Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[Skwermo]

For what it is worth here is my experience with Iphone 14 pro since Friday:
I have absolutely had 0 headache or pain near my eyes. Which is such a relief especially as I had to have the iphone 12 pro in max brightness the whole time to avoid PWM.
On the negative side, I have been suffering from nausea since Friday which is very strange for me as I never struggled with motion sickness. I do not know if it comes from promotion, the higher rate of PWM, or anything else.
So I am currently running it with motion reduced, in light mode and I deactivated attention awareness features as recommended by someone in here.
Will see how it evolves in the next few days.

 

[jimmy_uk]

2nd day on standard 14 and so far so good. Not woken to a headache and eyes are not complaining. Motion reduced, brightness around 80%, true tone always off!

I have tried to use my 7 Plus this morning (as I'm not taking the 14 out of the house until I've commited to owning) and I am struggling to focus reading on my Plus a little which is not good. It's like scrolling is in slow mo, everything is a little swimmy for example. Also recognising a taller display, 14, is not preferable to a wider display, 7+.

I do very much hate the dirty yellow blob I see with OLED phones. It sits in the middle of the display where I'm focused while the top and bottom are shifting to blue. So I see a gradient of blue/yellow/blue and it's much worse at lower brightness ☹️. I know OLED is warmer but to me it just looks dirty!

Crude example mocked up in markup:



I still get the feeling the phone is blasting light into my eyes like a torch being flicked across my vision, made worse by keeping the brightness higher to avoid low PWM frequency. There is a definite glow with OLED on the edges of my vision. It's no where near as comfortable as viewing LCD and this feels like a problem as I'm not enjoying the visual experience (but I am enjoying the speed of the 14). I'm having strong doubts as I do prefer a lower brightness and cool whites.

 

[PwmMen]

It means that you are not sensitive to the PWM because the iphone X and 12 pro have almost the same PWM frequency!

In fact, the first time I was "sick" in front of a display was in 2016 when I tried to change my CCFL monitor with PWM to a 4K LED flicker free!

Yes, I have problems with PWM. The iPhone 12 Pro cannot be compared to the iPhone X. The iPhone 12 Pro is the only OLED iPhone that has implemented some kind of DC dimming. I also don't understand why Apple didn't keep this. You can also read about it in the Nottebookcheck test.

I have an Eizo 4k flicker free monitor. This is a boon, and doesn't bother me at all

 

[johhno140]

14P all packed up and ready to return. There was eye discomfort erasing and resetting but once complete and the discomfort eased, I was content with my decision. Fair play to those who are willing to try and get used to it but personally, for me, it’s not worth going through that suffering. Even if I could find some convoluted combination of settings which made it usable in the short term, I’m not sure I’d ever fully trust it and consequently wouldn’t fully enjoy using it, and that isn’t a compromise I’m willing to take, especially not at the prices Apple charge.

 

[tonybarnaby]

Yes, I have problems with PWM. The iPhone 12 Pro cannot be compared to the iPhone X. The iPhone 12 Pro is the only OLED iPhone that has implemented some kind of DC dimming. I also don't understand why Apple didn't keep this. You can also read about it in the Nottebookcheck test.

I have an Eizo 4k flicker free monitor. This is a boon, and doesn't bother me at all

Is there any proof about the 12 pro having DC dimming? I don’t recall ever hearing this before.

 

[PwmMen]

Is there any proof about the 12 pro having DC dimming? I don’t recall ever hearing this before.

Notebookcheck say:
The relatively constant amplitude curve below 21 percent of the display brightness should lead to the lowest possible load. Above 22 percent, the display falls into a 60 Hz mode, a method also used in DC dimming.

 

[john g.]

