Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[jtl_]

Coming from Android, the iPhone X is truly amazing! I loved the iPhone X. I wanted to keep it... BUT... I had to return it after 2 days due to raging headaches from the screen.

The iPhone X has a PWM (pulse width modulation) module and users who have sensitive; eyes, balance, prone to migraines, or super human vision are most likely to notice it and be adversely affected by it.

It’s more noticeable if you dim the screen, but it IS ALWAYS flickering.

The flickering appears visually similar to a CRT computer monitor refresh rate at 60HZ; stacked inch tall bands running the entire width of the screen that refresh moving upwards.

Not all OLED screens do this. I came from a high resolution OLED on my Blackberry DTEK60 (Alcatel) and never noticed screen flicker on it, even at minimum brightness, and no headaches. Apparently LG OLED displays don’t do this either as they do not use a PWM module.

I also had to ditch wearing polarized sunglasses while driving which give me vertigo. They produce a visual effect when you turn your head on sunny days off surfaces producing high glare or reflections, yes even the expensive brands.

If Apple addresses the flickering, gets rid of PWM and some glitches with UI/iOS I will reconsider it in the future.

For now I’m rocking an iPhone 8 and love it!
[doublepost=1519514876][/doublepost]I tried to upload a video clip of the effect with no luck. If you go to YouTube and search for iPhone X flickering screen you will find videos posted showing it. It is really there, and much easier to detect via video... even if “some people cannot see it”.

I think the LG GFlex (P-OLED) might be OK on the PWM department but the V30 has slight flicker. Not as bad as the iPhone X though.
[doublepost=1519516016][/doublepost]

Coming from Android, the iPhone X is truly amazing! I loved the iPhone X. I wanted to keep it... BUT... I had to return it after 2 days due to raging headaches from the screen.

The iPhone X has a PWM (pulse width modulation) module and users who have sensitive; eyes, balance, prone to migraines, or super human vision are most likely to notice it and be adversely affected by it.

It’s more noticeable if you dim the screen, but it IS ALWAYS flickering.

The flickering appears visually similar to a CRT computer monitor refresh rate at 60HZ; stacked inch tall bands running the entire width of the screen that refresh moving upwards.

Not all OLED screens do this. I came from a high resolution OLED on my Blackberry DTEK60 (Alcatel) and never noticed screen flicker on it, even at minimum brightness, and no headaches. Apparently LG OLED displays don’t do this either as they do not use a PWM module.

I also had to ditch wearing polarized sunglasses while driving which give me vertigo. They produce a visual effect when you turn your head on sunny days off surfaces producing high glare or reflections, yes even the expensive brands.

If Apple addresses the flickering, gets rid of PWM and some glitches with UI/iOS I will reconsider it in the future.

For now I’m rocking an iPhone 8 and love it!
[doublepost=1519514876][/doublepost]I tried to upload a video clip of the effect with no luck. If you go to YouTube and search for iPhone X flickering screen you will find videos posted showing it. It is really there, and much easier to detect via video... even if “some people cannot see it”.

I think the LG GFlex (P-OLED) might be OK on the PWM department but the V30 has slight flicker. Not as bad as the iPhone X though.

 

[RD207]

Good to know. I considered the LG V30, Samsung S9, Pixel 2... But went iPhone cause I like how it syncs with iPad for hotspot and iMessage feature, plus frequent updates. I am interested to see the new line up in the fall; Pixel 3 and new iPhones!

 

[Ffosse]

I'm fortunate; I don't notice the flickering like some others (not that I doubt it exists).

 

[MICHAELSD]

I think the LG GFlex (P-OLED) might be OK on the PWM department but the V30 has slight flicker. Not as bad as the iPhone X though.

It seems likely that iPhone X Plus will use an OLED panel by LG, so we can hope that the situation will be much better. The V30 has no PWM at above 80% brightness.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Has anyone experiencing this issue tried replacing their iPhone X? There was somebody a few pages back who said a replacement fixed their issue.

