improvements when it switched over to LTPO OLED doesn’t mean Apple can’t design an entirely new display engine, and it seems like they have.
Bottom line is if it doesn’t affect them they might not even be aware of it.
Imagine if iJustine or MKBHD faced the same severe headaches and migraines we do, then we might get a heartfelt video about it. I’m starting to feel like Apple has addressed it this year so I’m getting ready to stop complaining about it.
Here’s an article that talks more about the new refresh rates and PWM: https://spectrum.ieee.org/iphone-13-oled-nausea
I'm going to roll the dice on the std iPhone 13. I love my SE so much that I now don't like bigger phones. Just going to the AT&T store when they arrive and check them out first.
Got to remember- when we get a new iPhone, we all over do it for a while playing with it and checking everything out. More screen time = more eye fatigue regardless of what type of screen you’re staring at.
Case in point: I set up my new (to me) iPhone 8+ yesterday which replaces my 6+ and it has the exact same (but better) screen than the 6+ (401 ppi LCD with zero PWM).
It was such a joy to use - so fast, I used it a lot - all day, and my eyes were a little burny by evening.
The screen didn’t cause my eyes to get tired - it was my over usage.
So remember to take it easy with a new iPhone and don’t over do it, otherwise eye strain wil be inevitable but not necessarily because of OLED PWM.
Case in point: I set up my new (to me) iPhone 8+ yesterday which replaces my 6+ and it has the exact same (but better) screen than the 6+ (401 ppi LCD with zero PWM).
It was such a joy to use - so fast, I used it a lot - all day, and my eyes were a little burny by evening.
The screen didn’t cause my eyes to get tired - it was my over usage.
So remember to take it easy with a new iPhone and don’t over do it, otherwise eye strain wil be inevitable but not necessarily because of OLED PWM.
In my experience, not really. For example, on days where I'm forced to use a flickering device for a few hours and I end up with a headache and eye strain, it doesn't affect my sleep. The only thing I do notice is that my eyes feel extremely tired and gritty when I wake up the next morning.
I suppose that's the silver lining here, none of these symptoms seem to be permanent or cause lasting damage (Hopefully). Several of the doctors I've spoken to have said as much, though it's not a sure thing.
Really hoping Apple gets rid of PWM soon. I've using holding onto my older iPhone and MacBook which don't have PWM. They can't last forever.
The 13 appears to have PWM like the 12. Guess we’ll have to wait and see if the actual implementation is any better eye strain wise.
All hopes and dreams ruined.
iPhone SE until iPhone 14 rolls around.
Thanks for posting this.
See you guys here next year.
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Don’t give up complete hope. He acknowledged it’s still there, but he didn’t comment on better or worse. The jury is still out.
For me, if there is any PWM at all, I’m out. Unless it’s insanely high (greater than 100,000 Hz, like MacBook Pros). I’m not going to sacrifice my eyes when there are options that are flicker-free.
If it doesn’t bother you and you’re OK knowing what it is doing “behind the scenes” then more power to you.
I had no doubts that it would have PWM.
BUT. There’s more to the story than that. If they got the amplitude to be as flat as Apple Watch it could be manageable. Also that’s not the Pro model with a LTPO OLED.
I’m surprised one of the reviewers who got it early would even discuss PWM. Maybe I’m just being overly optimistic but it doesn’t look that bad. I think this will be the best implementation we’ve gotten yet. I’m incredibly sensitive to it and I’m not giving up hope this year that there will be a setting or a brightness level where it’s usable.