After a bad experience with the X I stuck with my 8. I thought after all this time Apple surely wouldn’t still be utilising eye aching displays, so I took the plunge and ordered a 14P. Appears unfortunately I was wrong, they are still using displays that are extremely uncomfortable to use 😢 if it had a nice comfortable LCD screen it would be a wonderful device, as it is unless I miraculously notice zero discomfort over the next couple of days, it’s going back, I won’t be wasting my hard earned money on such a substandard product.
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Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up
- Thread starter Kitkad
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What I’ve learned after years of doing this:
1) It’s unlikely for it to get better over time. It’s possible certain days will be better and there are ways to mitigate headaches but it’s just putting a band-aid over a problem that will result in stronger migraines the next day.
2) Adjusting to the display in any capacity is unlikely and if it happens it’s a cause for concern. I did have some lingering headaches from using iPhone 13 Mini for a few months. It took me a roughly equivalent amount of time compared to the usage period to mostly get over the headaches caused by iPhone X and iPhone 12 Pro Max. Why, Apple, why?
3) Accordingly to not waste time, if there is any hint of migraines or headaches on the first day it’s probably necessary to give up on the idea of that iPhone generation at that point.
4) No amount of settings available to users will fix the issue. E.g. running the device at a higher brightness, disabling auto-brightness and using brightness shortcuts, and/or utilizing Reduce White Point are all in vain.
I’ve always kinda understood it, I’ve just been surprised you were able to endure the suffering for so long. I’ve been back on this for 20 min and I feel stabbing pains in my eyes. But unlike the last 4 years I’m not willing to throw in the towel just yet. I want zero ‘what if’s’ or second guessing this time. If I know without question my life will suck with this phone in it, it’ll make going back to my 11 a little easier.
I know I come off negative at times in this thread but please know it’s out of frustration not only for myself, but for all of you as well. I typically try to find the positive in everything. But I’m going to say this with 100% confidence….in no way at all do I believe Apple will intentionally address this. No matter the emails, the complaints, etc. We are such a tiny subset of their trillion dollar operation that there’s zero incentive to appease us. Hell it takes them 6 years to add basic things that other phones have been doing. Imagine how long it would take them to change something they don’t even acknowledge as an issue.
I was thinking earlier that Apple went to the trouble of developing an always-on display that could probably remain on 24/7 for five years straight, yet they still can’t just incorporate DC dimming into the display engine.
Unfortunately I’m beginning to believe that the only way we might get it is when they’re at a competitive disadvantage by still using PWM, which is disappointing since Apple usually sets the trend and should be the market-leader with innovation designed to enrich lives.
Of all the iPhones I’ve had, the three I wish I could keep would have been iPhone X, iPhone 12 Pro Max, and iPhone 13 Mini. Thankfully I haven’t felt the same attachment to iPhone 14 Pro Max, which should make it easier to eventually return it.
I should have learned from my past experience and returned my 14” MacBook Pro within the standard return window, since I’m also beginning to dread using the Mini-LED display due to a similar but slightly subdued level of discomfort.
@MICHAELSD have you tried the M1 or M2 MacBooks? I can’t recall. I have the M1 MacBook Air and have zero issues with that screen.
I tried the M2 MacBook Air, and greatly preferred the M1 Pro MacBook Pro. It’s still a nice computer, but I’m getting annoyed of settling due to PWM headaches.
What if 14 Plus is the one?!
(Is gonna be that itch for those of us that have to bail on 14/14P/14PM).
(Is gonna be that itch for those of us that have to bail on 14/14P/14PM).
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For me it's True Tone, after a few years I've had enough of it and it's now turned off on my 14 pro and MacBook.
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Well I am at the Apple store and pretty sure these feel exact same as 13. Getting the pressure in my eyes within a few minutes and the display just feels uncomfortable on my eyes whenever there is movement on the screen. FWIW 14 pro feels slightly better than the other models. See you all next year lol
Who would have thought that the nickname you choose to use back then (2017) will haunt you now
I am going to revise this slightly. There is no question that the 14 pro feels better than the other models. I’ve been playing around with it for 10-15 mins and I’m only getting slight discomfort. Not sure if the discomfort is just related to me using the pro max and the regular for a bit before. Going to see if I can buy it but not activate it so I can test it for a week or so but not go through the pain of a return and re activation of my XR.
