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Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

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Are you experiencing this issue?

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Current XR user and I tried out a 14 Pro yesterday and I immediately noticed I was having a hard time focusing on the screen. I had to blink multiple times to keep things in focus. After spending a few minutes setting it up, I started to develop a tension headache - likely from straining myself to stay focused on the screen. I took a break and looked at my XR screen to see if something was weird with my vision. Nope, the XR screen was super easy to read and nice and clear as always.

I ended up with a XR after trying an iPhone X for a few months and dealing with the same phenomenon. I could never focus clearly on the text on screen. Truth be told, I've never loved the form factor of the XR (loved the X) but the screen makes the bulkiness worth it. I don't have any other OLED devices besides an old PS Vita so my sample size other than the iPhone X is small. I didn't even think to consider OLED as still being a potential issue after all these years of Apple using them almost exclusively but boy oh boy, for me they are still a no go. I guess I'm sticking with my XR for a few more years. What's sad is now my only new replacement option would be the SE or refurb 11.
 
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jimmy_uk said:
Fingers crossed for your 14. 🤞 I know you will report back 🙏

The trouble with waiting is the 14 Plus isn't out until Oct 7th which would be outside of my returns period for the 14. Notebookcheck will be a long way behind this date to report PWM. It's not that I don't like the 14, but I am much more used to/comfortable reading with a wider display and my hands can grip the wider phone better (the smaller phone is causing some hand cramps with a different claw-like grip). I've got long fingers + fat thumbs, I don't know where to put them on the smaller phone!

I can only use the 14 in the evenings this week as I'm back in the office on my 7 Plus, so this adds a bit of pressure to decide. Guess I should see how it goes this week....
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Can you temporarily switch an esim to the 14 to try it full-time? Does the 7+ support e-sim so that you could go back to it? Or go back to your physical sim in it?
 
jimmy_uk said:
Another "micro" report from me, hope your not bored yet o_O

After several hours of 14 non pro usage this evening I can say that I have a little tension in my neck, slight unease in my gut - both of these could be stress related - and the front of my eyes are a little sore. (I am using my phone like you would a tablet, which can't be good, but it's my usual usage patterns).

I think this is because the display still feels too bright (torch in eyes) especially on a dark evening with lamps on. At 70-80% brightness I can read text but feel like outside of my centre focus everything is too bright.

At 60% brightness I struggle to focus on reading and blink more because text starts to look less sharp, perhaps this is where the PWM frequency is annoying me? Also turning the brightness down seems too dim for my yellowy white background which looks muddy.

To really try and describe it: when I read on my 7 Plus I can feel my centre focus sharpen up on text while the outer edge of my vision softens and relaxes. With the 14 I feel my vision always trying to stay focused on the whole display.

It's starting to add up to a return. Will give it at least another day as I realise typing this I have no other alternatives.....



Returning to my 7 Plus with its cool white display, wider screen + keyboard and the easy to read text really is a comfort. But the speakers and so quiet, the battery is shot, touch ID suddenly feels slow, the heavy top border can been seen. The 14 is really spoiling me! Sorry, this was looooong!
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Did you perhaps read my Mr. Rogers idea that I shared many posts ago? I ask because I wonder if it might suit you?

I'm wondering if you're keeping your 7 Plus no matter what. If so, could you use it inside? In low lights? When your eyes are tired? And use the 14 when you go out and live life and will more likely use all the upgraded cool stuff?

I started doing this on Monday, and so far it's brilliant. I even found myself picking up the 14P in low light a couple times and going 'this isn't bad'.
 
GrumpyMom said:
Have you tried reducing white point under Accessibility? It’s under Accessibility, Display and Text Size. Sometimes between adjusting the white point and screen brightness some people reach more of a comfort level. I wish my original XR had had a reduce white point setting because that display used to burn my eyeballs with overly bright white backgrounds even when the screen brightness was turned down low.
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Yep, I'm all about Reduce White Point in the 90s. :) And I do that with my 11 as well, just don't like that much light. My MBA that I'm typing on presently is at like 2-4 notches of brightness.
 
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jimmy_uk said:
I'll give it a try. I was using a screen filter off and on to make the whites blue. Fiddling with the display like this does dim the colours and punch of the display, which is a shame, but everything is worth a go.

Attention aware off
Reduce motion
Reduce White point 50%
Brightness 75%
Auto brightness off

View attachment 2073535
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Hope these new parameters are helping.

