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Are you experiencing this issue?


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Today begins the 4th day with my iPhone 15 Pro Max.
I still have no complaints other than a little eye fatigue.
But this only happens after 2-3 hours of use, before that I don't feel anything.
But this eye fatigue is certainly normal when you stare at a smartphone display for hours.
I don't have any headaches, no nausea or any other symptoms like I used to.
I couldn't use the iPhone 13/14 Pro/Max for 10 minutes without experiencing severe eye pain and discomfort.
I'm still excited, and if it stays that way, the iPhone 15 Pro Max will remain my smartphone.
I'll continue to report how I'm doing over the next few days. I can highly recommend the iPhone 15 Pro Max so far.

Sounds good.

What is your past on previous OLED? Were you able to use any before this 15PM?
 
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DXOMark explains the different rashes here. See the graphic at Flicker comparison:

https://www.dxomark.com/flicker-the-display-affliction/

(There are further explanations from DXOMark in the comments.)

Here are the measurements for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13:

https://www.dxomark.com/apple-iphone-13-display-review-some-big-strides-forward/

---

I think that's how Notebookcheck came up with the wrong value of 60 Hz. Four waves were summarized in the third graphic. But that is the refresh rate of the display (60 Hz) and not the pulse width modulation at 240 Hz (which can also be clearly seen).

https://www.notebookcheck.com/iPhon...odulation-fuer-das-OLED-Display.503323.0.html

---

Actually, these different deflections (what's the technical term for it?) should also be visible on opple's measurement graphs. But they aren't?!

Sorry but as much as I do really like to agree with you, the source which you cite is even suggesting that it is a 60 hertz in the graph.

As in reality, we do not perceive all this extreme outliers.

The numbers in the manufacturer specs / reviews do not reflect the real world in how we perceive it.

Do try not to be too obsessed with the numbers.

Had the iphone 15 been a true 480 hertz sine wave with such ridiculously low modulation depth, I would have ditched my dying iphone 7 plus by now and immediately purchased the iphone 15 right off the first day.

The problem with the iphone 15 is that it is using a 480 hertz to meticulously stitch itself to a pseudo 60 hertz sine wave.

For me, I can even get symptoms of dizziness for being near to a incandescent bulb of 120 hertz with a true sine wave of 10% modulation.

I really am unable to comprehend how reducing the hertz to 60 hertz and modulation to 5% is going to miraculously treat my sensitivity to the above.

However, just because I have these issues doesn’t mean every one else does. There are so much more people in the world that never had issues with incandescent bulb compared to those that suffered from LED lighting using 500 hertz and 100% modulation.

Besides, if it was indeed as what you argued, then it would make those that had success with the iphone pro models silly.

Why would they not prefer the much lower modulation at iphone’s 15 “full”480 hertz, then to put up with the symptoms triggered by the suggested inferior higher modulation in the pro model?
 
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Then you are in the exact same position as me, had the X for 3 years with no issue. Upgraded to 12pro and it started. Every phone since then bad too, other than the 11 LCD I have now.

Lets hope the 15's are closer to the X setup (Whatever that is)

Yet for me the screen on the X was absolutely awful, worse one on any iPhone I’ve owned.
 
Yet for me the screen on the X was absolutely awful, worse one on any iPhone I’ve owned.

Thats why you just have to order and try, really crazy how unpredictable these issues are.

I'll wait until next year and buy a P and PM, see how I get on.
 
@from reddit the_top_g

I also find DXOMark's graphical representation unusual. But about the iPhone 12 and 13 they write:

"The device shows a significant improvement on flicker, with a frequency of 480Hz, while the iPhone 12 showed a frequency of 240Hz."

iPhone 15 vs. iPhone 15 Pro: I understand that. But as you say, you shouldn't put too much emphasis on the numbers. Psychology also plays a role (I'm very sure). If you approach it with the mindset of getting a headache from a display, then the chance of that happening is much higher.

 
I got real eye strain with my 13 Pro until I tried out locking motion which fixed the issue. I’ve found out since from a consultant I have a slightly lazy right eye and that was the one that is most affected. Waiting to see feedback on if the 15 or Pro is better as I want to get rid of my 13 Pro as I find it horrible ergonomics wise.
 
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@from reddit the_top_g

I also find DXOMark's graphical representation unusual. But about the iPhone 12 and 13 they write:

"The device shows a significant improvement on flicker, with a frequency of 480Hz, while the iPhone 12 showed a frequency of 240Hz."

iPhone 15 vs. iPhone 15 Pro: I understand that. But as you say, you shouldn't put too much emphasis on the numbers. Psychology also plays a role (I'm very sure). If you approach it with the mindset of getting a headache from a display, then the chance of that happening is much higher.


Hmm the term self fulfilling prophecy pain is not really a term in psychology context.

While self fulfilling prophecy is indeed a concept in psychology (in layman terms means to unintentionally set yourself up for failure), self fulfilling prophecy pain is likely something that was proposed but lack any sufficient evidence or review to back it up.

