Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[Abiyork]

So I guess my questions are :
* Among users that are affected since iOS 17, do you know which version started it ?
* Is there any way to revert to iOS 16 to test it out again ?

Point 1 - Mine started immediately after I updated my iphone 11 to IOS17 on release day.

Point 2 - Afraid not, there is a small window after the release of IOS17 where you can still download the supported IOS16 software and restore the phone to that using a non-standard method. Luckily I fell into this window.

As an extra bit of info, when I upgraded to IOS17, I also upgraded my watch to IOS10. After rolling back my iphone to IOS16 the watch would no longer pair. I rang Apple and after being passed around I eventually spoke to a very understanding lady who offered for their technicians to roll back my watch for free.

Maybe if you go with a similar sob story that your phone is now unusable, they might take pity on you and offer somehing through their techs.

Good luck, it really shouldn't be this difficult!

 

[ocean10]

Hello all,

I've been reading this thread for a few years now, ever since I bought a Pixel 4a and it killed my eyes and I realized it might be because of OLED so I returned it. After my Sony xz2 died, I finally switched to iPhone SE 2022 because it's the last LCD phone that isn't 2 meters tall on the market.

Anyway, I've been using the SE without any problem since last year, but since last month I'm getting strong eye-strain all day long. So I guess I'm in the iOS 17 victims list. Since I'm not in too much of a hurry to update to the last version every time, it's hard to say if it was 17.1 or later.

When checking the updates details ( https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213781 ), the only item that's related to screen is "Fixes an issue that may cause display image persistence" in the 17.1 update. But it's hard to see how that's relevant to our problem...

So I guess my questions are :
* Among users that are affected since iOS 17, do you know which version started it ?
* Is there any way to revert to iOS 16 to test it out again ?

Thank you, and keep up the investigative work !

I have this issue as well but it was one of the iOS 16 versions that made it bad for me. I'm on 16.1.1 on a SE3 and it's fine. But somewhere beyond this version in the iOS 16 series I started getting symptoms that made previously perfect devices unusable. I tried buy some refurbished devices but unfortunately even if they come with a "good" iOS I can't seem to activate them without being forces to update to a new iOS.

 

[DJTaurus]

Off topic but sth encouraging when the top premium Tv manufacturer ditches OLED from its top model going forward.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1743323538818253045

 

[MICHAELSD]

Off topic but sth encouraging when the top premium Tv manufacturer ditches OLED from its top model going forward.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1743323538818253045

This is due to the difficulty in manufacturing OLED TV panels. LG was the only major manufacturer to figure it out, and Sony sourced their panels from them. Even Samsung hasn’t released an OLED TV despite perfecting manufacturing the mobile version that tests the human resolve for flickering, and falling far behind LG’s OLED performance with its Quantum technology.

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

Well tomorrow is my last day eligible to return this 15 PM. It is still the best OLED I have used by far but it has been a little more bothersome at times. Mild mind you, but I would drop my previous comfort score from 87/100 to 82/100. That is still way, way better than the other phones have been for me but obviously not without some degree of discomfort at times. I have not powered on my 11 since December 7th. I really, really, do not want to go back. Guess I will see how tomorrow feels.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Well tomorrow is my last day eligible to return this 15 PM. It is still the best OLED I have used by far but it has been a little more bothersome at times. Mild mind you, but I would drop my previous comfort score from 87/100 to 82/100. That is still way, way better than the other phones have been for me but obviously not without some degree of discomfort at times. I have not powered on my 11 since December 7th. I really, really, do not want to go back. Guess I will see how tomorrow feels.

Similarly, iPhone 15 Plus has been my best OLED experience by far. Yet, it still causes headaches and light migraines fairly quickly and it feels less-than-comfortable to watch videos. It’s simply not the constant behind-the-eye throbbing that I’ve grown accustomed to with OLED iPhones.

Realistically, we should move on from these devices and hope that next generation Apple releases iPhones that are in the 90’s on your comfort scale. 100/100 would take a miracle.

There has at least been forward-moving gradual continuous progress since iPhone 13.

 

[cenkanyil]

Hi everybody.
Idk about you guys, but I am not willing to accept a small headache or nausea or whatever.

I am not risking any potential harm or little discomfort while using my devices. Our body is telling us something. And we should listen to it.

Currently I use a macbook Air m1 with an external lcd display. (Because the display itself is terrible and causes me symptoms)
Ipad 9th gen lcd.
Iphone 11.

I will continue using my iPhone 11 forever. This iPhone is most likely to receive iOS18. After that most apps will continue to work. Banking apps are supported from max 2-3 years of iOS versions prior the latest release. Whatsapp is supported for around 4/5 years after the last major iOS update. Realistically but of course not ideally, this iPhone could be usable until around 2029 give or take.

So I hope that Apple or any other company that supplies flag ship phones can resolve this issue. All I hope is that my 11 keeps working till then.

Sorry for the rant… I just needed to let my fellow sufferers know my pain.

