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Are you experiencing this issue?


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I agree. They have improved since iPhone 12 and they are more bright. But just open a safari webpage with iPhone 13 side by side to iPhone 11 and honestly tell me which one you prefer to read. On OLED the experience is dull and like piss/sand. I also agree that on YouTube videos for example or when browsing your photos OLED is more rich and punchy.
As noted I don’t find iPhone 13 to have that overly yellow punch. It’s more of a pure neutral white than even the latest iPhone SE which has an incredibly color-accurate LCD. I prefer warmer displays but it’s like they finally took a step back from making every generation slightly warmer than the last, which again I personally enjoyed. This can also be mitigated by turning off True Tone, although I calibrate all my displays to be as warm as possible and use Night Shift mode.
 
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I’m not having any problems whatsoever. I’ve had my s22 Ultra about 3 weeks now. I’m reading on it just fine. I love this phone and I use the S Pen a lot for taking quick notes on the screen. If it could do iMessage, Apple Pay and Apple Maps and work with my Apple Watch, I think it would be my ultimate phone. Unfortunately, my dependence on Apple is a bother.

But please take that with a grain of salt because as I have found, what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another when it comes to pwm sensitivity.
Makes sense that you can use the s22 ultra, i just saw the Notebookcheck review and they measured a low but very stable pwm fequency of 120 or 240 hz (depending on the panel refresh rate) Similar to dc dimming. So i guess that its easy for your eyes and brain to get used to such a stable frequency. Personally i didn´t gave the s22 enough time to get used to but i but now i would give it a try again :)
 
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I posted this on another thread last year.......
Posting it again in hear as today marks the 1 year anniversary of pain.
Also since posting the below post, the drug wore off and pain came back and I'm at the stage again of taking a cocktail of drugs to find something which may help.

--------------------------------

Long time reader of the forum but I dont post much.

I got my Iphone 12 pro on 15th February and as a photographer I loved the cameras.

About 5 days after getting the phone I had a migraine and light headed feeling, I never once corresponded it to the phone as I had come from iphone X and same screen technology.

After 2 weeks I twigged and immediately stopped and used an Iphone 8 i had in a drawer. Massive release in the pain so I sold the 12pro and purchased an 11.

However a deep pain in the top of my head never went away, I couldnt work, play with the kids etc, totally debilitating........ (and this is where the fun 'or not' began)

My GP gave me migraine talets, didnt touch it.
He tried beta blockers, often used for migraines, didnt touch it.
Bloods taken, MRI done to rule out anything serious, he mentioned tumours, bleeds etc.

I sought advice myself from a group called OUCH (Organisation Understanding Cluster Headaches) and they diagnosed me with a condition called Hermicrania over the phone but said I would need professional diagnosis. I had to stamp my feet with my GP to be referred to a Neurologist that specialised in headache conditions. Due to the current NHS and COVID waiting times were 13months.

I eventually paid £300 private for a 10minute appointment where I was correctly diagnosed with NDPH (a condition which can be triggered by a trauma or exposure to repetitive eye strain etc) and told one of four prescriptions could work before having botox injections into my scalp every 3 months. I was initially prescribed Topiramate a drug that caused memory loss, depression, really bad anxiety. Luckilly the next prescription worked and i have been pain free 3 weeks but cannot really drink on them. The issue is I am probably on them for the rest of my life as this condition hardly goes into remission.

WHAT I AM TRYING TO SAY IS ANYBODY EXPERIENCING HEADACHES ETC, STOP AS QUICK AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN.

I appreciate this doesnt effect a large amount of people but if this can save just one person from what I have had to go through it will have done some good.

This last 6 months has been hell, I remember reading all the same comments on the Iphone X and thinking everyone was just being soft and imagining it. I hadnt been to the GP at all in the last 3 years, in the last 6 months I have been or called over 50 times.

i am now waiting on the next LCD screen and sticking with my Iphone 11 until then, not holding my breath that will come anytime soon.

Good health to everyone and take care.

I'm in the exact same situation. Getting a new smartphone totally destroyed my life. I've been having headache and blurred vision for 2 years, nothing helps. Since it's not a medical forum, is there any way to contact you?
 
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I may need to seriously consider iPhone SE since headaches don’t go away over time. It’s possible to partially adjust for periods and if I’m being honest I enjoy this iPhone 13 Mini so much that I continue wanting to reset iPhone SE, finalize the trade-in, and keep it regardless.

