Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up
- Thread starter Kitkad
- WikiPost WikiPost
- Start date
-
- Tags
- eye strain xs max
- Sort by reaction score
- Status
Could it be that PWM saves battery the lower the frequency but TVs are connected to mains and don’t care about power consumption? Or the TVs are using DC dimming?
I believe OLED TVs do flicker but they can be at a rate as high as 10,000 hz vs the iPhones in the 200’s hz up til now. That’s a world of difference plus, we often don’t have the tv as close to our face as our phones so that plays a part too.
A number of OLED TVs do use PWM, but they seem to be at much higher frequencies than iPhones. I did manage to find a LG TV with no PWM, but it turned out to have slight dips in brightness every 8ms anyway 😐
I just got home with a 13 mini. It's 1000% better than the 12 mini was on launch. With the 12 mini at launch, my eyes were in pain after 5 minutes of use. So far it's been about 15 minutes of use, and my eyes are OK. I'll come back and let ya'll know how it is after using it for a day or two.
As there's so many threads about PWM now, I will stick to the original for my updates.
About 30mins into using my freshly delivered 13 Pro. I've avoided opening my 13 Mini and iPad Mini which I received hours ago as I wanted to save my eyes. (two different deliveries, two different couriers).
Immediately you can see the 120hz display in effect which makes all other screens look janky. I'm not feeling any eye strain or headache tension yet. Maybe a little bit of focus drift.
Screen is still a little yellower than i’d like with true tone off, and it still has the obvious shift to blue. But I'm hopeful right now. Brightness between 50-70% sat indoors on a sunny day.
Restoring my backup and phone is getting very warm. 🔥
Camera module size is ridiculous. If it's a keeper I will have to buy a leather case.
Glad I didn't get the Pro Max as this phone is heavy and large enough. Will wait 24hrs before trying the 13 Mini.
About 30mins into using my freshly delivered 13 Pro. I've avoided opening my 13 Mini and iPad Mini which I received hours ago as I wanted to save my eyes. (two different deliveries, two different couriers).
Immediately you can see the 120hz display in effect which makes all other screens look janky. I'm not feeling any eye strain or headache tension yet. Maybe a little bit of focus drift.
Screen is still a little yellower than i’d like with true tone off, and it still has the obvious shift to blue. But I'm hopeful right now. Brightness between 50-70% sat indoors on a sunny day.
Restoring my backup and phone is getting very warm. 🔥
Camera module size is ridiculous. If it's a keeper I will have to buy a leather case.
Glad I didn't get the Pro Max as this phone is heavy and large enough. Will wait 24hrs before trying the 13 Mini.
Last edited:
Promising!! I hope so much that this phone works for you brother. I’ve felt your pain the last 4 years. We might FINALLY be back in the flagship phone realm!!
That is awesome, thanks for sharing!!
My mini arrives today, and I had an adjustment period with my 12 Mini when I got it before I stopped having issues- so it is fantastic to hear that the 13 Mini seemingly won't be any worse, and might actually be a bit better in this regard!
I don't think the refresh rate will make much if any difference in eye strain. It's only noticable when scrolling alot of content.....the scrolling action is much smoother. I still had pwm problems with the Samsung S21 Ultra and it uses the the same variable refreshing that the new iPhone does.
Thanks for sharing! Do you have a link you could share for where this came from? And did they do similar testing on the regular 13?
Very encouraging to hear that the 13 may potentially be better on our eyes, I’ll definitely add my experience when I get mine in a few hours.
It’s been four long years of this, it’d be nice to catch a break here
It’s been four long years of this, it’d be nice to catch a break here
Hope!! So much hope!!! Thank you all for updating your experiences!!
OLED TVs do something to me but it depends on the size. Bought a 65" Samsung "The Frame" TV and my head and eyes were killing me in about two hours. Had it replaced with the exact same TV in 55" size and no more eye or headaches.
It was the strangest thing...
I did pick up a 13 Pro today and so far so good. I've been setting it up all afternoon and only slight eye strain and it quickly goes away when I rest for a few minutes. Think I'm going to keep my 2020 SE and transfer my phone number to the 13. Then use the SE around the house and the 13 when I go out. This 13 Pro is awesome!! Speed is incredible with the A15 chip, SE has the A13 Chip.