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

Similarly, iPhone 15 Plus has been my best OLED experience by far. Yet, it still causes headaches and light migraines fairly quickly and it feels less-than-comfortable to watch videos. It’s simply not the constant behind-the-eye throbbing that I’ve grown accustomed to with OLED iPhones.

Realistically, we should move on from these devices and hope that next generation Apple releases iPhones that are in the 90’s on your comfort scale. 100/100 would take a miracle.

There has at least been forward-moving gradual continuous progress since iPhone 13.

I will say that it generally takes a minimum 20-30+ minutes of staring at the screen for me to feel any discomfort but just casual use I don’t have any issues. So that is a plus I suppose. I know I’ll end up keeping this. The cameras are too important to me. I have a bunch of concerts coming up and I don’t want to be renting 15 PMs each time I want to take high quality pics and videos. The 11 has been a godsend but it really shows its age now. I could wait for the perfect phone but I am just going to say it…it’s not around the corner. I have zero concerns from a health standpoint so maybe it’s time to finally upgrade.

 

[cenkanyil]

Sacrificing health for a device is wild.

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I will say that it generally takes a minimum 20-30+ minutes of staring at the screen for me to feel any discomfort but just casual use I don’t have any issues. So that is a plus I suppose. I know I’ll end up keeping this. The cameras are too important to me. I have a bunch of concerts coming up and I don’t want to be renting 15 PMs each time I want to take high quality pics and videos. The 11 has been a godsend but it really shows its age now. I could wait for the perfect phone but I am just going to say it…it’s not around the corner. I have zero concerns from a health standpoint so maybe it’s time to finally upgrade.

I had a reasonably good day with iPhone 15 Plus as well. Truth be told that if I were in your position I would probably keep a Pro Max iPhone that caused little-to-no sensitivity. I’ve tried looking at one in a store and had instant sensitivity to the Pro Max.

These are getting better for casual use, at least. I was able to watch about an hour of a movie by raising the brightness, so there are still accommodations that have to be made.

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

I had a reasonably good day with iPhone 15 Plus as well. Truth be told that if I were in your position I would probably keep a Pro Max iPhone that caused little-to-no sensitivity. I’ve tried looking at one in a store and had instant sensitivity to the Pro Max.

These are getting better for casual use, at least. I was able to watch about an hour of a movie by raising the brightness, so there are still accommodations that have to be made.

I decided to keep it. The only true sacrifice I may have to make is using something else that final 30 minutes lying in bed. These screens are so bright now that I need to have it at the lowest setting and that cranks up the pwm. But yeah, I am able to use it without much issue and without making any tweaks to the phone or my usage aside from bed. I will be the very first to admit I would love to say I use it without any issue at all. As cenkanyil said, sacrificing health for a device is wild. That said, neither I or my ophthalmologist have concerns with the occasional dry eyes or even non-lingering mild eye strain. I can and am willing to deal with it whereas 2 years ago, I would not have. I would have happily kept my 11.

 

[Ac1d 8urn]

Welp tomorrow's the last day to return my 15. I've honestly been tempted to, it hasn't been bothering me(not noticeably at least) but I kinda just feel guilty/stupid for spending a bunch of money cause I really didn't need a new phone, I just wanted one. I'm going to keep it anyway, I do like it plus my mom still needs a new phone so worst case I can give it to her if I change my mind or it starts to bother me months down the line like my 14 pro did. I will probably still alternate use between the 15 and my SE too, to both give my eyes regular OLED breaks and whenever face ID starts to tick me off too much lol.

 

[Abiyork]

Currently I use a macbook Air m1 with an external lcd display. (Because the display itself is terrible and causes me symptoms)
Ipad 9th gen lcd.
Iphone 11.

Is the Ipad 9th gen the most recent Ipad we can use without any issue?

 

[cenkanyil]

Is the Ipad 9th gen the most recent Ipad we can use without any issue?

Yeah, I believe gen 10 is also good, but have not tried it yet.

 

[pipapoh]

Thanks man, this is what I need to know. I'm in the same situation - tried all recent iPhones (before 15s came out) and the only one of the OLED-ones I could use was the 12 Pro, which I still use. Its so comfortable, that I dont use my Kindle Paperwhite to read, but my iPhone.
I know what to buy after this one, thanks.

So, I bought both the 15 Pro and Pro Max and they are very good. It took about 2 days to get used to the screen. No issues on both. When I switched to the 14 Pro of my wife, I felt pressure immediatly.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Welp tomorrow's the last day to return my 15. I've honestly been tempted to, it hasn't been bothering me(not noticeably at least) but I kinda just feel guilty/stupid for spending a bunch of money cause I really didn't need a new phone, I just wanted one. I'm going to keep it anyway, I do like it plus my mom still needs a new phone so worst case I can give it to her if I change my mind or it starts to bother me months down the line like my 14 pro did. I will probably still alternate use between the 15 and my SE too, to both give my eyes regular OLED breaks and whenever face ID starts to tick me off too much lol.

15 Plus isn’t nearly as bad as past generations, yet still causes some sensitivity. I admittedly should have activated and tested this iPhone full-time when I got it around November, but I’m on the last day of the holiday return period. I’ve thought about switching to iPhone 15 and trying that more earnestly, but it seems like the display would be the same if not worse.

In retrospect with iPhone 15 Plus, there’s potential here but I would need to live it with more sincerely rather than rely on iPhone SE as well. There are still some headache symptoms, so that makes me optimistic for next generation if they can continue making improvements. It seems that the base iPhones are the better options typically for PWM-sensitive users. But the amount of luck users have had with iPhone 15 Pro Max almost makes me want to test the entire lineup.

 

[DJTaurus]

15 Plus isn’t nearly as bad as past generations, yet still causes some sensitivity. I admittedly should have activated and tested this iPhone full-time when I got it around November, but I’m on the last day of the holiday return period. I’ve thought about switching to iPhone 15 and trying that more earnestly, but it seems like the display would be the same if not worse.

In retrospect with iPhone 15 Plus, there’s potential here but I would need to live it with more sincerely rather than rely on iPhone SE as well. There are still some headache symptoms, so that makes me optimistic for next generation if they can continue making improvements. It seems that the base iPhones are the better options typically for PWM-sensitive users. But the amount of luck users have had with iPhone 15 Pro Max almost makes me want to test the entire lineup.

In my experience 15 was better.

 

[MICHAELSD]

In my experience 15 was better.

I still get some irritations from iPhone 15 Plus but it’s so significantly better than iPhone 15 Pro for me personally that I did myself a disservice by not testing this more seriously before deciding, but any discomfort should be enough to return it despite how this has been better than any previous OLED iPhone. My concerns with living with it include the slight persistent headaches, and minor yet sporadic rather than constant eye throbbing, and also that I’ve found that adjusting causes issues on other displays. I.e. if I spend too much time on a flickering iPhone it can make other devices more uncomfortable, almost like my brain starts to compensate for flickering that isn’t there.

 

[Evilxardas]

Since yesterday I no longer have access to YouTube on my iPad Air 2 (IOS 13.X).
Which iPad do you recommend trying? I tried ipad pro 2018, ipad 10th and ipad pro 12.9" M2 and with all these devices I had migraine problems.

In the forum it seems to "work" well ipad 9th and ipad air 3?!

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

This is going to sound stupid I realize but I have to ask and you’re the only group I trust to ask. Do you think it is possible to experience back neck aches, almost tension like with with muscles on the side and back of the neck as a result of these screens?

I know my neck is jacked up but not kidding I swear when I get on this phone, that area starts bothering me. Badly. But I cannot see 😝 how pwm would impact that area. It must be coincidental right? There does feel like tightness at the base of my skull as well. The rest of my head is fine without headache or pain.

 

[kerplunknet]

This is going to sound stupid I realize but I have to ask and you’re the only group I trust to ask. Do you think it is possible to experience back neck aches, almost tension like with with muscles on the side and back of the neck as a result of these screens?

I know my neck is jacked up but not kidding I swear when I get on this phone, that area starts bothering me. Badly. But I cannot see 😝 how pwm would impact that area. It must be coincidental right? There does feel like tightness at the base of my skull as well. The rest of my head is fine without headache or pain.

I have the same experience. It is 100% from your phone.

 

[du57in]

This is going to sound stupid I realize but I have to ask and you’re the only group I trust to ask. Do you think it is possible to experience back neck aches, almost tension like with with muscles on the side and back of the neck as a result of these screens?

I know my neck is jacked up but not kidding I swear when I get on this phone, that area starts bothering me. Badly. But I cannot see 😝 how pwm would impact that area. It must be coincidental right? There does feel like tightness at the base of my skull as well. The rest of my head is fine without headache or pain.

Take a deep breath and pay attention to how tense you are at any given moment. Relax all your muscles. In your neck, shoulders, back, face… my baseline is absolutely wired. Now imagine assaulting your nervous system with TLM.

 

[Abiyork]

This is going to sound stupid I realize but I have to ask and you’re the only group I trust to ask. Do you think it is possible to experience back neck aches, almost tension like with with muscles on the side and back of the neck as a result of these screens?

I know my neck is jacked up but not kidding I swear when I get on this phone, that area starts bothering me. Badly. But I cannot see 😝 how pwm would impact that area. It must be coincidental right? There does feel like tightness at the base of my skull as well. The rest of my head is fine without headache or pain.

You answered your own question when you mentioned the word 'tension'

Tension headaches often sit low in the rear of the skull and can be triggered by anything, including, no doubt, these phone screens.

 

[Abiyork]

Since yesterday I no longer have access to YouTube on my iPad Air 2 (IOS 13.X).
Which iPad do you recommend trying? I tried ipad pro 2018, ipad 10th and ipad pro 12.9" M2 and with all these devices I had migraine problems.

In the forum it seems to "work" well ipad 9th and ipad air 3?!

Wouldn't mind an answer to this myself.