Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up
- Thread starter Kitkad
- WikiPost WikiPost
- Start date
-
- Tags
- eye strain xs max
- Sort by reaction score
- Status
It is not, I had to send it back, still using an 8 plus, I would try anyway , you never know
Not that we have many choices if this post has to be trusted https://ledstrain.org/d/21-usable-smartphones/2390
I just used 14 pro for one afternoon. By far the worst of the 4….. So to me from worst to best:
14 Pro -> 14 plus -> 14 - 14PM
Go get a 14 pro max and try your luck. See you next year.
14 Pro -> 14 plus -> 14 - 14PM
Go get a 14 pro max and try your luck. See you next year.
Per a user suggestion on here, I’ve created a 16:10 “Dummy Display” in BetterDisplay then use Display Mirroring in the Mac Display settings to use the ‘virtual’ display as my main display.
I’ve confirmed with the developer that a Dummy Display is the only way to switch the color to 8-bit on Apple silicon, which should disable temporal dithering in theory. Keep in mind that will give you less colors to work with and may make for a slightly less color-accurate display if your work is graphic-dependent.
It’s also possible to reduce the effect of PWM by raising the brightness and using the software brightness control to dim the display instead. However, I find this doesn’t work as well for me so I leave the brightness at around 34% in my work environment. This requires disabling the hardware brightness control in the BetterDisplay settings, but I find that switching the color to 8-bit has the more significant effect.
While this has helped make the display more usable, I’m still hopeful that Apple somehow managed to make the display better on the M2 Pro.
Last edited:
The only thing that changes is that the LEDs aren't organic anymore. The backplane is the same, the driver technology is the same. This should solve "burn in" for the most part but I have no hope that microLED on its own will be any form of improvement for us here.
I hope however that by then at the very least we'll be at very high frequencies (100 kHz+) for OLED/microLED but I'm not super hopeful.
After using an iPhone SE 2020 since launch for my personal phone, this Friday my work finally made me get a work phone. I went with a 14 Pro and I gotta admit I am more than a little nervous.
My gut keeps telling me I should have gone with an SE 2022 and then I could dual SIM and just use one phone that I know I won’t have any issues with.
My gut keeps telling me I should have gone with an SE 2022 and then I could dual SIM and just use one phone that I know I won’t have any issues with.
Ugh. We get an upgrade every two years. I think Monday I’ll ask to cancel that order and just get a 256GB SE 2022 and see what 2025 brings.
If it’s any consolation I like my iPhone SE quite a bit. The third-generation feels surprisingly modern, with an excellent LCD display.
As an update, I returned the 14Pro reluctantly, but the frequent neck pain which I was convinced was a direct result of PWM found it's way back at the Apple Store to be replaced by the god forsaken SE2022 which I can confidently say I hate. The screen alone despite being PWM free is incredibly outdated, the pixel smearing and 60Hz refresh rate make it unpleasant to use. The near instant pixel response of 14Pro's OLED coupled with the 120Hz refresh rate is night and day compared to this antiquated LCD display
After trying to re-adjust after a few days I am STILL getting the neck pain, despite the LCD display, which open's up pandora's box
1.) Is it the lingering effects of using the 14Pro/Max for the last month?
2.) Is it Temporal Dithering on the SE2022?
3.) Was it the 14 Pro phones in the first place or just a coincidence?
I'm currently stuck in 2014, and I hate it - Will give this a few more days, and if it's not improved, looks like I'll be back on the 14 Pro which despite the other experiences in this thread was the most combatable to use with the 14 Plus being the worst with physical eye-pain/headaches - The 14Pro/Max caused no direct pain to my eyes just this neck strain I've had
Despite previously owing the SE2020 and the SE2022 trying to delude myself of the shortcomings being minimal it's just night and day in comparison to the 14Pro series as you would expect the immediate downgrade in battery life is extremely noticeable along with the diminutive display- the 60Hz LCD on the SE is horrid compared to the OLED, it seems unresponsive and laggy compared to the buttery smooth instant response of the 120Hz OLED Panel, PWM Aside - it's a universe apart - The severely reduced weight could be seen as a positive compared to the hefty Pro, but I find it makes it feel far less substantial, and cheap by comparison which is ironic given the price-tag
To sum it up succinctly, it feels like a 2014 AliExpress clone of an iPhone best suited to your luddite grandfather who takes the occasional out of focus snap of his beloved dying dog to share with his estranged grandkids
After trying to re-adjust after a few days I am STILL getting the neck pain, despite the LCD display, which open's up pandora's box
1.) Is it the lingering effects of using the 14Pro/Max for the last month?
