Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[Atomic Walrus]

PWM dimming. (As several posters have already pointed out).

Samsung’s OLED panels use flicker-rate brightness control, meaning that instead of lowering the intensity of light output the display is flashed on/off (at around 240hz generally) to create the impression of reducing the brightness. The exact reason for this choice (OLED is entirely capable of voltage-based dimming) is not known, but the common theories involve power efficiency and masking OLED uniformity variances (OLED appears more uniform at near-maximum voltage).

Many LCD panels used to use the same technique, however over the past decade there has been a push to “flicker-free” LCD backlights which adjust brightness by controlling the voltage of the LEDs instead of flashing them. Apple has been one of the few companies consistently using flicker-fire LCD displays across all its product lines for a very long time.

In the monitor world PWM dimming is often considered to be a source of eye strain and, for some very sensitive people, headaches. Personally I won’t use any device that has a PWM-dimming display, but YMMV — some people are far less sensitive to the flicker, just like with various types of lighting.

 

[jimmy_uk]

One thing that may help is turning on reduce motion under accessibility in settings.This helped me when i got my iphone 6 plus.

Reducing motion on the x doesn't work well because it affects the gestures. The gestures work better when you can see the animation with your swipes. I do have it off on my 7+ though.

This is not an health issue, is the X 100%
Could anyone bring this to the Apple attention? It would be Interesting to hear them. But the reason is already known, is the PWM OLED brightness driver, and it is really harmful for eyes. Maybe I’ll swap the X for the iPhone 8 Plus 256gb, hoping that in 2 years they will get rid of this awful compromise

Strongly considering the 8+ but the price is so damn high as it's nearly x money but not the flagship phone. I'd feel better about it around the £800 mark. Keep dreaming I guess....

 

[john g.]

PWM dimming. (As several posters have already pointed out).

Samsung’s OLED panels use flicker-rate brightness control, meaning that instead of lowering the intensity of light output the display is flashed on/off (at around 240hz generally) to create the impression of reducing the brightness. The exact reason for this choice (OLED is entirely capable of voltage-based dimming) is not known, but the common theories involve power efficiency and masking OLED uniformity variances (OLED appears more uniform at near-maximum voltage).

Many LCD panels used to use the same technique, however over the past decade there has been a push to “flicker-free” LCD backlights which adjust brightness by controlling the voltage of the LEDs instead of flashing them. Apple has been one of the few companies consistently using flicker-fire LCD displays across all its product lines for a very long time.

In the monitor world PWM dimming is often considered to be a source of eye strain and, for some very sensitive people, headaches. Personally I won’t use any device that has a PWM-dimming display, but YMMV — some people are far less sensitive to the flicker, just like with various types of lighting.

This seems like the best explanation for the issue.
The PWM dimming coupled with the lack of zoom view for the display means I cannot get this phone.
Pity, as I really like the design and gestures and size.
I will stick with my 8 or perhaps consider the 8+ until the X screen issues are hopefully resolved.

 

[vannix]

This seems like the best explanation for the issue.
The PWM dimming coupled with the lack of zoom view for the display means I cannot get this phone.
Pity, as I really like the design and gestures and size.
I will stick with my 8 or perhaps consider the 8+ until the X screen issues are hopefully resolved.

I don’t think they will “solve” any issue, not everyone is affected and it would consist in a technology change, so not for this X nor the next one in 2018 I think.

Btw is sad I agree, it is really amazing and I really like the gestures and everything else.

 

[john g.]

I don’t think they will “solve” any issue, not everyone is affected and it would consist in a technology change, so not for this X nor the next one in 2018 I think.

Btw is sad I agree, it is really amazing and I really like the gestures and everything else.

I agree with you. Tis a long shot....

 

[Grilled Steeze]

Having this same issue. Disappointing.

 

[vannix]

Having this same issue. Disappointing.

Really strange, I don’t think Samsung flagship phones got this result... they need to address this ASAP If is possible to change something with a software update, has anyone of you mailed TIM as I did? Please do the same so maybe we have a possibility to get a reply

 

[Grilled Steeze]

Really strange, I don’t think Samsung flagship phones got this result... they need to address this ASAP If is possible to change something with a software update, has anyone of you mailed TIM as I did? Please do the same so maybe we have a possibility to get a reply

Another long shot. I didn't have any issues until last night right after I put a screen protector on it so possibly that's causing some distortion?

