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
I generally get a bit of eye strain at worse on an Android OLED display. I can’t use Apple LCD’s past iPhone 8’s LCD anymore. What the hell is Apple doing?
I’ve developed a weird complication since getting the 13 Pro. I can no longer use my 12 mini without horrific eye pain and headaches that no over the counter pain relievers help. I even combined two acetaminophen/paracetamol and two aspirin all together which usually knocks any kind of conventional headache out and it didn’t help.
The thing is, I have an S21 Ultra with variable 120 hz refreshing. I switch between this phone and my 12 mini all the time. No problems. (I use the S21 Ultra on Wi-Fi at home the way most people use iPads.)
So I wasn’t anticipating any problems trading my 12 Pro max in for the 13 Pro and using it on my second line in tandem with my mini. But that was a mistake because it undid my months long adjustment to the 12 mini. I’m going to have to quit the mini. I never imagined I’d have to do that. I love that size. I can’t carry around a larger phone and due to elder care emergencies I always need to be connected.
I’ve got a series 7 Apple Watch coming in to take its place. Now that there’s a tiny swipe board built in for texting, I can do that. It’s not ideal but it’s the best option left.
I had an extra mini I’m trading in for a pixel 6 Pro. I’m going to see how that goes.
The 13 Pro leaves me feeling a bit of vertigo and eye strain. It’s not been as smooth to use as I initially thought.
I didn’t mean to end up with so many phones but the pwm struggle especially last year made me try weird usage combos. Generally I own at most 3 phones at a time and usually run two because I have two lines.
Fortunately I’m at a point in life I can play around with these a bit. If I weren’t trapped in the iMessage ecosystem with friends and family, I’d move on entirely to Android at this point because I’ve had fewer weird issues with their displays. Even though I’ve used Samsung panels across both platforms.
Again, what the hell is Apple doing differently?
There’s nothing wrong with either of the iPhone 8 models. They’re both very fast with zero lag. If newer iPhone screens are thrashing people, just get one of the 8s (best screen is the 8 plus). Problem solved. Apple Refurbished iPhone 8/Plus is good as new. Looks immaculate.
After 6 years, I finally needed to buy a newer iPhone to replace my 6 plus.
Guess which one I got last month? An iPhone 8 Plus.
After 6 years, I finally needed to buy a newer iPhone to replace my 6 plus.
Guess which one I got last month? An iPhone 8 Plus.
I do regret trading mine in to help lower the cost of the phone I was buying my dad. But honestly I had connectivity/call quality problems with the two that I tried. When I’d call my dad on my 8 plus he’d complain until I hung up and called him back from my Android phone.
The 8 plus from a six plus is still three years tech jump! I’m sure it’s nice.
Notebookcheck has on his german page released the iPhone 13 mini review. They say that over 16% brightness the PWM Frequency range ist between 162 and 510 Hz and under 16% it is constant 60 Hz:
www.notebookcheck.com
Interestingly that Notebookcheck this not say for the iPhone 13. So the iPhone 13 seems to have a constant PWM Frequency of over 600 Hz when the brightness is not completely down. I should test the iPhone 13 again for 20-25 min in the store and see if the display could be manageable for me. I hope it so much.
Apple iPhone 13 mini im Test: Leistungsstark und ultrakompakt
Wir testen das Apple iPhone 13 mini mit Apple A15 Bionic, 4 GB RAM und 128 GB internem Speicher.
www.notebookcheck.com
Interestingly that Notebookcheck this not say for the iPhone 13. So the iPhone 13 seems to have a constant PWM Frequency of over 600 Hz when the brightness is not completely down. I should test the iPhone 13 again for 20-25 min in the store and see if the display could be manageable for me. I hope it so much.
This one line has me hooked on the idea of testing a 13:Notebookcheck has on his german page released the iPhone 13 mini review. They say that over 16% brightness the PWM Frequency range ist between 162 and 510 Hz and under 16% it is constant 60 Hz:
Apple iPhone 13 mini im Test: Leistungsstark und ultrakompakt
Wir testen das Apple iPhone 13 mini mit Apple A15 Bionic, 4 GB RAM und 128 GB internem Speicher.