For instance, self reported wrist injury could be a thing from spending long hours typing at the work office.

This can be attributed to prolonged poor sitting posture and repetitive poor wrist position. However, because in the past research into these has yet to become mainstream, some do believed these were attributed to self fulfilling prophecy pain, rather than legitimate chronic wrist injury.

Furthermore, as these kind of injuries do not appear in X-rays etc, they were quickly dismissed as “the pain is just in your head”.

Therefore I do not believe self fulfilling prophecy pain is a thing. There are way too many other factors to form a causation relationship. 🙂
 
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I got real eye strain with my 13 Pro until I tried out locking motion which fixed the issue. I’ve found out since from a consultant I have a slightly lazy right eye and that was the one that is most affected. Waiting to see feedback on if the 15 or Pro is better as I want to get rid of my 13 Pro as I find it horrible ergonomics wise.

These phones hardly change in their size and format. Intrigued to know what is so horrible ergonomically with the 13P over others?
 
Keep eye on One Plus 12 yet to be released, for those open to android alternatives. Rumored to have high frequency dimming.



What Chinese brands are preparing for devices with Snapdragon 8G3 is high PWM at low brightness, and DC dimming for high brightness (Confirmed by Digital Chat Station). At least someone is doing something.
 
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I got the iPhone 15, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max. So far I will be returning the 15 since it causes dizziness and head pressure within 10 minutes. I will try the other two more over the next few days and decide if either are truly useable. I’m so tired of my iPhone SE 2020 but it’s the only iPhone I’m able to use.
What about se3
 
Here is the iPhone 15 standard per request measured at 50% brightness. The modulation here is very tight which is interesting. To my eyes the iPhones and Motos are very similar and are the best phones to consider with regard to pwm.
 

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Today begins the 4th day with my iPhone 15 Pro Max.
I still have no complaints other than a little eye fatigue.
But this only happens after 2-3 hours of use, before that I don't feel anything.
But this eye fatigue is certainly normal when you stare at a smartphone display for hours.
I don't have any headaches, no nausea or any other symptoms like I used to.
I couldn't use the iPhone 13/14 Pro/Max for 10 minutes without experiencing severe eye pain and discomfort.
I'm still excited, and if it stays that way, the iPhone 15 Pro Max will remain my smartphone.
I'll continue to report how I'm doing over the next few days. I can highly recommend the iPhone 15 Pro Max so far.
Part of me wonders if iPhone 15 Pro Max would be better or the same as iPhone 15 Pro.

iPhone 15/iPhone 15 Plus looks good on paper and lower modulations usually make the screen more comfortable but I think I get a quicker headache response to the lower(?) frequency.

Also having the best experience of any OLED iPhone with iPhone 15 Pro. Not free of headaches but compared to 24/7 tension headaches in years past it’s been a notable improvement.
 
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Here is the iPhone 15 standard per request. The modulation here is very tight which is interesting. To my eyes the iPhones and Motos are very similar and are the best phones to consider with regard to pwm.
That looks and sounds good, relatively speaking. What brightness level was that measured on?
 
Sorry, both posts above measured at 50%. I'll edit them.

And I'll add that my experience with the Moto Razr Plus is no headaches but some eyestrain and fatigue after a couple of hours of screen time. I've pretty much resolved to move away from using these things. I don't think they are good for the eyes and there are more comfortable alternatives.
 
Sorry, both posts above measured at 50%. I'll edit them.

And I'll add that my experience with the Moto Razr Plus is no headaches but some eyestrain and fatigue after a couple of hours of screen time. I've pretty much resolved to move away from using these things. I don't think they are good for the eyes and there are more comfortable alternatives.
Yup, this is getting super uncomfortable during the daytime surprisingly. Reading text on this iPhone 15 Pro display is not enjoyable.

It’s improved in some aspects and my frequency of headaches is lessened, but it’s still just not a comfortable display. While I’m not mature enough to skip another year, I am mature enough to return this without too much fuss if it comes to that. Any headaches are still detrimental to our health.

My alternative would be repairing/replacing my cracked third-generation iPhone SE, which to be fair handles many of the same basic functions. The difference is that I wouldn’t watch a movie or play a game on iPhone SE, but I can live without the most advanced functionality.

These OLED displays really aren’t great for daytime viewing, and I.e. the white background looks so much better on an iPad.

It’s more comfortable at higher brightness levels as far as PWM, but not all that comfortable.

I’m also beginning to get more headaches progressively, and my eyes still don’t want to focus on the display. So I’m looking forward to an improved 6.9” display on iPhone 17 Pro Max: usually it’s the odd S-type years where we see more major improvements. Flicker-free. Let’s do it.
 
I dont think its only the flicker. As far as I understood Iphone 15 and Iphone 15 plus are relatively flicker free, if you look at the graphs.

If that’s the case there’s something else in displays which causes eye strain. For example dithering or font smoothing.

I have BGR display instead of standard RGB display and notice some strain unless I setup fonts correctly for the sub pixel layout. Therefore I believe it could be sum of more issues than just PWM.
 