As I posted a little earlier, the absence of using the iPhone 14 Pro has been just as informative as when I’m using it if not more so. I didn’t use it hardly at all yesterday and everything felt more relaxed my jaw, my eyes and I had no motion sickness or nausea. I also slept fabulously last night. Whereas on Friday and Saturday night I’ve slept so fitfully . Not hard, science to be sure, but my decision is that the 14 pro is going back today. It’s not worth it to subject myself to these potential health issues and to pay $1000 on top of it. Bye-bye dynamic island.

 

[jimmy_uk]

Aq

As I posted a little earlier, the absence of using the iPhone 14 Pro has been just as informative as when I’m using it if not more so. I didn’t use it hardly at all yesterday and everything felt more relaxed my jaw, my eyes and I had no motion sickness or nausea. I also slept fabulously last night. Whereas on Friday and Saturday night I’ve slept so fitfully . Not hard, science to be sure, but my decision is that the 14 pro is going back today. It’s not worth it to subject myself to these potential health issues and to pay $1000 on top of it. Bye-bye dynamic island.

It very much sounds like you've made the right choice for yourself but I'm sorry it hasn't worked for you. The 14P made me feel so rough on Saturday I could never bring myself to use it again and have reset + boxed it up today.

The standard 14 is still in play but something still doesn't feel right, there is definitely an uncomfortable undertone to how I'm feeling while using. I've even spent some time looking for a brand new 8 plus today as an alternative as my doubt sinks in, but no one is selling in the UK.

Out of interest, what phone are you returning to and what might you try next?

 

[PwmMen]

My iPhone 14 comes tomorrow.
I hope it’s better than the 14 Pro.

 

[john g.]

Out of interest, what phone are you returning to and what might you try next?

An iPhone 11.

 

[kargurin]

Notebookcheck say:
The relatively constant amplitude curve below 21 percent of the display brightness should lead to the lowest possible load. Above 22 percent, the display falls into a 60 Hz mode, a method also used in DC dimming.

Also.......

'Apple has integrated a DC dimming mode into the iPhone 13 Pro. All in all, the iPhone’s screen does quite a bit to ameliorate the OLED flickering. '

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Review - Bombastic smartphone with minor weaknesses

The Apple iPhone 13 Pro impressed in our review, thanks to the new A15 Bionic, 6 GB of RAM, lots of storage, superb battery life, and a strong triple-camera system.

www.notebookcheck.net

 

[Skwermo]

To echo john g., i have just been on a bike ride and i felt like throwing up the whole time. This makes no sense to me. I am never nauseous. This is such an odd thing.
4 days like that -> iphone 14 pro is going back to apple as well.
Good luck to everyone else

 

[matthijst]

Used the 14P for a while today.
Not as bad as the previous ones (X, 12 pro max, 13 pro max) yet, but as someone else mentioned: when you go back to the 8+ you immediately feel it's easier on the eyes again.

It's just that my 8+ seems to be on its last feet from wear and tear. And the new phone is so much better (speakers, camera, speed). I'll try it some more (at home) and will decide in a week or so.

 

[dstow]

My iPhone 14 comes tomorrow.
I hope it’s better than the 14 Pro.

Let us know mate how you find it as I’m keen to try it myself

 

[happy orchard]

I’m trying to think of a good analogy…all I keep thinking of is those 300 men who died in that famous Persian War battle.

Has anybody from our war-battered army survived any 14 yet?

 

[johhno140]

I’m trying to think of a good analogy…all I keep thinking of is those 300 men who died in that famous Persian War battle.

Has anybody from our war-battered army survived any 14 yet?

I think a couple are currently valiantly soldiering on despite their wounds, whether they survive is yet unknown.

 

[happy orchard]

I know, I’m one of them!!! I’m looking around at all the carnage, and it’s breaking my heart and withering my faith.

 

[Howyalikdemapls]

I wasn’t able to get the eSIM to transfer back to my iPhone 11, but Verizon was able to reactivate my previous physical sim so I’m back in business on my iPhone 11.

I’m glad I tried the 14PM because if I didn’t I would always be wondering if it would have worked. I’m a bit sad to see it go but I’m very excited to get back to my usual self.