2.) Is it Temporal Dithering on the SE2022?
3.) Was it the 14 Pro phones in the first place or just a coincidence?
I'm currently stuck in 2014, and I hate it - Will give this a few more days, and if it's not improved, looks like I'll be back on the 14 Pro which despite the other experiences in this thread was the most combatable to use with the 14 Plus being the worst with physical eye-pain/headaches - The 14Pro/Max caused no direct pain to my eyes just this neck strain I've had
Despite previously owing the SE2020 and the SE2022 trying to delude myself of the shortcomings being minimal it's just night and day in comparison to the 14Pro series as you would expect the immediate downgrade in battery life is extremely noticeable along with the diminutive display- the 60Hz LCD on the SE is horrid compared to the OLED, it seems unresponsive and laggy compared to the buttery smooth instant response of the 120Hz OLED Panel, PWM Aside - it's a universe apart - The severely reduced weight could be seen as a positive compared to the hefty Pro, but I find it makes it feel far less substantial, and cheap by comparison which is ironic given the price-tag
To sum it up succinctly, it feels like a 2014 AliExpress clone of an iPhone best suited to your luddite grandfather who takes the occasional out of focus snap of his beloved dying dog to share with his estranged grandkids
My guess is yes.
Eye strain and other weird nervous system issues can take months and months to reconcile once stuff gets stirred up.
I experienced this first hand with crappy CRT monitors of yesteryear — it took forever to get over the pain they caused me.
I’ve pretty much decided not to use displays that cause PWM sensitivity again, but I still have my M1 Pro for lack of a better alternative.
I felt similarly about iPhone SE as @dstow when I first switched over, then I’ve adjusted over time to appreciating it. This feels like the iPhone Apple would make if they kept the original design, and modernized it.
Can I talk about my new 11” M2 iPad Pro here?
I know it’s just an LCD screen and it has no PWM, I’ve been a user of a 2018 iPP for several years and my eyes were happy with that device.
However, I’ve been using an 11” M2 iPP, and every time I use it, I feel a bit of eye strain, I feel my eyes dry, and even had a migraine the first day. Now my eyes are itchy after a while of using it.
I wanted to share some additional info: there are, at least, two screen suppliers, with different colors and viewing angles. And I’ve tested this, because I first purchased a 128GB model and more recently got the 256 one. Their screens were different. The 128GB one, I was able to use it during all the holidays without problems.
Recently, I decided to get the 256 because I wanted more capacity, and I saw that the screens were different. But I returned the 128GB one, and when I started to use the 256GB one, the problems started to materialize.
Now, I wish I had kept the 128GB one, because it had a better screen (more natural colors, no eye strain whatsoever), but given that at Apple they don’t like exchanges, I will give this unit a few more tries, resting my eyes before, and if it doesn’t work I’ll return it.
I know it’s just an LCD screen and it has no PWM, I’ve been a user of a 2018 iPP for several years and my eyes were happy with that device.
However, I’ve been using an 11” M2 iPP, and every time I use it, I feel a bit of eye strain, I feel my eyes dry, and even had a migraine the first day. Now my eyes are itchy after a while of using it.
I wanted to share some additional info: there are, at least, two screen suppliers, with different colors and viewing angles. And I’ve tested this, because I first purchased a 128GB model and more recently got the 256 one. Their screens were different. The 128GB one, I was able to use it during all the holidays without problems.
Recently, I decided to get the 256 because I wanted more capacity, and I saw that the screens were different. But I returned the 128GB one, and when I started to use the 256GB one, the problems started to materialize.
Now, I wish I had kept the 128GB one, because it had a better screen (more natural colors, no eye strain whatsoever), but given that at Apple they don’t like exchanges, I will give this unit a few more tries, resting my eyes before, and if it doesn’t work I’ll return it.
Hmm, I have similar experiences. Tried M1/11” 128gb version on store and very comfortable, but on my 256gb, I found it’s quite hard to stay for hours. Also it seems, it became worse in iPadOS 16, compared to 15.
Have you had any re-occurring/lingering effects since switching back to the SE2022? I still can't find any concrete evidence in regard to it possibly using temporal dithering which as we know can cause PWM symptoms despite it being an LCD display - have you found any?
