Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[The.Glorious.Son]

IPhone 14 is in the hands of FedEx now. The iPhone 11 is a fine phone and I am comfortable on it and mostly enjoying it.

There's zero chance of me going back, but I have to say, I miss the 14.
The snappiness, the way better cellular modem, and even on just a vanilla 14, the cameras.

It's not too inspiring to take pictures with the 11. But I found myself looking for opportunities to use the 14 cameras.
I didn't have the 14 pro version long enough to really put those cameras to the test but I can only imagine how hard it is for some of you to give up that set of cameras and go back to the 11 or SE.

Just want a modern phone with an LCD screen.

Probably going to give Apple another year or two, and if they can't pull it off I might have to jump ship. I just don't know what I would get. I'm pretty deep in Apple ecosystem.

Just a little vent to the OLED support group.

The camera is probably the most important thing to me on my phone and I’ll say, the 11 held up to the 14PM in outdoor shots with good lighting. What really made the difference was viewing the shots on the 11 compared to viewing on the 14PM. I could really seen the screen quality difference when it came to that.

I do miss the cameras in terms of low light and all of the cameras having night mode, including the front camera. Macro is amazing though I’m not sure how often I’d need it. Having a telephoto lens again was great too. Being back on my 11, I pretty much miss every aspect of the 14PM aside from the weight. Even the true edge to edge screen protector looked better and cleaner. Just a big, beautiful, sheet of glass.

 

[john g.]

The camera is probably the most important thing to me on my phone and I’ll say, the 11 held up to the 14PM in outdoor shots with good lighting. What really made the difference was viewing the shots on the 11 compared to viewing on the 14PM. I could really seen the screen quality difference when it came to that.

I do miss the cameras in terms of low light and all of the cameras having night mode, including the front camera. Macro is amazing though I’m not sure how often I’d need it. Having a telephoto lens again was great too. Being back on my 11, I pretty much miss every aspect of the 14PM aside from the weight. Even the true edge to edge screen protector looked better and cleaner. Just a big, beautiful, sheet of glass.

I do remember you saying that and I actually tried it with the 14 and 11. I was using mostly the rich contrast setting on the 14, so that of course bumps up the contrast and maybe even has things look sharper. So not a fair test I guess. Yeah, low light was superior on the 14.

 

[MICHAELSD]

@MICHAELSD How is your second 14PM experience going? Notice any difference in the screens? Are you keeping or returning or still deciding?

And how’s your wife like her 13 mini?

You’re looking for @Siamese_Dream.

But I will say that I’m still getting on better with my first iPhone 14 Pro Max than with any past OLED iPhone. Unfortunately, that doesn’t meant that there’s no persistent headaches or that my eyes enjoy focusing on the display all the time. I still feel like my eyes don’t fully focus and if I try to focus on certain objects it causes tension headaches. Even reading text usually causes unexpected headaches from diligently reading through and forgetting about the PWM until I get a random throbbing in the back of my eye.

FWIW my sister loves her iPhone 13 Mini almost as much as I did.

 

[jimmy_uk]

Roll call: who has actually decided to stick with a 14 series phone (PWM/dithering sensitive)?

The more I read the stronger the sense the PWM crew is bailing.

 

[jrajpaul]

Now who is going to try and stick an lcd screen on a 12 pro or 13. There are kits available online. I’m thinking about going this route.

 

[5105973]

Roll call: who has actually decided to stick with a 14 series phone (PWM/dithering sensitive)?

The more I read the stronger the sense the PWM crew is bailing.

I’m still fine on mine. I popped awake last night and grabbed my 14 Pro Max from my nightstand to read myself back to sleep. 45 minutes of reading in the dark on very low brightness, Dark Mode, text Night Shifted yellow, was fine. No headache. No eye strain.

I’m still sick but haven’t had a headache from coughing since day before yesterday. So absent of other causes, I don’t seem to be getting headaches when using this phone. I can’t tell about dizziness because this virus is making everyone who gets it dizzy. It’s terrible, at times it has moments with the coughing that are almost as bad as Omicron was. However, Covid remains its own special hell. This is more heck than hell. It definitely came up at one of the most inconvenient times considering I’m trying to evaluate pwm effects of my new iPhone.

