Think I'm crazy, but I ordered the iPhone 13 Pro Max. This has almost the same PWM frequency as the iPhone 12 Pro, and most importantly, DC dimming is implemented. So everything is like the iPhone 12 Pro, which I get along well with. I noticed for myself that I can handle low frequencies better with DC dimming than high frequencies without DC dimming. This is my last attempt, if it doesn't work, I'll stick with the iPhone 12 Pro. Keep your fingers crossed!
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Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up
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I'd be more than happy to rock a 12 Pro for the next 3 years - but good luck with the 13PM. ?
You can't set that manually. If DC dimming is integrated, it is activated automatically. At Notebookcheck you can read which iPhone models have DC dimming. I know it from the iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max and I believe the iPhone 13 Pro too.
It's shipped 
i will get my 13 non pro next tuesday, i can't wait to test if its better for me than the 13 pro that i had to send back within the 2 weeks return period because of terrible pains.
i will get my 13 non pro next tuesday, i can't wait to test if its better for me than the 13 pro that i had to send back within the 2 weeks return period because of terrible pains.Boy there’s no rhyme or reason to this. Someone else got the pro and seems fine with it because the regular 13 was torture. Go figure
Looking forward to some feedback on the 13. ?It's shipped
I am beginning to think pure flat out pwm is not the problem or not the only problem for some of us. Typing this on my s21 Ultra 120 HZ variable refresh on.
My own 17 year old seems fine on her 12 Pro. The other kids are still on LCD's.
I've been holding back from posting here because I knew some of you were going to test the 13 Pro and I didn't want to say anything to scare or dissuade anyone because it may very well work for them.
But I have finally decided to bench the 13 Pro. I'll keep it on to do portraits because it makes nice ones. And my series 7 Apple Watch will be paired to it and that will be the device that keeps me in touch with everyone now that the 13 Pro messed me up so badly I can't use the purple 12 mini I was well adjusted to.
It's my hope, eventually, I'll be able to go back to the 12 mini again. I actually prefer its camera for everything except portraits.
I'm going to use my s21 Ultra for mostly everything else. Unfortunately I can't fully switch to Android while my kids are still in school because they're on iPad at school. There's a large part of my life centered around school life and it all requires ios to be smooth as possible.
I also have a Pixel 6 Pro coming in at some point. I'm hoping the camera will be close enough to my 13 Pro that eventually I can just put iPhone behind me someday. Right now I'm evaluating Pixels to see if they're an option I would want to go all in on when my communication is no longer tethered to imessage and icloud ecosystem.
I love my Samsung but no, it can't fully replace my iPhones. Sometimes when I have to fill out a form on the internet the window that pops up is unbearably bad to the point you can't even complete it. I don't know how people who exclusively use Samsung manage it. If you go to the same site on an iPhone the interface window is well designed and usable.
Anyway I was tired of the low grade headaches and the weird ache around my eyes. At first I thought it was sinus pressure from allergies but I found out it is definitely tied to use of my 13 Pro. It breaks my heart. I'm typing this on my s21 Ultra.
I didn't have any luck with iPhone se2, either, so I think Apple just does something that's different and very harsh on my nervous system.
Edit: to clarify I have two lines with At&T. One is for the iPhone and apple watch. The other is for any secondary phone I want to experiment with.
But I have finally decided to bench the 13 Pro. I'll keep it on to do portraits because it makes nice ones. And my series 7 Apple Watch will be paired to it and that will be the device that keeps me in touch with everyone now that the 13 Pro messed me up so badly I can't use the purple 12 mini I was well adjusted to.
It's my hope, eventually, I'll be able to go back to the 12 mini again. I actually prefer its camera for everything except portraits.
I'm going to use my s21 Ultra for mostly everything else. Unfortunately I can't fully switch to Android while my kids are still in school because they're on iPad at school. There's a large part of my life centered around school life and it all requires ios to be smooth as possible.
I also have a Pixel 6 Pro coming in at some point. I'm hoping the camera will be close enough to my 13 Pro that eventually I can just put iPhone behind me someday. Right now I'm evaluating Pixels to see if they're an option I would want to go all in on when my communication is no longer tethered to imessage and icloud ecosystem.
I love my Samsung but no, it can't fully replace my iPhones. Sometimes when I have to fill out a form on the internet the window that pops up is unbearably bad to the point you can't even complete it. I don't know how people who exclusively use Samsung manage it. If you go to the same site on an iPhone the interface window is well designed and usable.
Anyway I was tired of the low grade headaches and the weird ache around my eyes. At first I thought it was sinus pressure from allergies but I found out it is definitely tied to use of my 13 Pro. It breaks my heart. I'm typing this on my s21 Ultra.
I didn't have any luck with iPhone se2, either, so I think Apple just does something that's different and very harsh on my nervous system.
Edit: to clarify I have two lines with At&T. One is for the iPhone and apple watch. The other is for any secondary phone I want to experiment with.
That’s what the regular 12 pro did to me. Really messed me up and using my 11 pro max wasn’t the same anymore. The 12 pro was really bad for me. Much worse than the original X. I’m really glad I was able to snag this 8 plus. I really do miss a 1080p large LCD screen.
Oh no. That’s awful. I would have stayed on my 12 Pro max but it had the bad screen for showing movies. I mean dark scenes in a dimly lit room looked like mud. It couldn’t display black correctly and made a weird greenish white glow. So I thought this upgrade made sense. But it didn’t. I’m now on my 12 mini. I can focus on the display better than I could on the 13 Pro. I’m logging off now. I have to try to get back on it in baby steps. A minute or two at a time and see if I can get back to it.
I have the same low grade headache and eye discomfort. I’m just going to suffer. It feels worth it to have a small phone. My wife joked that it encourages me to be on my phone less. Ha.
Hi guys, this is going to be my last post for a while.
While the 13 Pro has been much better than the other OLED iPhones for me, it's still not quite there. I'd put it a bit below how I described the 12 Pro Max in the above post, yet not as comfortable as the iPhone 11.
I think I could probably live with the 13 Pro. However, it's something that I intended to keep for years due to the price of it. If it's going to last such a long time and cost so much, I want it to be totally problem-free. The fact that I'm still unhappy with the PWM, combined with the price tag, means that I'm going to stick with my iPhone 11.
At this point, I'm utterly exhausted and really don't want to think about phones for a while. My 11 is totally problem-free and cost me less than half the price of the 13 Pro or 13 Pro Max. One of the lessons I've learnt through my marathon of iPhone swaps is that the core experience, the 'iPhone experience', is essentially the same across all of them. They all do essentially the same thing and the extra bells and whistles you get for double the price aren't worth it to me any more. At the end of the day, it's night time... they're all just phones and some burn your eyes (a lot) more than others!
So my plan is to stick with the 11 and see what happens over the next few years. If the rumoured XR-based SE is real, I might check it out just because it won't cost the world and should have the A15 and 5G. Otherwise, my plan is to wait for a really big upgrade in a few years' time, either with eye-friendly OLED, miniLED or microLED.
To be clear, I'm not leaving our little PWM-hating community here. I just need a break from thinking about phones and technology in general. I need to remember that I have a life to live!
As always, thanks for being so friendly, thoughtful and helpful! I love how we're all keen to share our experiences and help each other out, whilst sometimes having a laugh about our own suffering.
See you guys soon.
This!
My main takeaway of trying the gamut of different iPhones since the X has shown me the iOS experience is the same. You can get on an iPhone X or the 13 Pro max and your experience is virtually the same.
I bought an iPhone 11 for this exact reason and it’s been kinda nice not being tempted by the 12pro or 13pro simply because I know it wouldn’t be worth the headaches. Will be nice if/when they release a device that doesn’t cause headaches though but in the meantime, it’s extending the joy I get from my old phone.
I just wanted to let you know that I’ve landed on the exact same decision as you and for the same reasons. My 11 gives me zero issues, is paid for, isnt worth much for trade-in or resale, and I don’t feel like dropping $1400 after tax on a phone that isnt completely problem free. The stress of it all, and mostly the lack of being content, isnt worth it. I’ll enjoy this another year and see what happens with the 14. The only thing I really wanted was the better cameras but with night mode on the 11, I’m still very pleased photos and videos.Hi guys, this is going to be my last post for a while.
While the 13 Pro has been much better than the other OLED iPhones for me, it's still not quite there. I'd put it a bit below how I described the 12 Pro Max in the above post, yet not as comfortable as the iPhone 11.
I think I could probably live with the 13 Pro. However, it's something that I intended to keep for years due to the price of it. If it's going to last such a long time and cost so much, I want it to be totally problem-free. The fact that I'm still unhappy with the PWM, combined with the price tag, means that I'm going to stick with my iPhone 11.
At this point, I'm utterly exhausted and really don't want to think about phones for a while. My 11 is totally problem-free and cost me less than half the price of the 13 Pro or 13 Pro Max. One of the lessons I've learnt through my marathon of iPhone swaps is that the core experience, the 'iPhone experience', is essentially the same across all of them. They all do essentially the same thing and the extra bells and whistles you get for double the price aren't worth it to me any more. At the end of the day, it's night time... they're all just phones and some burn your eyes (a lot) more than others!
So my plan is to stick with the 11 and see what happens over the next few years. If the rumoured XR-based SE is real, I might check it out just because it won't cost the world and should have the A15 and 5G. Otherwise, my plan is to wait for a really big upgrade in a few years' time, either with eye-friendly OLED, miniLED or microLED.
To be clear, I'm not leaving our little PWM-hating community here. I just need a break from thinking about phones and technology in general. I need to remember that I have a life to live!
As always, thanks for being so friendly, thoughtful and helpful! I love how we're all keen to share our experiences and help each other out, whilst sometimes having a laugh about our own suffering.
See you guys soon.
You’ve been fun to follow. And to everyone else, I wish you all the very best. I’m going to take a lengthy sabbatical from the forums but I’ll check in from time to time ✌🏼
Funny…I basically said the same thing to myself today.
I visited the Apple Store today — first time since the pandemic started — and got to play with all of the new Apple toys. I spent some time with the iPhones, of course. My expectations were low, but there is always that hope that the new iPhones would be an epiphany of optical OLED comfort. Well, I can’t say that happened, unfortunately. As I was using the phone I came to the conclusion that even if it felt great, I’m not sure I would want to buy it anyway. I have an 11 and I really like it. There was definitely not ~$1,000 of value for me. In the end, I probably did not play with them long enough to come to a final conclusion regarding whether I could use the 13’s comfortably, long term. I would need to use it for a few days to be sure. However, I do think I was starting to feel that familiar discomfort that I had felt before. It could have been psychosomatic…don’t know. But in the end, it didn’t really matter that much. I was sticking with my 11 regardless.
I will say that the phones are very nice and the 120hz refresh makes scrolling buttery smooth.
The highlight of my trip was the iPad mini. I am a bit of an iPad junkie and they are my favorite apple device. I have zero need for a new iPad…but, damn…I really would like the mini.
Thank you for sharing your experience! I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you as you had hoped…but as a fellow 11 user, the 11 is a very nice phone and has many years of useful life left (at least that’s what I keep telling myself!).Hi guys, this is going to be my last post for a while.
While the 13 Pro has been much better than the other OLED iPhones for me, it's still not quite there. I'd put it a bit below how I described the 12 Pro Max in the above post, yet not as comfortable as the iPhone 11.
I think I could probably live with the 13 Pro. However, it's something that I intended to keep for years due to the price of it. If it's going to last such a long time and cost so much, I want it to be totally problem-free. The fact that I'm still unhappy with the PWM, combined with the price tag, means that I'm going to stick with my iPhone 11.
At this point, I'm utterly exhausted and really don't want to think about phones for a while. My 11 is totally problem-free and cost me less than half the price of the 13 Pro or 13 Pro Max. One of the lessons I've learnt through my marathon of iPhone swaps is that the core experience, the 'iPhone experience', is essentially the same across all of them. They all do essentially the same thing and the extra bells and whistles you get for double the price aren't worth it to me any more. At the end of the day, it's night time... they're all just phones and some burn your eyes (a lot) more than others!
So my plan is to stick with the 11 and see what happens over the next few years. If the rumoured XR-based SE is real, I might check it out just because it won't cost the world and should have the A15 and 5G. Otherwise, my plan is to wait for a really big upgrade in a few years' time, either with eye-friendly OLED, miniLED or microLED.
To be clear, I'm not leaving our little PWM-hating community here. I just need a break from thinking about phones and technology in general. I need to remember that I have a life to live!