I (mostly) understand how PWM works and agree it’s unlikely that it would function differently on a different X but I’m still not totally ruling out the possibility that there’s something defective with the panel or its modulation. I see a bunch of people using the X and I don’t think Apple would release a phone that’s painful to use. Still, I can literally sense the flicker. I’m thinking about heading to Best Buy and comparing my X to a demo unit.
[doublepost=1519676650][/doublepost]On another note I decided to try leaving Night Shift enabled all the time and my eye strain is definitely lessened. Thankfully I prefer the warmer tones anyway as blue light is harmful for the eyes. I’m just worried the severe headaches and throbbing pain will creep back.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I actually do like the 8 Plus, but I’ll admit I really want a more modern design, so I’m still not ready to give up the X. I’ll try one more time to use my X full-time exactly as intended — auto-brightness, no Accessibility options, etc. I wouldn’t mind as much if I only got eye strain while using the device but the headaches and throbbing pain afterwards are still concerning. I just wish Apple had a better resolution.

To complicate matters, I can’t get a refund through my credit card so I’ll have to see if they can issue a check or store credit. Thankfully I was going to return my 8 Plus anyway due to a dead pixel towards the middle of the display so I’ll do that then figure it out.

Damn this has been a stressful past few months and only getting more stressful, and as someone who’s been buying every iPhone annually since 2007 I just wanted to be able to use my new iPhone X...

 

[noobinator]

I wish there was a way to do a blind test for those suffering from these issues.

 

[RD207]

I would gladly be part of a test group or beta tester for stuff like this. If Apple is reading this; contact me to test your 2nd generation iPhone X.

@MICHAELSD... I hope you get that sorted. I feel like I lost a month trying so many phones and then giving up the one I wanted to keep and settling on an “older design”.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I would gladly be part of a test group or beta tester for stuff like this. If Apple is reading this; contact me to test your 2nd generation iPhone X.

@MICHAELSD... I hope you get that sorted. I feel like I lost a month trying so many phones and then giving up the one I wanted to keep and settling on an “older design”.

Apple should really be doing more about this issue. I can’t believe that the phone passed through their testing without anyone complaining about eye pain. I’m sure if a top-ranking executive was experiencing eye strain they would have addressed this already. I’d assume they were aware of the issue and decided to ship anyway because the amount of users it would affect was low enough that it’d be better for them to accept returns rather than the alternative.

If Apple wanted to bring in those who are suffering to test a next-generation device, I would be more than happy to take part and provide feedback. No device should be painful to use. Considering the price tag I would have happily paid more if it meant that they could implement a different brightness modulation. iPhone X should be the best device it can be per Apple’s design ethos and with PWM it is not as it represents a major compromise.

Most people may say a phone isn’t worth all this hassle, but they’d be speaking to the wrong person. I’ve never skipped an iPhone release, and am enthusiastic about it the other 364 days of the year.

Suffice to say keeping the 8+ isn’t really the best resolution for me for a number of reasons. I really just want this to be over and done with so I can enjoy my iPhone X...
[doublepost=1519855995][/doublepost]

Try this link for cydia impactor : https://www.intech-bb.com/how-to-use-cydia-impactor/

Is there an app that adjusts the PWM modulation?

 

[gr4z]

Apple should really be doing more about this issue. I can’t believe that the phone passed through their testing without anyone complaining about eye pain. I’m sure if a top-ranking executive was experiencing eye strain they would have addressed this already. I’d assume they were aware of the issue and decided to ship anyway because the amount of users it would affect was low enough that it’d be better for them to accept returns rather than the alternative.

If Apple wanted to bring in those who are suffering to test a next-generation device, I would be more than happy to take part and provide feedback. No device should be painful to use. Considering the price tag I would have happily paid more if it meant that they could implement a different brightness modulation. iPhone X should be the best device it can be per Apple’s design ethos and with PWM it is not as it represents a major compromise.

Most people may say a phone isn’t worth all this hassle, but they’d be speaking to the wrong person. I’ve never skipped an iPhone release, and am enthusiastic about it the other 364 days of the year.

Suffice to say keeping the 8+ isn’t really the best resolution for me for a number of reasons. I really just want this to be over and done with so I can enjoy my iPhone X...
[doublepost=1519855995][/doublepost]

Is there an app that adjusts the PWM modulation?