Interestingly that Notebookcheck this not say for the iPhone 13. So the iPhone 13 seems to have a constant PWM Frequency of over 600 Hz when the brightness is not completely down. I should test the iPhone 13 again for 20-25 min in the store and see if the display could be manageable for me. I hope it so much.
"At the lowest brightness setting, the display exhibits a flickering that is indicative of PWM being used to regulate the display's brightness. However, just slightly increasing the brightness makes the flickering disappear. Regardless, we recommend sensitive users to take a look at the display before buying."
The 13 Mini and 13 Pro still gave me a migraine so I have strong doubts the 13 would be much different, and yet notebookcheck is making out it has wildly different PWM?
It’s so bewildering isn’t it? I wish you luck with the 13. I’ve tried using the accessibility setting to limit the iPhone 13 Pro to no higher than 60hz but it’s not clear that the display isn’t still varying the refresh rate. I didn’t notice a huge difference in my comfort level. It’s fine that I don’t spend time surfing on the iPhone but I miss reading my ebooks on it. I had good eye comfort on the display of my Pixel 3XL. It was actually a poor quality display because in dim lightning the display got muddy looking if you were also looking at a dark scene. But it was comfortable despite being an OLED.
I’m super reliant on the Apple ecosystem because Apple products are used in our schools. Most of the other parents I communicate with are on iOS. I can’t go green bubble with them at present.
Green bubble 🤣 I can’t stand how difficult it is to read Android texts. I have Accessibility Increase Contrast on so I can read people’s texts.
Apple is really obnoxious about the green bubble nonsense. Lol.
Okay, end of day two report:
I’m at 3.25 hours of SOT.
I think I have mild (mild!) discomfort looking at the screen. We’re talking mild dry eye feeling. No severe pain. And whatever mild discomfort I notice goes away after I stop looking at the screen. (My symptoms with the 12 mini were Sharp eye pains after a few minutes of looking at screen)
It’s perhaps getting used to the 11 screen temporal dithering that has helped my eyes and brain adjust to Apple’s screen implementations, that has helped this time around with the 13mini. Maybe it’s the notebook check’s report of the constant PWM, instead of variable that the 12’s had, so it’s easier for the brain to adjust to the PWM in the 13.
I really don’t know…. But wanted to hopefully inspire anyone to just give your desired phone a shot and you can always return if it doesn’t.
I purchased a case today, so I think I’m sticking with the 13 mini. I have a 64 GB Green iPhone 11 if anyone’s interested in purchasing.
I’m at 3.25 hours of SOT.
I think I have mild (mild!) discomfort looking at the screen. We’re talking mild dry eye feeling. No severe pain. And whatever mild discomfort I notice goes away after I stop looking at the screen. (My symptoms with the 12 mini were Sharp eye pains after a few minutes of looking at screen)
It’s perhaps getting used to the 11 screen temporal dithering that has helped my eyes and brain adjust to Apple’s screen implementations, that has helped this time around with the 13mini. Maybe it’s the notebook check’s report of the constant PWM, instead of variable that the 12’s had, so it’s easier for the brain to adjust to the PWM in the 13.
I really don’t know…. But wanted to hopefully inspire anyone to just give your desired phone a shot and you can always return if it doesn’t.
I purchased a case today, so I think I’m sticking with the 13 mini. I have a 64 GB Green iPhone 11 if anyone’s interested in purchasing.
My trial of the mini unfortunately didn’t go so well. I found it certainly better than the 13, perhaps because of the smaller display, but it still gives me nausea during extended use. I don’t know what it is about the 13, but the PWM frequency it uses seems to be just right to mess with me.
I’m honestly exhausted from trying all these phones! I’ve given up and ordered another 13 Pro Max (512GB, Graphite).
I know that sounds crazy given my recent history, but my reasoning is as follows:
I find myself getting eye strain from all sorts of stuff, LCD PC monitors included, so I suspect part of the problem is not letting my eyes rest. I’m well aware of the “20-20-20” rule and I should probably start applying it to myself!
I’ll have to wait a month, sadly, but I can use the 12 Pro Max until it arrives thanks to Sky Mobile’s 31-day returns window. Just need to baby it!
Thank you to all the lovely people here for sharing their experiences and putting up with my insane rambling. I’ll continue to participate in the discussion and will report back on how I get on when the 13 Pro Max shows up.