I’ve tried every combination of Reduce White Point / brightness shortcuts at this point, which is ironic since I said I wouldn’t do that with iPhone 13 Pro. Auto-brightness is of course ideal although Reduce White Point can slightly mitigate headaches at some levels.

It’s funny the levels we have to go to whereas a trillion-dollar company can’t prioritize an Accessibility setting or getting rid of PWM altogether.
 
I may need to seriously consider iPhone SE since headaches don’t go away over time. It’s possible to partially adjust for periods and if I’m being honest I enjoy this iPhone 13 Mini so much that I continue wanting to reset iPhone SE, finalize the trade-in, and keep it regardless.

I’ve tried every combination of Reduce White Point / brightness shortcuts at this point, which is ironic since I said I wouldn’t do that with iPhone 13 Pro. Auto-brightness is of course ideal although Reduce White Point can slightly mitigate headaches at some levels.

It’s funny the levels we have to go to whereas a trillion-dollar company can’t prioritize an Accessibility setting or getting rid of PWM altogether.
Why don’t you stay with 11 instead of new SE ?
 
Why don’t you stay with 11 instead of new SE ?
I was slightly disappointed by iPhone 11 the first time I had it, and I’m sure it would be less enjoyable now after two superior iPhone generations.

iPhone SE is better in some ways, including the silicon, size IMO, and even the display color calibration. Although I will admit that iPhone 11 had surprisingly deep, vibrant color reproduction and a detailed camera.
 
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Makes sense that you can use the s22 ultra, i just saw the Notebookcheck review and they measured a low but very stable pwm fequency of 120 or 240 hz (depending on the panel refresh rate) Similar to dc dimming. So i guess that its easy for your eyes and brain to get used to such a stable frequency. Personally i didn´t gave the s22 enough time to get used to but i but now i would give it a try again :)
How does it compare to Galaxy s21 ultra (i have issues with it) and Galaxy s10 (no issues for me)? Numbers look alike, but maybe frequency waves have the answer for me...I'd like to know if i can get a s22 ultra or revert to LCD device for the time being
 
How does it compare to Galaxy s21 ultra (i have issues with it) and Galaxy s10 (no issues for me)? Numbers look alike, but maybe frequency waves have the answer for me...I'd like to know if i can get a s22 ultra or revert to LCD device for the time being
Good questions. I have no issues with my Galaxy S10e. I recently tried iPhone 13 Mini but had to sell it as my eyes were burning. I have been thinking that my eyes can handle Galaxy displays but am now concerned that some people have been having problems with the new Galaxy S22.
 
Good questions. I have no issues with my Galaxy S10e. I recently tried iPhone 13 Mini but had to sell it as my eyes were burning. I have been thinking that my eyes can handle Galaxy displays but am now concerned that some people have been having problems with the new Galaxy S22.
I can say Galaxy displays have been worse over years: s10+ perfect, s20+ slight issues, s21 ultra needs overlay dim app...I'm scared by s22 ultra
On the other hand oled iPhones are a complete nightmare
 
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I can say Galaxy displays have been worse over years: s10+ perfect, s20+ slight issues, s21 ultra needs overlay dim app...I'm scared by s22 ultra
On the other hand oled iPhones are a complete nightmare
Very discouraging especially when usually the problems are not apparent during the short time we examine the phones in the store and where I live phones can only be returned if they are defective.
 
I posted this on another thread last year.......
Posting it again in hear as today marks the 1 year anniversary of pain.
Also since posting the below post, the drug wore off and pain came back and I'm at the stage again of taking a cocktail of drugs to find something which may help.

--------------------------------

Long time reader of the forum but I dont post much.

I got my Iphone 12 pro on 15th February and as a photographer I loved the cameras.

About 5 days after getting the phone I had a migraine and light headed feeling, I never once corresponded it to the phone as I had come from iphone X and same screen technology.

After 2 weeks I twigged and immediately stopped and used an Iphone 8 i had in a drawer. Massive release in the pain so I sold the 12pro and purchased an 11.

However a deep pain in the top of my head never went away, I couldnt work, play with the kids etc, totally debilitating........ (and this is where the fun 'or not' began)

My GP gave me migraine talets, didnt touch it.
He tried beta blockers, often used for migraines, didnt touch it.
Bloods taken, MRI done to rule out anything serious, he mentioned tumours, bleeds etc.