I can’t do much, so yesterday I sat playing Sims on my M1 MacBook Air and surfing the web for awhile on my 14 Pro Max after. I noticed no difficulties going between the two displays.

 

[john g.]

Now who is going to try and stick an lcd screen on a 12 pro or 13. There are kits available online. I’m thinking about going this route.

I thought it was just the 12 series. Are there kits available for the 13 series as well?

 

[Gargamelus]

Now who is going to try and stick an lcd screen on a 12 pro or 13. There are kits available online. I’m thinking about going this route.

🤩 Has anyone already done this.. installing an lc display in the iPhone 13..? that sounds interesting..

 

[Chrispy]

🤩 Has anyone already done this.. installing an lc display in the iPhone 13..? that sounds interesting..

In theory, this should be even easier on the iPhone 14 given how they made the display and glass back easier to service. We just need someone to hack together an aftermarket option. Not something I would do now but hey, in a few years we may all be hunting down aftermarket LCDs if things keep going as they have been, haha.

 

[5105973]

You’re looking for @Siamese_Dream.

But I will say that I’m still getting on better with my first iPhone 14 Pro Max than with any past OLED iPhone. Unfortunately, that doesn’t meant that there’s no persistent headaches or that my eyes enjoy focusing on the display all the time. I still feel like my eyes don’t fully focus and if I try to focus on certain objects it causes tension headaches. Even reading text usually causes unexpected headaches from diligently reading through and forgetting about the PWM until I get a random throbbing in the back of my eye.

FWIW my sister loves her iPhone 13 Mini almost as much as I did.

Sigh…I hope you get adjusted. It doesn’t sound hopeless because my eyes would have moments of a few minutes or so when they could not fully focus the first few days, too. I’d get a mini headache that would stop when I took a break. However, what I haven’t gotten is persistent headaches. What you’re going through is more what I went through with the purple 12 mini, which I was able to use for many happy months until my stupid 13 Pro did something to me to change that. I did somehow get adjusted to the 12 mini using it briefly and sparingly for weeks. In the beginning I felt like I was being punched in the eyes when I used it.

I do use eye drops to keep my eyes moist and I use an anti bacterial wash on my lashes because I have autoimmune issues that cause me to be prone to chelazia and other kinds of unpleasant eye blisters. I’m taking a Lutein supplement for visual health.

I’m on my device an unusual amount because I’m sick and bored but when I’m done with this virus I’m just going to use all screens sparingly.

 

[jimmy_uk]

Hasn't it been shown that the LCD makes the phone run much, much hotter due to being backlit?

Also, my concern would be voiding the warranty and getting a replacement battery later as I thought Apple wouldn't work on a device if it has third-party parts.

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

@MICHAELSD How is your second 14PM experience going? Notice any difference in the screens? Are you keeping or returning or still deciding?

And how’s your wife like her 13 mini?

That is me 😊
Unfortunately nothing to report just yet. My wife in true fashion has yet to order a case so her phone sits in the box on the kitchen counter. My 14PM doesn’t ship until 10/28. Now that my eyes seem acclimated to the 11 again I’m considering cancelling the 14PM. I waffle back and forth on that decision only around 3,000 times per day lol.

 

[Chrispy]

I waffle back and forth on that decision only around 3,000 times per day lol.

I feel that. Now that I'm back on the XR, the reality is hitting me I have another year to go before possibly upgrading to the latest and greatest. Maybe less if we see an updated SE in 2023, but I could see Apple waiting until 2024 to update that since it just got updated this spring. The SE has historically gone a few years between updates so I have a feeling the iPhone 15 line will be my next opportunity. Unless Apple pulled some weird supply chain business and slapped a really good display in the 14 Plus, haha. But I highly doubt that. Sigh.