I’m honestly exhausted from trying all these phones! I’ve given up and ordered another 13 Pro Max (512GB, Graphite).
I know that sounds crazy given my recent history, but my reasoning is as follows:
- I want a 13 Pro Max because I love the big displays (although I did enjoy the compactness of the mini more than I expected).
- I want the latest model because I want it to last and because it has crazy battery life.
- My last trial of the 13 Pro Max was perhaps made worse by the cold I had, plus my very heavy use of the new toy. I’m planning to not be sick (lol) and to ease myself into it. I think I can get used to the new higher frequency display, I just need to take it slow and put it down if I’m feeling strained.
- The 13 Pro Max never gave me nausea, just eye strain. I’m hoping it’s something I can mitigate with moderated use and reduction in brightness, along with improvements in environmental lighting.
- I was honestly disappointed by the Sierra Blue. I wanted to love it, but it really just looks grey in most light. And not even a nice grey! Maybe it’s the British weather making it look more dull, who knows? So I’m getting the Graphite because I want a dark and understated finish.
I find myself getting eye strain from all sorts of stuff, LCD PC monitors included, so I suspect part of the problem is not letting my eyes rest. I’m well aware of the “20-20-20” rule and I should probably start applying it to myself!
I’ll have to wait a month, sadly, but I can use the 12 Pro Max until it arrives thanks to Sky Mobile’s 31-day returns window. Just need to baby it!
Thank you to all the lovely people here for sharing their experiences and putting up with my insane rambling. I’ll continue to participate in the discussion and will report back on how I get on when the 13 Pro Max shows up.
I also ordered an iPhone 13 Pro again. Since I got along well with the iPhone 13 Pro for 2 weeks, I hope my problems came from something else. Since I don't have DisplayOn for more than 30-60 minutes a day, I think I'll be fine with the iPhone 13 Pro in the long run. Finally, I hope that the iPhone 14 Pro will be perfect. In any case, I felt much worse with the iPhone X, XS, 11Pro, 12, 12 Mini than with the iPhone 13 Pro. Keep your fingers crossed.
You all feel free to “ramble on”, this is a struggle few others understand or acknowledge and it deserves support. I’m tired of some people trying to gaslight me about it or judge me on how many phones I’ve got or go through trying to balance out the features I want with my health and comfort.
I hope you all find a phone that gives you that balance.
I hope you all find a phone that gives you that balance.
Still dont get why you all test all those flickery phines.. i mean, even if you have mild symptoms, you do get it sint anything healthy for your brain to watch on these pwm plagued screens, right? I would teally love to buy new flagship phone (solely for better camera to get best possible pics of my children) but man, not for this price.
It would also be interesting to hear from those that have the possibility to test one of the 13/12 OLED displays compared to an LCD model. Try them side-by-side, with similar text such as an article. Do you see a difference? I've tested this multiple times and in my case the text appears clearer on the iPhone 11. I find that on the iPhone 13 my eyes are struggling to focus on the text. Another thing to test is if the symptoms get worse the lower you go with brightness.
Something was different for me with the 13 Pro. For every iPhone since the X I could feel eye strain almost immediately when looking at the screen and within 2 to 3 hours I had a full headache. With the 13 Pro I picked it up Friday around 11am and used it the rest of the day, all day Saturday, and half way through Sunday then wham it started about 4pm and was killing me by 6pm.
BUT, always before it went away in a day or two but with the 13 Pro it took over two weeks to be gone completely. During that time almost anything bothered my eyes including my SE and 11. But finally I'm back to normal and the SE and 11 are fine and do not bother me. Wish I could explain this but if they are going to bother me I wish they'd do it immediately. I really had my hopes up after those couple days being able to use it!
BUT, always before it went away in a day or two but with the 13 Pro it took over two weeks to be gone completely. During that time almost anything bothered my eyes including my SE and 11. But finally I'm back to normal and the SE and 11 are fine and do not bother me. Wish I could explain this but if they are going to bother me I wish they'd do it immediately. I really had my hopes up after those couple days being able to use it!