I sought advice myself from a group called OUCH (Organisation Understanding Cluster Headaches) and they diagnosed me with a condition called Hermicrania over the phone but said I would need professional diagnosis. I had to stamp my feet with my GP to be referred to a Neurologist that specialised in headache conditions. Due to the current NHS and COVID waiting times were 13months.

I eventually paid £300 private for a 10minute appointment where I was correctly diagnosed with NDPH (a condition which can be triggered by a trauma or exposure to repetitive eye strain etc) and told one of four prescriptions could work before having botox injections into my scalp every 3 months. I was initially prescribed Topiramate a drug that caused memory loss, depression, really bad anxiety. Luckilly the next prescription worked and i have been pain free 3 weeks but cannot really drink on them. The issue is I am probably on them for the rest of my life as this condition hardly goes into remission.

WHAT I AM TRYING TO SAY IS ANYBODY EXPERIENCING HEADACHES ETC, STOP AS QUICK AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN.

I appreciate this doesnt effect a large amount of people but if this can save just one person from what I have had to go through it will have done some good.

This last 6 months has been hell, I remember reading all the same comments on the Iphone X and thinking everyone was just being soft and imagining it. I hadnt been to the GP at all in the last 3 years, in the last 6 months I have been or called over 50 times.

i am now waiting on the next LCD screen and sticking with my Iphone 11 until then, not holding my breath that will come anytime soon.

Good health to everyone and take care.
I’m sorry I missed your post first time around and just saw it in a quote. Thank you for providing this wealth of information about your medical investigation into your problems with pwm.

With Bruce Willis’s recent announcement that brings aphasia into the news, I am forced to reckon with the possibility that my own aphasia, which was attributed to migraines and so thought to be something that would be intermittent, is now a sign of some sort of permanent damage. Because it never really has let up even when I’m not actively having a migraine. I have had to learn or retrain myself in a new way of speaking that will allow me time to find words so that it looks like a natural pause. Or else random gibberish comes out. I’m really not often able to have a sustained intelligent conversation at all anymore. The person you see on this forum is not the woman you’d be conversing with in person. I smile and nod a lot. I’m a wonderful listener, lol, so at least there’s that. But there are quite a few people who meet me now and come away thinking I’m an airhead.

In the aftermath of a severe aphasia incident after using an XS Max, I spoke as if I were recovering from a stroke. During that incident, which lasted a few hours if I remember correctly, I could not read, write, speak well or understand what was being said to me. But I was able to still form very clear coherent thoughts. I just had no way of expressing them. And in the aftermath I had heavily slurred speech.

So this is not something to take lightly. PWM however is not my only trigger.
 
This is odd: I can literally see the PWM lines on my iPhone 13 Mini tonight depending how I focus on the display. As much as I still want to keep it, I am ridiculously sensitive and perceptible to the PWM flicker.
 
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Just decided i will buy se 2022, tried again in store, so cool to have small phone again.. hope canera wont be much worse than on my ip11…
I find the camera about the same in daylight and a bit lesser quality in indoor dim lighting and low lighting. Though sometimes the new AI kicks in and does something to improve lowlight photo details.

I’m definitely better off than I was with the SE 2020 camera. I liked that phone well enough, but I love this SE. If I could change anything about it, I would just make it able to work with AirTag like my iPhone 11 does. I’m okay without the SE 2022 having a night photo mode. It’s definitely better all around than my XR that I traded in was.

I still have my iPhone 11 and use it on Wi-Fi. It’s going back to being my main phone in the fall and winter. SE is my summer fling. Lol.

My wish is that Apple either updates the chip on the iPhone 11 or makes an iPhone SE Plus similar to this SE but using the design of the iPhone 8 Plus. I like to have one big iPhone and one little iPhone.
 
I am really curious if the se 2022 has a different display or display drivers in comparison to the 8. Because i am one of the people that wasn´t able to use my iphone 8 after the ios 14.6. I also can´t use any other lcd or oled iphone anymore since i get symptoms directly.
I wonder if the panel itself is different since reviewers seem to mention it as being the same part. However, the color calibration is definitely improved and I get no headaches personally but I do know of some users that have issues with I.e. the temporal dithering on iPhone 11.