 

[AJTC]

14 Pro refund received. 14 being sent to Apple tomorrow.

Why am I even tempted to try a 14 Plus? Feels like I should know better by now.

On the other hand the 11 is fine. Someone actually complimented the low light pictures I took at the weekend which surprised me for a 3 year old non-Pro phone.

 

[jimmy_uk]

As we near the release of the 14 Plus, a visual reminder...

14 Plus PWM

 

[Chrispy]

As we near the release of the 14 Plus, a visual reminder...

14 Plus PWM

The ominous sound of doom that kicks in with the slow motion is fitting, haha.

 

[Gargamelus]

uahhh that looks horrible again... but that was to be expected...

 

[happy orchard]

Hasn't it been shown that the LCD makes the phone run much, much hotter due to being backlit?

Also, my concern would be voiding the warranty and getting a replacement battery later as I thought Apple wouldn't work on a device if it has third-party parts.

I’m curious if anyone has tried taking in a phone and one of these fix-it kits into an Apple Store and asked if they would do it for them? Maybe if we contacted Apple and explained the PWM situation (in the context of ALL those returns we’ve made) and our possible makeshift solution, they would be amenable to helping us? Has anybody heard of that or tried that?

 

[happy orchard]

That is me 😊
Unfortunately nothing to report just yet. My wife in true fashion has yet to order a case so her phone sits in the box on the kitchen counter. My 14PM doesn’t ship until 10/28. Now that my eyes seem acclimated to the 11 again I’m considering cancelling the 14PM. I waffle back and forth on that decision only around 3,000 times per day lol.

Yes, sorry, my bad.

Kinda funny about your wife’s phone just sitting there waiting: I relayed that to my boyfriend and he said you two sounded like us two.

Yeah I keep checking availability because I’m a masochist with some other issues apparently, but almost every time I pick up the 11, it just feels good.

So is having the wait time for your phone helpful? Or does it feel like it just extends the agonizing phone decision?

 

[happy orchard]

You’re looking for @Siamese_Dream.

But I will say that I’m still getting on better with my first iPhone 14 Pro Max than with any past OLED iPhone. Unfortunately, that doesn’t meant that there’s no persistent headaches or that my eyes enjoy focusing on the display all the time. I still feel like my eyes don’t fully focus and if I try to focus on certain objects it causes tension headaches. Even reading text usually causes unexpected headaches from diligently reading through and forgetting about the PWM until I get a random throbbing in the back of my eye.

FWIW my sister loves her iPhone 13 Mini almost as much as I did.

Crikey! Sorry! I think maybe my concussed (yay for that excuse) brain was twisting up the SD in your name and the SD of Siamese Dream. 🤔

Anyway, I relate to your 14PM experience. Do you feel like you’ll just put up with the issues? Paddle up DeNial river? I keep thinking I put up with worse OLEDs for 6-10 months, so maybe I do that again here? But then I breathe the air outside my “I love apple tech” bubble, and that reasoning kinda sounds ludicrous.

As for the 13 mini, I did a slo-mo record at the Apple Store, and I could absolutely see the flicker. It’s supposed to have something like 510? And the 14 P/M have half of that with no flicker? Very confusing.

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

Yes, sorry, my bad.

Kinda funny about your wife’s phone just sitting there waiting: I relayed that to my boyfriend and he said you two sounded like us two.

Yeah I keep checking availability because I’m a masochist with some other issues apparently, but almost every time I pick up the 11, it just feels good.

So is having the wait time for your phone helpful? Or does it feel like it just extends the agonizing phone decision?

For me it is agonizing. I feel like I’m suspended in purgatory until I can reach closure. In the prior years I was more content with my 11, knew readily quickly I didn’t want to deal with PWM, so getting back on my 11 gave me closure and I felt at peace again.

I can say without question I’m not at peace right now. My 11, while fine, feels dated having tasted that 14PM for a week. I need a dedicated week or two where I go into it headache free to make a more informed decision and live with it, either way. If that is even possible for me at this point.