See you all next year.

 

[happy orchard]

Maybe a contributing factor is how much we’ve been playing on these phones since we got them. I’m using my 11 this morning, and I still have a bit of headache. My eyes are tired. Could it be the extra screen time? The slight change in weather? An increase of some allergen? Gnarly phone-decision stressing?

Anybody else?

 

[madmozg]

It means that you are not sensitive to the PWM because the iphone X and 12 pro have almost the same PWM frequency!

In fact, the first time I was "sick" in front of a display was in 2016 when I tried to change my CCFL monitor with PWM to a 4K LED flicker free!

I dont have a any problems with iphone x and 11, but all the next iphones causing a lot of problems.. r u sure they have the same pwm frequency?

 

[madmozg]

My iPhone 14 comes tomorrow.
I hope it’s better than the 14 Pro.

I thought the same, but i came yesterday to apple store and it was the same bad as Pros(( also i was feeling so bad around all this iphones 14s, having a ptsd or so lol

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

So here is weird turn of events I didn’t expect. I’m really not having that bad a time using this 14 PM. Certainly not to the point where I feel desperate to move back to my 11. But here is where it gets weird. I ‘miss’ my 11. By all means I shouldn’t. I don’t need to list all of the ways this phone is technically better as you are all aware already. There’s just something about my 11 that feels like home. I’m not going to rush to a decision quite yet but I have to say I’m torn and for reasons I certainly didn’t expect. I am beginning to wonder if years of PWM BS have killed my iPhone enthusiasm. Perhaps simplicity has overtaken my urge to have the best? I really don’t know.

 

[happy orchard]

So here is weird turn of events I didn’t expect. I’m really not having that bad a time using this 14 PM. Certainly not to the point where I feel desperate to move back to my 11. But here is where it gets weird. I ‘miss’ my 11. By all means I shouldn’t. I don’t need to list all of the ways this phone is technically better as you are all aware already. There’s just something about my 11 that feels like home. I’m not going to rush to a decision quite yet but I have to say I’m torn and for reasons I certainly didn’t expect. I am beginning to wonder if years of PWM BS have killed my iPhone enthusiasm. Perhaps simplicity has overtaken my urge to have the best? I really don’t know.

I've been feeling the same about the 11. I've been using it occasionally and going 'awwww' and feeling some lovely comfort of home.

So I've come up with a possible idea. Before I share the idea, please note that not everybody will like this idea, and that's fine. This is for people who have been shut out of iPhones for a long time because of OLED and are trying to find a way to again enjoy some of the innovation/upgrades:

I have comfy clothes that I wear just at home, and then I have all my other clothes that I wear out in the world. Maybe phones could be similar.

Maybe the 11 is our home phone, our comfy phone that we use inside when the light is less bright, we less use telephoto, we just want the familiar ease.

Outside, we use that awesome bright and very clear 14P/M screen. We use the telephoto. We use the awesome speakers, the 5G, the faster chip, all the upgrades that we care about.

I am delighted at the thought of being able to come home, put down my keys, my shades, my bag, and my 14P/M, and pick up my 11 and change into my comfies.

I'm calling it the Mr. Rogers idea.

 

[PwmMen]

Does anyone here actually have an S22+ or an S22 Ultra? They are supposed to have constant PWM, similar to DC dimming.

 

[iCantSee]

As I posted a little earlier, the absence of using the iPhone 14 Pro has been just as informative as when I’m using it if not more so. I didn’t use it hardly at all yesterday and everything felt more relaxed my jaw, my eyes and I had no motion sickness or nausea. I also slept fabulously last night. Whereas on Friday and Saturday night I’ve slept so fitfully . Not hard, science to be sure, but my decision is that the 14 pro is going back today. It’s not worth it to subject myself to these potential health issues and to pay $1000 on top of it. Bye-bye dynamic island.

“Dynamic Headache” 😂