That being said I’ve barely used iPhone SE in favor of iPhone 13 Mini which I still love. This is becoming a bit of a problem since I’ll need to make a decision soon. I know once I keep iPhone 13 Mini I won’t be able to bring myself to request another return exception or sell it. The good news again is that I wouldn’t even be able to consider this with any past OLED iPhone.

Maybe if at least the Pro iPhones are upgraded to a ~ 2000Hz panel then that may be enough. Oddly I have the least issues with lower brightness levels where the flicker is 60Hz.

60Hz without PWM like Apple Watch is my suggested solution.
 
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I just hope that someone at Apple is at least looking into this issue. It would be nice to assume that to be the case with the research budget and all their marketing pushes towards "health", that it would also include "eye-health".
The issues with flickering displays affect a lot of people, some to a catastrophic degree, but many of them are not aware of it and so it's doubtful that they have gotten much in the form of user feedback.

I find it a little strange that a lot of monitor brands to this day market their screens as "flicker-free/eye health", but there has never been a push for it regarding smartphones as far as I know. It's ironic that Apple for the longest time had all products free from PWM, in my opinion making them stand out from the competition. A sort of a guarantee and a peace of mind that you will receive premium, well thought out, safe products for paying the premium price. Either it was by coincidence or they have changed their approach, with continuously introducing more products with flicker to their lineup as of late. Their miniLED displays for example still have PWM, and even if they are at a higher frequency some people are still reporting issues.

Here's to hoping that Apple finds a way to capitalize on this issue, and once again forces all the other manufacturers to follow suit. It would be quite refreshing to see something positive come out of it for a change, compared to some of their infamous innovations *cough* "non-removable battery", "remove headphone jack", "remove charger" etc.

Some sources
 
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iPhone is all about addiction, and the obscene unrealistic colors radiating out of an OLED screen are the ultimate eye/candy. More like eye-crack-cocaine.
OLED just looks ‘fantastic’ to most people (but sorry to break it to you folks, real life doesn’t look ‘fantastic’, it just looks real).
There’s always going to be a group of people who can’t tolerate something (foods, sounds, odors, chemicals — and certain display technologies) and since there’s not enough of them to significantly affect iPhone sales, the flickering crack cocaine-OLED displays will remain the go-to technology to ’enable’ the masses.
 
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Apple knows about the issues with PWM. The problem is that they did a cost benefit analysis and found that they will make more money with the OLED display. It's as simple as that.
 
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Apple knows about the issues with PWM. The problem is that they did a cost benefit analysis and found that they will make more money with the OLED display. It's as simple as that.

I too love OLED, and find the display alone to be addictive. I could stare at the Home Screen all day hypothetically just because of how incredible it looks. Probably an exaggeration, but I thoroughly enjoy the colors and contrast of OLED. I just want to see Apple create a solution that makes it usable without compromises.

A flicker-free brightness controller should be possible in theory. It’s funny that posting about this has basically become a hobby for us at this point since we’re using a lot of energy over it.

Apple’s display team is definitely aware that this can be issue and I’m sure there are more users out there getting headaches not making the correlation to their phone. It’s ironic that Apple will spend as much as $90 for a 5G modem but won’t do or spend whatever it takes to make PWM no longer an issue on its OLED displays. Some of the parts in modern iPhones are expensive and even slightly unnecessary such as LiDAR—it certainly doesn’t seem like Apple is cutting costs. I would happily purchase a $1,200 iPhone 14 Pro Max Ultra if it meant no PWM.
 
I got to play with the new Samsung S22 range at a kiosk stand in my local supermarket and they really impressed me. Next to the iPhone stand these phones look very modern and feel new, the watch was equally awesome. The iPhone 11 still leaves me feeling flat and I have zero interest in the SE 2022 (too small, too old a design). Impossible to determine if I could use an S22 long term from a 10min play in a store, especially in demo mode.

I would like to try an S22+ or Ultra but am concerned about returns to Samsung.com as they have the worst score on Trustpilot. At least with Apple I can walk into a local store and return, no questions asked. I have to factor this in as its likely the PWM could still be an issue, although I have read some have had luck with the Ultra. Sigh.....
 
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Order it online not through the stores. The stores will charge you restocking but I had no problems returning the S21 Ultra when ordered online.
 
At least the bright side is I’ll be the happiest customer ever once we finally get an OLED display, or better, with no flicker or compromises.
 
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