I got real eye strain with my 13 Pro until I tried out locking motion which fixed the issue. I’ve found out since from a consultant I have a slightly lazy right eye and that was the one that is most affected. Waiting to see feedback on if the 15 or Pro is better as I want to get rid of my 13 Pro as I find it horrible ergonomics wise.
What “locking motion” are you referring to? Googling Iphone locking motion doesn’t give me any results. Thanks!
 
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If it’s any consolation, the 2022 iPhone SE is at least an upgrade in build quality, performance, and connectivity.
Hey Michael, hey guys, I finally decided to upgrade my iPhone 8.

Because I’ve had bad experiences with the 13 mini after several purchase attempts, today I refused to buy the last 13 mini on my local Apple Store, and went instead to a second-hand store.

I asked them to show me every SE 3 they had, sadly they didn’t have any 128GB model, BUT, they showed me several Midnight SE 3 (64GB), and guess what? I picked the one with 100% battery health, and the one with the best screen. Slightly warmer, but it was the only one with consistent colors, and quality transparency. I don’t know how to explain it, but my iPhone 8 and many other LCD iPhone I’ve seen show a strange reticulation on the greys and transparencies such as the Control Center one. And on this SE 3 those greys and transparencies look solid and awesome. Maybe this is a rare screen with no temporal dithering?

So, I have to say I’m pretty happy with my purchase. I’m restoring it to iOS 16.6.1 and, for now, I’m leaving it there.

The minis are still at 811€ on the Apple Store despite being discontinued, the new iPhone 15 screen is uncomfortable for my eyes, the 15 Pro is more than 1.200€ and it can be as comfortable as you want, I’m not spending that amount of money on a smartphone. Also, I find them uncomfortable due to the size, especially the regular 15 which is slightly wider.

So I think getting a -barely- used SE 3, with a very nice quality screen, with battery health at 100% and still within Apple’s warranty until next year, for just 350€, is not a bad deal. The only thing I regret is having the 64GB model, but honestly, on my iPhone 8 after one year I still have more than half the storage empty.

So… that’s it. I finally chose to stay with the well known LCD technology.
We’ll see if next year’s iPhone 16 is better in every aspect, if the SE 4 is not as big as the 15 and comes with LCD screen, or even what await us in 2025 and beyond… But for now, I can finally upgrade from my loved iPhone 8, and hopefully install iOS 17 in the future, if they improve the battery life.
 
For me, I can tell the flicker in the display looking at text. As I said before the Samsung flip (really all Samsung displays) is awful. The text is blurry, it is a hard pass. And the Opple measurement reflects the same. The newer One Pluses, awful and the Pixels only a little better. To me, all the iPhone 15 displays look the same. The Pro Max, the Pro and the regular. And those look very similar to the Razr Plus and are somewhat tolerable in bite sized use. The one edge for me the Moto has is that it is a flip. You can do alot on the small outer screen and I do. I can avoid having a screen blare at me.
 
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Finally got some time to drop by a store for a short test with the Radex Lupin. They had the 15, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max on display; the 15 Plus was missing (this was an electronics store, not an Apple Store).

Here are the test results; all measurements were taken with auto brightness off; RWP measurements were taken at 100% brightness.

Model100%75%50%25%RWP 25%RWP 50%RWP 75%RWP 90%
iPhone 155.26.51012555.27
iPhone 15 Pro12.313.516.21912.713.514.917.3

My previous measurements of the 14 range are here: iPhone 14 measurements

The 15 Pro Max was essentially the same as the 15 Pro.

Note: The brightness settings are a rough estimation (i.e. what brightness it is, since the slider doesn't show any percentage; so it is possible that there is a bit of +/- movement regarding what exact brightness the phone was at).

Note 2: Interestingly, just measuring a 14 that I have at home, here are its values (here, I use a shortcut to set the brightness directly, so the brightness setting can be assumed to be accurate):

Model100%75%50%25%RWP 25%RWP 50%RWP 75%RWP 90%
iPhone 1446.89.9123.94.24.86.8

These are slightly different to the measurements I've taken in my previous link above, but I think that is probably explained by the brightness slider inaccuracy.

Note 3: RWP 95% on the iPhone 14 measures ~8.4.

Preliminary conclusion: It seems that the 14 and 15 are aligned, as well as the 14 Pro and the 15 Pro. Minor differences in values, I would suggest are explained by the difference between in store measurement with a brightness slider, and using a shortcut for the 14 that I have at home.

I think if one was to give a model a go, then the 15/15 Plus would be the ones, and run it at 100% brightness, with a RWP setting that isn't too bright. The Radex Lupin manual says that measurement for office monitors should not exceed 5%, and light flickering for visually focused tasks should not exceed 10%. Light flickering up to 20% for all other tasks is acceptable, according to the manual.

So, potentially 100% brightness, with an RWP between 75% and 90%, and use Night Shift/Colour Filters to adjust intensity/colours, may be the best bet to try, at least based on these measurements, and not accounting for people's different reactions.
@kargurin - for comparison.
 
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