 

[vannix]

Another long shot. I didn't have any issues until last night right after I put a screen protector on it so possibly that's causing some distortion?

I find it improbable.. I’ve also bought some protectors but not installed them, so my screen is as Apple made it and disturbing anyway.

 

[cwilliams706]

Hello all,

I thought I'd post here about an issue I've been having and see if anyone else is experiencing the same thing.

When I'm using the phone, my eyes feel strained, like they're trying to focus on the phone. And I've noticed that when I look away from my phone and at something else my eyes feel a little blurry and I have to blink.

Not sure why this is happening. I've tweaked with all the various displays settings (TrueTone/Night Shift/ White balance), nothing seems to make a real difference. Not using a screen protector.

Anyone else?

It took my eyes some time to adjust last Friday, but it was only for the first few minutes of using the device.

 

[vanilla.coffee]

Nilay Patel of The Verge posted these pictures of the IR scan from the X
That's got to have some effect surely? Look at it all over the eyes !


VRG_171103_2099_A_0001.jpg

 

[Kitkad]

Other people are experiencing this so likely not a health issue.

After first day of use I had a full blown migraine which wiped out my Saturday. Since then I'm experiencing serious eye fatigue and I'm only using the x in the evening in a well lit room. I was hoping my eyes would adjust and I have zero issues with my 7+. Damn I really want this phone to work out for me as the technology is incredible.

That's exactly how I feel.

 

[Atomic Walrus]

Really strange, I don’t think Samsung flagship phones got this result... they need to address this ASAP If is possible to change something with a software update, has anyone of you mailed TIM as I did? Please do the same so maybe we have a possibility to get a reply

All of Samsung’s OLED panels, including the ones they use in their own phones, display the same type of PWM dimming. It is not specific to Apple’s implementation.

The reason you’re hearing complaints is because Apple has, up to this point, used only non-PWM displays and so many iPhone users are seeing the effect for the first time.

Someone did once modify the display driver for a rooted Note (5 I believe) to disable PWM, but using voltage dimming revealed how poor the screen uniformity was (OLED uniformity variance is a result of voltage response variance between sub pixels, and when you run at 100% voltage they all respond more similarly).

This will not be changed in any software update.

 

[richard371]

Could it be the 30000 Low powered IR laser beams casing eye issues? Doubt it but we can’t see them.

 

[Kitkad]

All of Samsung’s OLED panels, including the ones they use in their own phones, display the same type of PWM dimming. It is not specific to Apple’s implementation.

The reason you’re hearing complaints is because Apple has, up to this point, used only non-PWM displays and so many iPhone users are seeing the effect for the first time.

Someone did once modify the display driver for a rooted Note (5 I believe) to disable PWM, but using voltage dimming revealed how poor the screen uniformity was (OLED uniformity variance is a result of voltage response variance between sub pixels, and when you run at 100% voltage they all respond more similarly).

This will not be changed in any software update.

That's weird, because my last phone was an S7 edge and I don't really have the same issues.

 

[Shadow Puppets]

This is the exact kind of thing that puts me off the X (and other phones that use similar technology).

My eyes are slightly sensitive to this kind of thing, and OLEDs are renowned for it, but in truth it’s the lack of research / information about the safety of FaceID (IR dots blasting at your face 60-70 times a day potentially) that puts me off. Eyes are precious things (and I’ve had close calls with them over the years), and new technologies like this scare the crap out of me to be honest. There is just not enough information available to know how safe it is long term, so I personally don’t want to be a beta tester for it. I mean, Apple obviously aren’t going to push things that are known to be unsafe, but there is so little research done on the subject that the long term effects aren’t studied at all.

 

[Act3]

As much as it would might suck to do, try using it with the brightness @100% for a bit and see if still get eye strain. If not, it is probably PWM the culprit
[doublepost=1510186229][/doublepost]

All of Samsung’s OLED panels, including the ones they use in their own phones, display the same type of PWM dimming. It is not specific to Apple’s implementation.