 

[Chrispy]

For me it is agonizing. I feel like I’m suspended in purgatory until I can reach closure. In the prior years I was more content with my 11, knew readily quickly I didn’t want to deal with PWM, so getting back on my 11 gave me closer and I felt at peace again.

I can say without question I’m not at peace right now. My 11, while fine, feels dated having tasted that 14PM for a week. I need a dedicated week or two where I go into it headache free to make a more informed decision and live with it, either way. If that is even possible for me at this point.

Yeah, I'm having a much harder time accepting not upgrading this year as well. I'm starting to feel resentment towards my XR. For example, I made a pizza tonight that came out really nice. I was proud of it and wanted to get a nice photo. And sure, the XR produced a perfectly serviceable photo, but I couldn't stop thinking about how much better the photo would be with the 14 Pro's camera. Especially since I was in fairly low light. And I have a feeling I'm not going to shake that feeling for some time. The XR has also been lagging a lot recently. Especially if I have Outlook running in the background while using the camera.

 

[jimmy_uk]

Yeah, I'm having a much harder time accepting not upgrading this year as well. I'm starting to feel resentment towards my XR. For example, I made a pizza tonight that came out really nice. I was proud of it and wanted to get a nice photo. And sure, the XR produced a perfectly serviceable photo, but I couldn't stop thinking about how much better the photo would be with the 14 Pro's camera. Especially since I was in fairly low light. And I have a feeling I'm not going to shake that feeling for some time. The XR has also been lagging a lot recently. Especially if I have Outlook running in the background while using the camera.

Tell me about it! My 7 Plus is so laggy, runs hot, refreshes Web pages constantly. My 88% max capacity battery (replaced three times during ownership) will not get me through the day. The few days with the 14 showed me exactly what we are missing out on = speed and battery life. 😩

 

[Chrispy]

Tell me about it! My 7 Plus is so laggy, runs hot, refreshes Web pages constantly. My 88% max capacity battery (replaced three times during ownership) will not get me through the day. The few days with the 14 showed me exactly what we are missing out on = speed and battery life. 😩

My dad is still using the 7 Plus and he's on the original battery. I can only imagine how horrible his battery life is. His plan was to take my XR back in 2020 when I upgraded to the 12 Pro (and the XR still had 98% battery). That clearly didn't work out so he's been waiting on me to upgrade ever since.

I think it's bothering me more this year because, for the first time since 2017 when this started, I'm having to seriously consider leaving Apple devices behind. I've worked with countless Samsung devices over the years doing testing for a few apps we use at work going back to 2016. I've briefly used a majority of the S line devices from the S7 and up and I've never had issues with the screens on those except for the S20 Ultra. That one immediately bothered me trying to focus. So I'm not sure what Apple is doing here, but after all these years with no fix, I have my fears I may not be a fit for their devices anymore. And as someone that has owned iPhones from the original, that's rather upsetting.

 

[Expos of 1969]

My dad is still using the 7 Plus and he's on the original battery. I can only imagine how horrible his battery life is. His plan was to take my XR back in 2020 when I upgraded to the 12 Pro (and the XR still had 98% battery). That clearly didn't work out so he's been waiting on me to upgrade ever since.

I think it's bothering me more this year because, for the first time since 2017 when this started, I'm having to seriously consider leaving Apple devices behind. I've worked with countless Samsung devices over the years doing testing for a few apps we use at work going back to 2016. I've briefly used a majority of the S line devices from the S7 and up and I've never had issues with the screens on those except for the S20 Ultra. That one immediately bothered me trying to focus. So I'm not sure what Apple is doing here, but after all these years with no fix, I have my fears I may not be a fit for their devices anymore. And as someone that has owned iPhones from the original, that's rather upsetting.

The interesting and very vital piece of information is will the new Samsung screens give us problems. I have no issues with my Galaxy S10e but I have read a few reports of users going from that device to a Galaxy S22 and they experienced eye issues. This is very worrying as where I live one cannot simply return a newly purchased phone just because it gives one headaches or burning eyes. I find that just playing with a phone in the shop is not an adequate test.