I couldn't help but check the Apple Store app obsessively and the phone I wanted happened to show up in a local Apple store after an hour or so! Well, not quite the one I wanted, but Gold was my second choice after Graphite. It's a bit flash, but it's so pretty! I saw a colleague's 13 Pro in Gold the other day and was very impressed how the back glass now has a sort of 3D gold shine to in, much deeper looking than the 12 Pro's glass (which was more like cream).
I'm glad I don't need to wait a month. I'm not ill any more and my eyes are in good shape (apart from the crappy lighting at work), so I'm gonna give this thing a more determined try this time.
Fingers crossed that I can adjust to the new display's characteristics. I'm gonna take it slow and be patient with it.
I'm glad I don't need to wait a month. I'm not ill any more and my eyes are in good shape (apart from the crappy lighting at work), so I'm gonna give this thing a more determined try this time.
Fingers crossed that I can adjust to the new display's characteristics. I'm gonna take it slow and be patient with it.
Last edited:
I have a few days before I need to send back my 11, so I can do a detailed comparison between it and the 13 Pro Max. Anything in particular that you'd like to know?
I should point out that I've used previous OLED iPhones without much trouble, though. It's just the 13 series that I've been struggling with. This will be my second 13 Pro Max and I'm more determined to adjust to this one and keep it!
I'd be tempted to say don't switch between your 11 LCD and 13PM as your eyes will keep adjusting.
That's a good point, actually! I'll try to keep that to a minimum.
Finally the review from Notebookcheck (german page) for the 13 pro max is here and there measured a difference compared to the 13 pro. The PWM Frequency is with 238 Hz lower and the modulation curve looks also different:
www.notebookcheck.com
But they say that with low brightness the amplitude goes flater but also the frequency lower and should behave like DC Dimming.
Test Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max Smartphone – Stark, groß und voller Features
Test des iPhone 13 Pro Max von Apple. Das größte iPhone kommt mit einem ProMotion Display mit 120 Hz zu uns. Aber ist das große Apple iPhone 2021 wieder eines besten Smartphones? Im ausführlichen iPhone Test schauen wir es uns genau an.
www.notebookcheck.com
But they say that with low brightness the amplitude goes flater but also the frequency lower and should behave like DC Dimming.
Wow. I'm starting to think that every screen of these bloody phones is different. How can the Pro Max be so much lower than the regular Pro?? That makes no sense.
Ok, whatever. I just ordered the iPhone 13 Pro. Now I'll have to wait until the beginning of December to find out if I can actually keep it. Fun times.
Finally the review from Notebookcheck (german page) for the 13 pro max is here and there measured a difference compared to the 13 pro. The PWM Frequency is with 238 Hz lower and the modulation curve looks also different:
Test Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max Smartphone – Stark, groß und voller Features
Test des iPhone 13 Pro Max von Apple. Das größte iPhone kommt mit einem ProMotion Display mit 120 Hz zu uns. Aber ist das große Apple iPhone 2021 wieder eines besten Smartphones? Im ausführlichen iPhone Test schauen wir es uns genau an.
But they say that with low brightness the amplitude goes flater but also the frequency lower and should behave like DC Dimming.
This makes no sense to me given the results of the 13 Pro review and it worries me a little given that I just picked up my 13 Pro Max!
Oh well, I'm determined to make this one work for me, especially since these things are like unicorns at the moment. It almost feels like fate that one of these appeared relatively near me for pickup. This is literally the first 13 Pro Max I've seen available from Apple in London since launch!
Well I finally was able to play with a 13 Pro Max my friend had. Impact was almost immediate. I felt like someone was punching the back of my eyes, nausea, temporal headache, and felt warm. That’s a hard no for me.
Since the 13 Pro wasn’t nearly as bad for me, I will give that an honest go once more. I have no desire in the regular 13 or mini so that makes it a little more easy in that I was just between 2 phones. If the 13 Pro is not manageable I’ll retire from the forums for another 10 months and use my trusty 11 until the 14. Fun stuff.
Since the 13 Pro wasn’t nearly as bad for me, I will give that an honest go once more. I have no desire in the regular 13 or mini so that makes it a little more easy in that I was just between 2 phones. If the 13 Pro is not manageable I’ll retire from the forums for another 10 months and use my trusty 11 until the 14. Fun stuff.