Apple are not bothered as it only affects a very small number of users. So small they really don’t care.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Apple are not bothered as it only affects a very small number of users. So small they really don’t care.

I may just be grasping at straws here, but we may just have defective panels.

The Apple Watch has PWM (though it seems to be quite a bit different than iPhone X), my plasmas have PWM (assumedly at a higher frequency), and I have never had any eye strain or pain from those devices.

It just seems odd for it to affect such a small amount of people if there’s not a defect with our particular X. Unlikely, but not entirely implausible. I’d be willing to try just to exhaust every possible solution.

 

[noobinator]

I may just be grasping at straws here, but we may just have defective panels.

The Apple Watch has PWM (though it seems to be quite a bit different than iPhone X), my plasmas have PWM (assumedly at a higher frequency), and I have never had any eye strain or pain from those devices.

It just seems odd for it to affect such a small amount of people if there’s not a defect with our particular X. Unlikely, but not entirely implausible. I’d be willing to try just to exhaust every possible solution.

Can’t you solve this pretty quickly by heading to a store and trying one out for a bit? Or buy another and return it after you test it out?

 

[MICHAELSD]

Can’t you solve this pretty quickly by heading to a store and trying one out for a bit? Or buy another and return it after you test it out?

I plan to visit Best Buy tomorrow. Unfortunately I’m not sure that a few minutes in the store is going to be enough to figure out either way whether another unit would cause the same issues. Will try my best to decide.

I’d like to buy another iPhone X and compare but the situation is a bit more complicated as it sounds like I’m going to have to take store credit for my current X or exchange it otherwise I’m going to face penalties on my credit card. So I’d have to sit on the store credit for a few more months as I would have to buy that replacement X on a different card.

So plan: visit Best Buy, try to compare my X to the demo unit, then decide whether it’s worth the hassle to try ordering another iPhone X.

 

[MICHAELSD]

That’s a chart of the PWM at different brightness levels. It seems like there should be a brightness level/PWM that we can tolerate, especially since we’re already used to PWM on other devices like the Apple Watch. It looks like 50% might be where we want to be. At 25% and under the display basically flickers on and off. Based on the variance it looks like Apple should be able to make some sort of adjustment. Maybe with iOS 11.3?

Spending way too much time and grief on this...

 

[gr4z]

That’s a chart of the PWM at different brightness levels. It seems like there should be a brightness level/PWM that we can tolerate, especially since we’re already used to PWM on other devices like the Apple Watch. It looks like 50% might be where we want to be. At 25% and under the display basically flickers on and off. Based on the variance it looks like Apple should be able to make some sort of adjustment. Maybe with iOS 11.3?

Spending way too much time and grief on this...

Same here. I gave up and sold my X on eBay and got a 8. No more problems. I won’t be upgrading for the foreseeable future.

 

[newellj]

there are several settings on the X which will help achieve your perfect screen
These include True Tone, brightness. Smart invert, color filters , white point, text size, boldness of text etc Play with these settings till your eyes are happy
There’s no one setting that fits all when it comes to the screen

None of these have anything to do with the underlying issue, which is the rate and extent of display flicker.
[doublepost=1519907639][/doublepost]

Would be interesting to know the true percentage of total users affected in any way by this. The small sample in this thread suggests a high number , but realistically it’s almost certainly less than that.

Gen 1 issue hopefully fixed in Gen 2.

Goggling this suggests possibly as high as 10%, but if you read the comments here, it's highly variable in people who experience this.

 

[Eduardboon]

I turned off night shift and my eye-strain went away as well.

 

[Dario69]

Goggling this suggests possibly as high as 10%, but if you read the comments here, it's highly variable in people who experience this.

Interesting. Or it could be people posting their experiences here actually know what to look for compared to those being surveyed in the example you mentioned.

I know some question whether the people complaining here actually used an iPhone X but I doubt most of that. Their calling out fake news is also fake news regardless of all the bias you find on both sides. I think more research is required on this subject as OLED becomes more mainstream on smartphones. Sorry Android world but when Apple is doing OLED phones it is truly mainstream.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Hmm, not sure yet but it seems the PWM actually bothers me less at a lower brightness. Technically PWM is supposed to cause less sensitivity at higher frequencies rather than lower, and at under 50% brightness the display flickers at 240Hz compared to 60Hz at above 50%. I’d rather not have a super bright display flickering a foot away from my face. Also have Night Shift enabled on the warmer side, as blue light causes more eye strain. (I prefer warmer tones anyway.)