It was the strangest thing...
I did pick up a 13 Pro today and so far so good. I've been setting it up all afternoon and only slight eye strain and it quickly goes away when I rest for a few minutes. Think I'm going to keep my 2020 SE and transfer my phone number to the 13. Then use the SE around the house and the 13 when I go out. This 13 Pro is awesome!! Speed is incredible with the A15 chip, SE has the A13 Chip.
That TV is a QLED TV, not OLED, and it uses PWM. According to RTINGS:
"The Samsung The Frame TV uses Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) to dim the backlight. It flickers at 960Hz in the 'Movie' Picture Mode, which shouldn't be visible to most people. It drops to 480Hz in Game Mode and 120Hz in the Dynamic, Natural, Standard, and Filmmaker Picture Mode. It also flickers at 120Hz when Picture Clarity or Game Motion Plus is enabled."
Yikes.
My recommendation: 65-inch LG C1 OLED.
Also, "slight eyestrain" is acceptable to you versus no eyestrain (iPhone SE)? Doesn't make sense to me...
Last edited:
I know, it was just a type 0. Thanks for the info though!!
How are you liking the 120 Hz motion? I can definitely see why you’d want to keep the phone. It looks and feels so much more modern than the SE.
It's been amazing so far and the clarity is fantastic!! The motion simply doesn't seem to cause as much strain, I really don't understand why it would make that much of a difference but something sure is. Can't tell much difference looking at it but I can look at 10 through 12s and in seconds feel eyestrain. Not with this one though. I saw this memo and had hope. We'll see but right now I do have some hope. It's the first phone I've left the store with a phone other than an SE since the X intro.
iPhone XS 120Hz Touch Sample Rate Explained: Not the Same as the Razer Phone’s 120Hz Refresh Rate but the Start of Something Better
The new iPhone Xs and corresponding models only have a 120Hz touch sample rate and not a 120Hz refresh rate as some people had assumed after yesterday’s announcement
wccftech.com
Last edited:
Yeah but for others it was instant so if they have made it thus far they are likely good to go.Guys don’t get your hopes high. I remember it took around 2 days for the eye stain / dizziness to kick in when i purchased iPhone 12…….
That said, I made it about ten minutes before the eye pain and nausea. Back to the 11 I go.
Update from me - still no eye strain from the 13 Pro but after a days use I've got to put it down and charge.
This has me on the 13 Mini now and to my surprise - no eye strain again! And I think I prefer the display on this phone. It's brighter and whiter. I can live with the 60hz display as this is all I've known on my previous iPhones.
The midnight colour, while looking black in most light, is actually a deep blue. Not ideal for me as I'd prefer deep black.
While being a small phone it brings back all the good memories of the OG SE. Small, light, super pocketable and a smaller camera module. The jumbo lenses on the 13 Pro really bother me especially knowing that even with a case in it will have a raised edge.
The battery life is the unknown in real world use, but I'm warming to the 13 Mini in a big way. It would have to have a complimentary device like an ipad or laptop as it's too small to use like a mini tablet as I have done with my 7 Plus.
After all these years of not being able to have a flagship iphone, I'm now spoilt for choice!
This has me on the 13 Mini now and to my surprise - no eye strain again! And I think I prefer the display on this phone. It's brighter and whiter. I can live with the 60hz display as this is all I've known on my previous iPhones.
The midnight colour, while looking black in most light, is actually a deep blue. Not ideal for me as I'd prefer deep black.
While being a small phone it brings back all the good memories of the OG SE. Small, light, super pocketable and a smaller camera module. The jumbo lenses on the 13 Pro really bother me especially knowing that even with a case in it will have a raised edge.
The battery life is the unknown in real world use, but I'm warming to the 13 Mini in a big way. It would have to have a complimentary device like an ipad or laptop as it's too small to use like a mini tablet as I have done with my 7 Plus.
After all these years of not being able to have a flagship iphone, I'm now spoilt for choice!
Last edited: