Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[mstgkillr]

I had an ocular migraine for the first time on Saturday, which quickly had me on my way to the ER! It really scared me, I thought I was having a stroke or some other significant medical event. It started off as a small blurry spot in the center of my vision, then progressed into a rainbow zigzag mess of colors taking almost half of my field of view. In about 25 min it subsided but left me completely worn out and in the ER. After a CT scan, I was sent on my way with a diagnosis of ocular migraine.

I still have a followup this week with an ophthalmologist for a complete eye exam but I'm leaning towards my iPhone X having something to do with it. I've been using the X since launch and have noticed slight eye strain towards the end of the day, which is something I normally do not experience.

After a complete eye exam, my vision is great and better than 20/20. I easily read both the distance and up close charts at 20/20. They dialated my pupils, a first for me, and all was well.

My ophthalmologist also suffers from ocular migraines. He said that I need to find my trigger, whether it be stress, alcohol, certain lighting, foods, etc... I’ve been thinking long and hard, but the only thing different is my iPhone X. However, I am working long hours and finishing up my engineering degree, but I’ve been on the same schedule for the last few years.

So it’s either my hectic schedule finally catching up with me or my iPhone X.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I thought I was going crazy... I find the 7 Plus display easier to stare at. Focusing on the X gives me a bit of a headache. I’ve wanted OLED on iPhone for years but I’m not sure I’m totally sold even if the display is gorgeous.
[doublepost=1512111649][/doublepost]The eye strain is actually making me consider returning the X. Maybe it’ll resolve itself but I didn’t have any issues with the 7 Plus which I’ve already gotten rid of.

 

[5105973]

I’m definitely not getting the migraine symptoms some of you guys are getting, but I feel some eye strain trying to read ebooks on the X. It just looks and feels odd.

Otherwise I’m enjoying the OLED panel. I can game on it just fine but it does consume the battery on the X at a faster rate than it does on my 7 Plus. Since I ended up keeping my 7 Plus, I’ll continue to do my e-reading on it and some of my Animal Crossing.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I’m definitely not getting the migraine symptoms some of you guys are getting, but I feel some eye strain trying to read ebooks on the X. It just looks and feels odd.

Otherwise I’m enjoying the OLED panel. I can game on it just fine but it does consume the battery on the X at a faster rate than it does on my 7 Plus. Since I ended up keeping my 7 Plus, I’ll continue to do my e-reading on it and some of my Animal Crossing.

Try switching over to the dark mode where the text is white and the background is dark. Should fix the battery issue.

 

[5105973]

Try switching over to the dark mode where the background is white and the text is dark. Should fix the battery issue.

I have that on Kindle for iOS. It’s Animal Crossing that kills my battery. If I use the X for anything else my battery life is pretty good. Not as good as on a Plus, but good enough to get me through a day.

 

[iCantSee]

I am also having this issue. Just got my iPhone X today. I have never had any sort of eye issue in my life but within 10 minutes my eyes were strained and tired. My left eye also started to twitch. This sucks. I turned off the FaceID but am still having an issue. Going to give it a few days but if this doesn't resolve I am definitely going to return the phone.

 

[bolandross]

I returned mine and switched to an iPhone 8 Plus. It felt huge in the beginning, but now I have gotten used to it and managed to become a happy human being.

 

[iCantSee]

I returned mine and switched to an iPhone 8 Plus. It felt huge in the beginning, but now I have gotten used to it and managed to become a happy human being.

I really think that's what I will end up doing. It's too bad but it's not worth risking permanent eye damage.

 

[5105973]

I really think that's what I will end up doing. It's too bad but it's not worth risking permanent eye damage.

I don’t know that anyone will end up with permanent eye damage from the display issues but it definitely will give your nervous system as a whole some relief.

 

[iCantSee]

I don’t know that anyone will end up with permanent eye damage from the display issues but it definitely will give your nervous system as a whole some relief.

I just feel that when your body has a reaction like this it is telling you to stop because you are doing something harmful. But who knows. Does seem like a pretty rare issue. Some stories online but clearly not an epidemic. Hope they don't go to only OLED displays in the future...

 

[HelloitsLewis]

Had my iPhoneX for 3 days, and every single day I’ve had really bad eye strain. Today I’ve developed a really bad migraine.

Tomorrow I’m going to return my iPhoneX and get an iPhone 8 Plus.

It’s a shame. I love the iPhoneX, asides from the implications it’s had on my eyes/head.

Hope Apple develop a better OLED screen in the 2nd gen, or I may have to go to the dark side!!

 

[spencermfi]

After 2 weeks I sadly returned mine and picked up a regular old 8 on Black Friday. I was having immediate pain behind my eyes anytime I looked at the X.

I've never experienced anything like this and if it didn't so obviously affect me I'd probably dismiss stories about it as whining, but the truth is that I haven't had any pain in my eyes since I returned it. Bummer, because it was an amazing device otherwise.

 

[MICHAELSD]

My eye pain is getting worse, not better. Would have thought I was crazy were it not for this thread. I think we should contact Apple regarding this. Huge disappointment if this continues. I already got rid of my 7 Plus so I'll have to step down to an 8 Plus, and I'm annoyed because $200 more for the X is a no-brainer.
[doublepost=1512192555][/doublepost]

I am also having this issue. Just got my iPhone X today. I have never had any sort of eye issue in my life but within 10 minutes my eyes were strained and tired. My left eye also started to twitch. This sucks. I turned off the FaceID but am still having an issue. Going to give it a few days but if this doesn't resolve I am definitely going to return the phone.

My right eye started to twitch after using iPhone X for the past few days since I got it, and tonight I started to feel strain in my left eye too.

Damn, Apple. Was not expecting this.

 

[Streetmagus22]

Anyone else on here who has been using the iPhone X since launch, reading news article all day etc, and not feel a thing?
OLED isn’t unique to the iPhone and Samsung has been making them for years...even made the one for iPhone X.
But then you guys could just be the small group of people that the warnings you see on video games are for.

 

[Kitkad]

Anyone else on here who has been using the iPhone X since launch, reading news article all day etc, and not feel a thing?

The silent majority.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I think I've figured out the reason, which was mentioned earlier in this thread. The display, for assumedly the first time on any Apple product, likely utilizes Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). PWM "cycles the backlight on and off in rapid succession. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether." I couldn't find a definitive answer on whether PWM is utilized as there is conflicting info but it looks like that is the case.

If they can figure out a way to disable this or negate the effect we can be happy with our new iPhone X's...
[doublepost=1512203333][/doublepost]Yup, that seems to be the reason. Samsung phones have had this issue for years, whereas Apple has avoided PWM. Having now experienced it, I'm disappointed in Apple for adding it to its newest flagship since it makes the phone unusable for a percentage of their customers.

 

[GlenK]

I exchanged my X last Tuesday and it took 2 days for the headache to go away completely. If you are one of the people that has this issue and had to change phones please send your feedback to Apple. I suggested that they make a X with a iPhone 8 type screen. The X is such an amazing device I can't believe I can't use it.

https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

 

[jimmy_uk]

I exchanged my X last Tuesday and it took 2 days for the headache to go away completely. If you are one of the people that has this issue and had to change phones please send your feedback to Apple. I suggested that they make a X with a iPhone 8 type screen. The X is such an amazing device I can't believe I can't use it.

https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

Stubbornly tried to use an X yesterday evening. Today I have a headache and the backs of my eyes hurt again. Gotta face up to the X not being for me damn it.

 

[GlenK]

Stubbornly tried to use an X yesterday evening. Today I have a headache and the backs of my eyes hurt again. Gotta face up to the X not being for me damn it.

I know, it's really upsetting not to be able to use the X. I absolutely love it!! Hopefully Apple will figure out a way to deal with this with some type options. When I went back to the 8+ it feels like a step back in time!!

 

[jimmy_uk]

I know, it's really upsetting not to be able to use the X. I absolutely love it!! Hopefully Apple will figure out a way to deal with this with some type options. When I went back to the 8+ it feels like a step back in time!!

It's annoying, this was my third attempt to use the X. It's such a great device and I managed to secure a model with a nice bright uniformed display. It does have a noticeable "sharp" edge on the rear bezel (right side) but at this point I don't think I'll ever receive a product from Apple with zero issues.

But after one evening the backs of my eyes are so sore it's caused a right side headache. This is after not seeing the shimmering effect I've seen previously so I don't know what's causing it anymore.

Yes there some colour shift at more extreme angles to a pale yellow but it's so much better than previous models. Still its going back at thats the end of this year's fun and games.

 

[Vanilla35]

I gave the X a try tonight. It's not as bad as I had worried. I can't visibly see the screen flicker without taking a video of it. However, I still ended up getting left eye pain and had a lot of trouble focusing on the text. The text definitely ghosts while scrolling and I got mild motion sickness reading text.

I looked at the iPhone 8 and was surprised by how great the new LED displays look on them even coming from the iPhone 7. The wide color gamut is really noticeable. I expected the display on the X to be dramatically better than the 8, but the pentile display on the X has a mildly grainy appearance close up.

So I'm not sure what I'm going to get. I'll probably go with the 8, but I'm going to give the X a few more tries. I did like the larger screen and the dual camera.

I've been saying this for a while in other threads. OLED isn't all that. Pentile sub-pixel layout ends up looking somewhat grainy, and while contrast is much better, the overall experience aside from that, is questionable; albeit imo, worse. Will likely be upgrading to the SE 2 (if it doesn't suck), and will consider the X (2018) only if it has 120hz display, for ultra smoothness.

I've never had issues with screen flickering causing serious headaches (I've noticed it on early to mid monitor display panels like others have stated) however have never noticed it on OLED phones, so I'm sure this won't be a huge deal to me on the X.

 

[ssl0408]

I did experience this for the first 3 days that I had the X but it is gone now. It had me considering going to an iPhone 8. I'm happy that it didn't last any longer.

 

[mstgkillr]

I had an ocular migraine for the first time on Saturday, which quickly had me on my way to the ER! It really scared me, I thought I was having a stroke or some other significant medical event. It started off as a small blurry spot in the center of my vision, then progressed into a rainbow zigzag mess of colors taking almost half of my field of view. In about 25 min it subsided but left me completely worn out and in the ER. After a CT scan, I was sent on my way with a diagnosis of ocular migraine.

I still have a followup this week with an ophthalmologist for a complete eye exam but I'm leaning towards my iPhone X having something to do with it. I've been using the X since launch and have noticed slight eye strain towards the end of the day, which is something I normally do not experience.

After a complete eye exam, my vision is great and better than 20/20. I easily read both the distance and up close charts at 20/20. They dialated my pupils, a first for me, and all was well.

My ophthalmologist also suffers from ocular migraines. He said that I need to find my trigger, whether it be stress, alcohol, certain lighting, foods, etc... I’ve been thinking long and hard, but the only thing different is my iPhone X. However, I am working long hours and finishing up my engineering degree, but I’ve been on the same schedule for the last few years.

So it’s either my hectic schedule finally catching up with me or my iPhone X.

I contacted Apple, explained my situation, and they quickly offered me a full refund even though I was way past the 14-day return window! I know Apple has excellent customer service and I hope that is what is happening in my case, but I can't help thinking this may be a known issue and larger than we think.

I've already placed my order for an 8 Plus. However, I keep going back and forth with myself. On one side, I think there is no way the PWM could be causing me any issues. On the other, I don't think my symptoms are coincidence.

What is even worse, I assume PWM and OLED is going to be implemented in the flagship iPhones moving forward, at least for the next few iterations.
[doublepost=1512226174][/doublepost]Does anyone know at what frequency the PWM of the iPhone X operates at and at what frequency people become susceptible to the flicker?

 

[Proteinaceous]

I exchanged my X last Tuesday and it took 2 days for the headache to go away completely. If you are one of the people that has this issue and had to change phones please send your feedback to Apple. I suggested that they make a X with a iPhone 8 type screen. The X is such an amazing device I can't believe I can't use it.

https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

Feedback submitted. Thanks for posting this link. I was looking for this on Apple’s site recently and couldn’t easily find it.

 

[Vanilla35]

Also everyone, don't forget that Apple plans to switch things over to Micro-LED once it's available. They will be doing testing in 2019 supposedly with the Apple Watch, and should go from there (LG manufacturing). I'm not certain whether this means if all goes well it could be available to use in the iPhone the very next year, as there are large variations in manufacturing volume between the watch and iphones. I'm also not certain whether they will even be able to look to include it as soon as possible because they start finalizing iPhone design about a year before release, and they'll likely want to see how the micro led does on the watch first.

Either way, optimistically, I don't think Apple will stick with OLED very long. It could be 2-4 years though.