With the TruTone calibration settings I wish Apple let us customize our daytime color temperature. I calibrate my Mac to 5000k, which is the graphic arts standard. I could technically do this with Night Shift but then I’d have to manually make it warmer at night.
[doublepost=1519970571][/doublepost]Did the math and Night Shift at the less warm setting should lower the color temperature about 1000k to 5500k-5600k. Perhaps I’ll start using this during the day then manually change it at night.

I did take a video of the iPhone X flicker on a demo unit at the Apple Store and while this may just be due to lighting conditions/exposure it wasn’t as apparent. About to order a replacement phone.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Something told me that iOS 11.3 would bring some kind of fix or adjustment now that the eye strain issues have been documented and publicized, so I decided to install the beta.

This is by no means scientific (I don’t have the proper tools to measure PWM) but the PWM seems unquestionably different on video after installing iOS 11.3. I’m not necessarily sure that means it’s better yet. It does look like it’s a higher/adjusted frequency, which should theoretically mean there should be less eye strain. Apple may have adjusted it and even if I do still have eye strain I wouldn’t rule out that my iPhone X is defective in some manner.

 

[TDDM]

Something told me that iOS 11.3 would bring some kind of fix or adjustment now that the eye strain issues have been documented and publicized, so I decided to install the beta.

This is by no means scientific (I don’t have the proper tools to measure PWM) but the PWM seems unquestionably different on video after installing iOS 11.3. I’m not necessarily sure that means it’s better yet. It does look like it’s a higher/adjusted frequency, which should theoretically mean there should be less eye strain. Apple may have adjusted it and even if I do still have eye strain I wouldn’t rule out that my iPhone X is defective in some manner.

That's interesting, have you had any difference in eye strain since 11.3?

 

[MICHAELSD]

That's interesting, have you had any difference in eye strain since 11.3?

I’ve only used my phone for a few minutes total today since installing 11.3 but I do feel a bit better. Not 100% better, though I feel it may have been mildly adjusted. I actually think 11.3 may silently address this. I did send in a feedback note to Apple but I don’t expect a response. Optimistic for the final release. I’ll continue my unscientific measurements as well in the same lighting conditions as the first video.

 

[Falhófnir]

Having had oled phones before, I can't say that I particularly felt more eye strain from using them, though I did notice the sub pixel layout more, I don't know if that might be related to OP's problem?

 

[jtl_]

Something told me that iOS 11.3 would bring some kind of fix or adjustment now that the eye strain issues have been documented and publicized, so I decided to install the beta.

This is by no means scientific (I don’t have the proper tools to measure PWM) but the PWM seems unquestionably different on video after installing iOS 11.3. I’m not necessarily sure that means it’s better yet. It does look like it’s a higher/adjusted frequency, which should theoretically mean there should be less eye strain. Apple may have adjusted it and even if I do still have eye strain I wouldn’t rule out that my iPhone X is defective in some manner.

Somebody needs an oscilloscope and photodiode.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Somebody needs an oscilloscope and photodiode.

Yeah, I’m not going too crazy.

If Apple does publicly adjust it maybe I’ll ask a site to measure it.

I do still have some eye strain so I’m just going to swap for another iPhone X and if it’s still a painful experience I’ll just limit my usage of it. 8 Plus is still a good phone, but feels so dated compared to the X and when I was using the 8+ it killed me seeing people practically everywhere I went happily using an X.

At this point we’re only a few months away from X Plus. Even if it does have PWM it won’t be identical so there’s a chance we’ll be fine.
[doublepost=1520030971][/doublepost]It sounds like a different method to control brightness would be possible, but it may be more costly to implement. If they can forgo PWM entirely on the Plus model I’d gladly pay a larger premium. Since speculation is pointing at the X costing ~ $1299, I’d expect it to have zero drawbacks.