I don't know about the Pixel 7 Pro. I recently tried it at the store and couldn't focus on text at all.
I've been reading the posts asking what phones are good and sadly there is no one answer suited to us all.
I'm doing okay switching between the 14 Pro Max and the S22 Ultra. I can mitigate my symptoms pretty well. But my past experiences taught me switching between displays was asking for disaster.
So for even one person, this is a volatile situation and I just have to constantly evaluate my options. 13 Pro was one of the most damaging phones I ever used, in that it caused me to be unable to use phones I previously could.
14 Pro Max makes it impossible for me to use my Pixel 6 Pro, but I found out I can use my iphone 12 mini for short durations again! I'm excited about that. I use small phones in the summer. I'll be so happy if I can use my adorable purple 12 mini again.
Unfortunately I'll have to deal with e Sim when I want to switch between my iphones. I hope that won't be too difficult.
I've seen the different iphone 15 rumors. So far I don't hear much that makes me want to get one, actually quite the opposite. I did buy the 1 TB 14 Pro Max and I love everything about it except pwm issues. But I can tolerate this display for short usage. So I think I'm going to hang onto this phone as long as I can.
I'm planning on trading my s22 Ultra for the s23 Ultra. That plus my 14 Pro Max will give me everything I could possibly want in phones for awhile. With the s22/23 Ultras I will have super zoom lens photography and so I won't need to get a new iphone for that.
I use my Amazon devices for most of my entertainment consumption like books and movies. The Kindle reader has been a blessing for me so far. The Fire tablet has been fine for movies and tv shows. I'm surprised how much I love both of these very affordable devices.
I have an ipad mini 6 but I'm not using it that much. I really have slashed my screen time pretty well considering the weather where I live has been awful and we are all stuck indoors a lot.
I loved my S9+. I don't think it's pwm alone thats hurting our eyes. I can't use my iphone SE2/3 or my iphone 11 without developing a disturbing flicker at the edge of the vision of my left eye. I also feel eye strain.
I have used plenty of flickery OLED screens and not had any problems. There's something else going on. Apple is the primary offender and I don't know what they're doing but I wish they would make it stop. I'm typing this on my s22 Ultra. Pain free.
I have no sensitivity to the display on iPhone SE whatsoever. I’m not sure that it uses any form of dithering.
I’m hopeful that by some miracle the M2 Pro MacBook Pro display doesn’t use PWM above a certain brightness percentage—that would be the quickest I’ve ever upgraded a Mac. Although I do find it odd that disabling temporal dithering noticeably helps me as well.
Last edited:
That’s another quote for the books… to go down in history.
Pretty much sums up this entire thread.
I would say yes too. I know for me once I've experienced eye strain from a culprit phone, using a phone I know I'm OK with has also given me eye pain for a while.
I've been using a Pixel 6 Pro that I really liked as a phone. After a few days use I decided I would be prepared to move from iOS which was a pain but I was prepared to do as the camera is so much better as is the screen. However I've been sick the past few days and using my phone more than normal and once again started developing these really bad eye pains / headaches and tence neck once again. It takes a while to calm back down too. So I'm back once again to my tried and tested iPhone 11. It's so frustrating.
I have the Pixel 6 Pro. That has pretty straight forward crappy pwm and always made my eyes a little uncomfortable. I could use it but using the iPhone 14 Pro max sensitized me against it so I got terrible vertigo and nausea last time I tried to use it.
I can definitely see a difference between that display and the one on my S22 Ultra even though superficially they look similar.
Still getting the same neck pain/discomfort with the iPhone SE2022 14Pro days later - mental - Same pain but now with a phone from 2014
Trying hard to re-adjust to the display, but it's the seeping battery life that's one of the most noticeable, just using the phone lightly causes it to drop rapidly, so much as looking it drains the battery a few percent
When I had the SE2022 originally last year, I experienced no discomfort, so as other have pointed out it seems Apple could have possibly changed the way colours are rendered in later versions of iOS, as I can't explain why it's bothering me
Trying hard to re-adjust to the display, but it's the seeping battery life that's one of the most noticeable, just using the phone lightly causes it to drop rapidly, so much as looking it drains the battery a few percent
When I had the SE2022 originally last year, I experienced no discomfort, so as other have pointed out it seems Apple could have possibly changed the way colours are rendered in later versions of iOS, as I can't explain why it's bothering me