The reason you’re hearing complaints is because Apple has, up to this point, used only non-PWM displays and so many iPhone users are seeing the effect for the first time.

Someone did once modify the display driver for a rooted Note (5 I believe) to disable PWM, but using voltage dimming revealed how poor the screen uniformity was (OLED uniformity variance is a result of voltage response variance between sub pixels, and when you run at 100% voltage they all respond more similarly).

This will not be changed in any software update.

Hopefully they can design their own displays in the future without PWM.

 

[jqc]

One way to confirm its not the FaceID. Disable it and use only a passcode. Put some masking tape over teh cameras. If you still have eye strain its definitely the screen.

 

[gold///]

I've also been having horrible eye strain from using the X. It's really disappointing. Everything else has been 10/10 so far, but I literally have to return this thing simply because the screen smears high contrast text.

I legitimately don't understand how anyone can use this thing without eye strain. Do they just close their eyes while scrolling or something? I used to be able to watch the text as I was scrolling to keep my place, but that's impossible on this screen.

I found a video that someone took that shows the issue, this is a slo-mo demonstration of what happens when you scroll:
https://streamable.com/ne4ez

Is this really normal? I've never seen or used any display that had this kind of text blurring before. Again, I'm really disappointed, because this is my absolute favorite phone I've ever used aside from this issue.

 

[myscrnnm]

I've also been having horrible eye strain from using the X. It's really disappointing. Everything else has been 10/10 so far, but I literally have to return this thing simply because the screen smears high contrast text.

I legitimately don't understand how anyone can use this thing without eye strain. Do they just close their eyes while scrolling or something? I used to be able to watch the text as I was scrolling to keep my place, but that's impossible on this screen.

I found a video that someone took that shows the issue, this is a slo-mo demonstration of what happens when you scroll:
https://streamable.com/ne4ez

Is this really normal? I've never seen or used any display that had this kind of text blurring before. Again, I'm really disappointed, because this is my absolute favorite phone I've ever used aside from this issue.

That's definitely not normal. I have not experienced that on my iPhone X. Wonder what could be causing it.

 

[gold///]

That's definitely not normal. I have not experienced that on my iPhone X. Wonder what could be causing it.

Well, keep in mind that the video is in slo-mo. It's definitely not that pronounced with normal usage. It's just to show what's actually happening.

You said you haven't experienced it on your X, would you mind doing a quick little test? Open the App Store or Settings, find a bold black heading (To maximize contrast with the white background), then scroll up and down at a medium speed. If you see an quick afterimage of the text while scrolling, you have the same thing as we do.

I've been doing some research on this, and I've only seen it mentioned a handful of times on different forums, youtube, etc. I guess it must affect certain people more than others, since I literally didn't hear one word about it from any of the reviewers or anything.

For anyone more knowledgable about this: Is there any chance this could be fixed somehow with a software update? Or is this strictly a hardware issue? I'd be so bummed if I actually had to return the X simply because of this. I can't even imagine going back to any other phone :/

 

[boltjames]

It’s not a notch; it’s devil’s horns.

 

[CrAkD]

No. I haven’t put it down. I am feeling nauseous tonight tho. But that’s cause my girlfriend made us get the kitchen sink sundae in Disney World.

 

[richard371]

I’m sensitive to things like this and used to be so sensitive to interlace flicker back in the days. I have tried everything to see this issue on my x and I can’t. I even compared to my 7 plus at different speeds of scrolling and they look the same maybe a tad bettter on the x. Scrolling rapidly on both and my iPad can get a little choppy.

 

[gold///]

I’m sensitive to things like this and used to be so sensitive to interlace flicker back in the days. I have tried everything to see this issue on my x and I can’t. I even compared to my 7 plus at different speeds of scrolling and they look the same maybe a tad bettter on the x. Scrolling rapidly on both and my iPad can get a little choppy.

That's strange, I wonder if it's worse on certain units or something. Although, I went to the Apple store today and checked a demo unit, it had the exact same issue. Try scrolling around and focus on the text as it's scrolling by. Does it look relatively clear? Or are there afterimages of the text?