I’m getting anxious to see the measured PWM rates to compare, but it’s looking increasingly likely that most of us will have to wait until next year.
I’m disappointed there’s no solution either through an Accessibility setting or even a third-party workaround, yet not surprised at this point.
Also having eye issues
Whenever I use an oled phone the back of my eyes start hurting and it feels like they are burning, won’t be able to focus afterwards
Seeing that username made me realize, I have not come across a post from @now i see it in forever. He/she was always sharing in this thread and forums overall. Last I recall, they were sticking with the 8 Plus. Now that I look, the last post made was in July. I hope that person is ok. It is not often such a prolific poster just goes radio silent.
Maybe they moved on with their life.
I should just accept that I’ll be stuck with the iPhone SE until there’s a new iPhone that’s completely flicker-free. Admittedly I’m considering purchasing iPhone 13 Mini outright, but I know that’s also a lost cause.
I've been using iPhone 14 now for almost 2 hours straight.
Settings:
Aside from eye-strain, in general, this phone is amazing! I love how much lighter it is (weight) than iPhone 14 Pro. Everything about it is great. I think it'll be useable for me as long as I don't use it for long periods of time.
Settings:
- Highest brightness
- Auto brightness off
- Reduce white point at 80%
- Dark mode enabled
Aside from eye-strain, in general, this phone is amazing! I love how much lighter it is (weight) than iPhone 14 Pro. Everything about it is great. I think it'll be useable for me as long as I don't use it for long periods of time.
Haven't seen @TDDM around here for a while either.
The nice thing about iPhone 13 mini is that it's small, so less overall PWM to worry about.
Funny you should say that. I'm trying out the 14 pro this weekend and of course I have reduce motion enabled and things like that, but I found that I liked the screen so much better with true tone off. On my 11 and an SE and other devices I would always leave true tone on but it really doesn't look good in my opinion on the 14 pro. In fact it seems to make it look blurry it feels like my eyes strain a bit more.
Try re-enabling auto-brightness. What I’ve read would indicate that it’s not too much different than Reduce White Point on newer devices as far as amplitudes/pulsations, yet it should make the experience more convenient and comfortable.
Truth be told I may try iPhone 14 if we have more data to back up it being the best option. Considering how much I loved iPhone 13 Mini, I wouldn’t be shocked if it ends up being the underdog.
Was the M2 MacBook Air ok for you screen-wise? I purchased one recently and I am going to be returning it because it is giving me similar (though much more mild) symptoms to OLED iPhones. Thought the symptoms are mild, I refuse to tolerate spending 4 figures on something that makes me feel crappy.
Interestingly, the M2 MacBook Air is supposed to have no PWM. But, the screen does have a flicker when you take a slo-mo video. I put my 2018 12.9 iPad Pro next to the M2 Air and took a slo-mo and the Air flickers and the iPad is solid as a rock (and I’ve never had an issue with the iPad).
To make matters even more confusing, I have an LG monitor that seems to flicker at the same/similar rate as the M2 Air and that monitor doesn’t give me problems.
So maybe it’s not PWM or flickering that gives me problems. Maybe it’s something else. 🤷♂️
Seems like everything with a screen nowadays is just a crapshoot.
I’m thinking of going back to paper, pencil, and a landline rotary phone.
Brand new video from Zollotech. This time it's a review of the iPhone 14 Pro not the pro max. He talks about PWM at 11 minutes
No issues as far as headaches with the M2 MacBook Air. It ended up not being the upgrade I expected coming from a 15” Retina MacBook Pro. The 14” Pro is more like what I was hoping for, yet the flickering display is making my experience miserable.
There definitely is some sort of flicker with the Air, which was measured not to have PWM or temporal dithering so it’s a bit of a wild card as to exactly what’s causing it.
This is all making it difficult to be an Apple enthusiast.
I saw that. I particularly liked the comment that says we’re all dying over the PWM on MacRumors.
The PWM rate must be around 480Hz or even 960Hz for it not to get picked up on the iPhone slo-mo.
I bought mine off swappa, and there’s some refurbished Apple stock right now (though who knows where the screens are sourced from now)
Yep. Once Apple goes OLED on the iPads (my favorite Apple product) that may be the nail in the coffin for me and Apple unfortunately…and I’ve used Apple products since the original Mac and the Apple IIe.