Though, seriously, try the RWP in the 90s. Then I can put my brightness 80 and above. It helps me--doesn't mean it'll help you, but it means 'helping' is a possibility.

Good luck!
 
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john g. said:
I totally understand where you're coming from. Especially because I sent my 14 pro back on Monday and honestly, I miss it. It was a pleasure to use in every way except of course for the screen effects.

And as I've said several times before I didn't even have bad symptoms. I just got to the point where I refused to spend $1000 on something that was even making me feel mildly crappy. And who knows how those things might have progressed?

For now, I'm gonna enjoy my 11 and look forward to hopefully a spring offering of a newer LCD phone that I can be excited about. If that doesn't happen I will probably just replace the battery of my 11 which is getting long in the tooth.

Then repeat this circus next September :)
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Dang, I don't even know what response to give:

'like' for good idea on not spending money for something that makes you feel 'mildly crappy'

'love' for yes I feel what you're saying

'wow' for oh no we're going to do this circus again. Feels like telling a woman is still in the hospital after delivering that she's gonna have more kids.

'sad' for the circus again, also, for the return, for the inevitable frustration

maybe I need to start using the 'angry' response, but I just don't want to go there.

So, instead, I'm just writing: "all the responses!" :)
 
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iCantSee said:
How much better is the iPhone 11 than the XR. Maybe I will just upgrade to an 11 if the 14 doesn’t work out lol. Or rock this XR until the new SE.
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You get a whole additional camera lens! Maybe you could compare the two models on Apple's site to see if you care about any of the differences.

Figure you know all that, but I write that to set up: You could try buying an 11 from the Apple Refurbished Store and then take your XR to an actual Apple Store to get trade-in value for it. Also that would give you a chance to test it and see if you like the differences.

Just a thought.
 
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MICHAELSD said:
I suppose the good news is that there do seem to be further improvements made this generation, and I understand that for whatever reason Apple can’t just prioritize DC dimming on current-generation OLED panel technology—even if LG has OLED TV’s that are essentially flicker-free.

It does oddly seem like I’m having a better experience with this iPhone 14 Pro Max than a 14” MacBook Pro. Notebookcheck is taking their time so my speculation is there there might be a more sophisticated PWM implementation on all of the new iPhone’s.

This does seem to be better than iPhone 13 and even iPhone 13 Mini. If other users in this thread had better luck with iPhone 14 Pro I’d be more optimistic that it has a superior or even doubled rate compared to iPhone 14 Pro Max.

This is getting to become a major drain of time and energy, and if I didn’t have to constantly think about this while using these devices then I’d move on. But we still don’t have a definitive solution.
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I hear you on the major drain of time and energy. I had to take a break from thinking about it and even getting on these forums yesterday. Just needed to live my life--and see if I even noticed any phone problems during my normal living.

Report: Yesterday was good with my 14P. 8/10.

Took back the 14PM as soon as the Apple Store opened. Just lived life the rest of the day. Kept brightness above 80%, kept RWP at 90-95% while indoors and off outdoors. Played with it on a bike, on a treadmill, on a stair mill, while walking outside, all totally fine. No headaches. No real issues.

At night, I used it some and used my 11 some. I'm not getting rid of the last good LCD phone, so while not use it while transitioning or to allow me to have a longer experimental period.
 
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matthijst said:
Ordered a 14 to arrive tomorrow, will return the Pro.
Didnt get headaches from the Pro like I did with the previous phones. But still got gritty eyes when I woke up.
And got tired, (sometimes) teary eyes and slight tingling on my cheeck next to my eye when using the phone.
Its like I'm (unnoticeably) contstantly squinting to focus on the screen.
When I pick up my 8+ I immediately notice there's no strain at all.
So while the Pro seems improved, it's still not where I'd want it to be.
Hope the 14 will be better, otherwise its back to waiting another year.
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I still like to imagine the teary eyes thing is our physical manifestation of our disappointment in OLED iPhones.
 
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Okay, all caught up on posts in this thread again.

Seems....14 is the new hope. Everything is still entirely individual, frustrating, and in flux--Do I have that about right?

Going to live life. Good luck!!!! Enthused to read more later how things are going for everybody.
 