As always, thanks for being so friendly, thoughtful and helpful! I love how we're all keen to share our experiences and help each other out, whilst sometimes having a laugh about our own suffering.
See you guys soon.
Damn, well Apple are leaving money on the table. Imagine if they gave us a 13 or 13 Pro with 1080p LCD - much more profit to be had as the price would be higher than the 11. At this point I would pay full price just to have LCD over OLED on a flagship iphone.
I appreciate everyone who has followed up with their personal experiences and wish you all well with your phone choices for the next year. ?
I appreciate everyone who has followed up with their personal experiences and wish you all well with your phone choices for the next year. ?
I wish they had not changed the LCD. I don't know what they changed but I found my Xr display harsh compared to my 8 Plus. If there's a way to adjust white point like on the OLED display that would have been helpful. I found my iPhone SE2 gave me symptoms similar to pwm symptoms.
I may have the opportunity to use an Xr again though, if I fail to readjust to my 12 mini. My late mother-in-law had an iPhone 4. AT&T recently sent to her account an iPhone Xr. It is to replace the 4 since they finally shut down 3g service. I don't know if we are being charged for this phone. My husband never closed her account and still pays for it for some reason. So maybe the phone comes with it for free. He will check into it. I can possibly use it if we can sort out payment on it.
Going from a 512 gb 13 Pro to a 64 gb Xr would be quite a leap back in time for me. But at least it's something to keep me on iOS.
The funny thing that happened recently is a couple of nights ago I went to an awards ceremony at my child's school. The lidar focusing system on the 13 Pro and my husband's 13 Pro Max went crazy. It wanted to focus on the people sitting in front of us instead of the stage where the kids were getting awards. The room was well lit. But my husband's phone also went into night mode for some reason. We got a lot of blurry photos. But we did get some good ones. Our friends with older iPhones supplemented our photos that we couldn't get. I think sometimes the cameras have gotten over complicated. My 12 mini focuses faster and snaps faster than my 13 Pro did. That's the phone I really want to get acclimated to again.
My apologies for rambling on. I wish you all well and a good weekend.
I may have the opportunity to use an Xr again though, if I fail to readjust to my 12 mini. My late mother-in-law had an iPhone 4. AT&T recently sent to her account an iPhone Xr. It is to replace the 4 since they finally shut down 3g service. I don't know if we are being charged for this phone. My husband never closed her account and still pays for it for some reason. So maybe the phone comes with it for free. He will check into it. I can possibly use it if we can sort out payment on it.
Going from a 512 gb 13 Pro to a 64 gb Xr would be quite a leap back in time for me. But at least it's something to keep me on iOS.
The funny thing that happened recently is a couple of nights ago I went to an awards ceremony at my child's school. The lidar focusing system on the 13 Pro and my husband's 13 Pro Max went crazy. It wanted to focus on the people sitting in front of us instead of the stage where the kids were getting awards. The room was well lit. But my husband's phone also went into night mode for some reason. We got a lot of blurry photos. But we did get some good ones. Our friends with older iPhones supplemented our photos that we couldn't get. I think sometimes the cameras have gotten over complicated. My 12 mini focuses faster and snaps faster than my 13 Pro did. That's the phone I really want to get acclimated to again.
My apologies for rambling on. I wish you all well and a good weekend.
The 11 is a great phone and the Apple experience is the same. Just agreeing with all y’all above
The 8 Plus was the end of an era. It was the last 1080p LCD iPhone with a 410 ppi pixel density - that’s why it looks so sharp.
Every LCD iPhone after it (including the XR) uses a 326 ppi LCD screen which is not as sharp and can look a bit fuzzy on the edges of text. It’s this not-quiet-sharp-enough display that’s causing eye strain on all those lcd iphones. The eyes are constantly hunting for focus where none actually exists - and the muscles get fatigued and painful.
That’s my theory today anyway.
Every LCD iPhone after it (including the XR) uses a 326 ppi LCD screen which is not as sharp and can look a bit fuzzy on the edges of text. It’s this not-quiet-sharp-enough display that’s causing eye strain on all those lcd iphones. The eyes are constantly hunting for focus where none actually exists - and the muscles get fatigued and painful.
That’s my theory today anyway.