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I'm just curios what is wrong with ppl who r trying to tweak the iphones just to make it less impact on your eyesight/brain and etc. Just to live with a mild symptoms, but with the latest iphone!? Guys, do you understand that you r probably damaging your eyesight ? I'm not a doctor, but it looks like it is. Don't play with your health, it will cost you health in the future. We are the minority here it looks like, and apple don't give a damn about us looks like. I would say i want to have an option when buying an iphone for >1k$ to have OLED or LCD display, why I can't have this option? They are building the whole apple eco system, forcing you to use the latest device to have the latest new features. Yeah, anyway. I'm sorry if I offended anyone
 
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madmozg said:
I'm just curios what is wrong with ppl who r trying to tweak the iphones just to make it less impact on your eyesight/brain and etc. Just to live with a mild symptoms, but with the latest iphone!? Guys, do you understand that you r probably damaging your eyesight ? I'm not a doctor, but it looks like it is. Don't play with your health, it will cost you health in the future. We are the minority here it looks like, and apple don't give a damn about us looks like. I would say i want to have an option when buying an iphone for >1k$ to have OLED or LCD display, why I can't have this option? They are building the whole apple eco system, forcing you to use the latest device to have the latest new features. Yeah, anyway. I'm sorry if I offended anyone
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smithmorpheus-800x400.jpg

HUMAN BEINGS DEFINE THEIR REALITY THROUGH MISERY AND SUFFERING
INTRODUCING iPhone 14 Pro​
 
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madmozg said:
I'm just curios what is wrong with ppl who r trying to tweak the iphones just to make it less impact on your eyesight/brain and etc. Just to live with a mild symptoms, but with the latest iphone!? Guys, do you understand that you r probably damaging your eyesight ? I'm not a doctor, but it looks like it is. Don't play with your health, it will cost you health in the future. We are the minority here it looks like, and apple don't give a damn about us looks like. I would say i want to have an option when buying an iphone for >1k$ to have OLED or LCD display, why I can't have this option? They are building the whole apple eco system, forcing you to use the latest device to have the latest new features. Yeah, anyway. I'm sorry if I offended anyone
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You’re not offending anyone. I don’t know if we are damaging our eyes or sight because I keep passing my very thorough ophthalmologist’s exams with the pronouncement of good eye health.

But what it’s doing to our brains? That’s what I want to know. I used to be under the care of a neurologist, but that was with a different primary care provider and that was a couple of years before the pandemic.

A LOT has changed in medical care availability. I don’t know if that’s true for everyone, but where I live and with my insurance it’s a struggle. If it were just me I’m responsible for scheduling, that would make things easier but my mom and my kid with new medical issues take priority and even they are way behind where they need to be in their appointments. Everyone’s behind on medical appointments and all the providers seem to be swamped.

When we’ve gone to the diagnostic lab in town it’s packed!
 
madmozg said:
I'm just curios what is wrong with ppl who r trying to tweak the iphones just to make it less impact on your eyesight/brain and etc. Just to live with a mild symptoms, but with the latest iphone!? Guys, do you understand that you r probably damaging your eyesight ? I'm not a doctor, but it looks like it is. Don't play with your health, it will cost you health in the future. We are the minority here it looks like, and apple don't give a damn about us looks like. I would say i want to have an option when buying an iphone for >1k$ to have OLED or LCD display, why I can't have this option? They are building the whole apple eco system, forcing you to use the latest device to have the latest new features. Yeah, anyway. I'm sorry if I offended anyone
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I think some of us who are trying to make it work are people who have been fighting this for years and now trying to find a way to make this new reality of iPhones work.

Orrrrr someone of us are trying to make it work because each year it has gotten a bit better for us and this might be the year that we can use the phone….

Or some other issues, including some that a therapist could build a nest egg on.
 
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Siamese_Dream said:
Turn of events. After my heart felt message the other night I realized my eyes were killing me AFTER I went back to my 11. Never an issue before. That and I really missed the PM. Back on the PM and feeling decent. Fingers crossed!
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Good luck! I was on my iPhone 11 a little while today. I didn’t have any particular problems switching between the two phones.
 
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Just got my new 14 and am giving it a go. During set up though I noticed it prompted me for eSIM and has no SIM tray like my 14 pro did. I am in the UK and thought that it was only the US that had to use eSIM?
 
badger1212 said:
Just got my new 14 and am giving it a go. During set up though I noticed it prompted me for eSIM and has no SIM tray like my 14 pro did. I am in the UK and thought that it was only the US that had to use eSIM?
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That's mental, it's definitely only the US models that have eSIM!?
 
badger1212 said:
Just got my new 14 and am giving it a go. During set up though I noticed it prompted me for eSIM and has no SIM tray like my 14 pro did. I am in the UK and thought that it was only the US that had to use eSIM?
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Somehow you have a non-European model then? My 14 had a SIM tray (UK)
 
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