This article incorrectly assumes there is no PWM at 50%.
https://blog.elcomsoft.com/2018/03/...to-stop-oled-flickering-in-just-three-clicks/
Technically the PWM is at its least steep curve at 50% brightness but still active.
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Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up
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This article incorrectly assumes there is no PWM at 50%.
https://blog.elcomsoft.com/2018/03/...to-stop-oled-flickering-in-just-three-clicks/
Technically the PWM is at its least steep curve at 50% brightness but still active.
Just get an 8 and stop torturing yourself. The X ain't that great (and in many ways it's a poor substitute). I would never get one.
It's quite possible that a lot of people would be OK at the 50% brightness level - the amplitude is very significantly reduced, compared to other brightness levels. That doesn't help individual users, though, and I don't mean to minimize the issues this has posed for you.
I've been testing some of the settings, and I think it's helped a bit (It might be placebo though, lol)
I turned off Face ID and all face ID related features, and I've set the brightness to 100% with a white point reduction of 80%. I'm not getting any pain whatsoever, just some minor fatigue, which is probably because I use the thing too much anyway.
I'll go back to my usual settings in a few days (Face ID on, brightness 50%, white point reduction off) and see it anything changes.
I turned off Face ID and all face ID related features, and I've set the brightness to 100% with a white point reduction of 80%. I'm not getting any pain whatsoever, just some minor fatigue, which is probably because I use the thing too much anyway.
I'll go back to my usual settings in a few days (Face ID on, brightness 50%, white point reduction off) and see it anything changes.
https://blog.elcomsoft.com/2018/03/...to-stop-oled-flickering-in-just-three-clicks/
Has anyone tried this and for it to work?
Has anyone tried this and for it to work?
@SlimFit... thanks for posting that link. It may help someone. I hadn’t tried any work arounds, just returned it and went with the 8.
@Byzanti... if old CRT monitors bothered you, I am certain the X will also.
@MICHAELSD... the red around your eyes is worrisome. That is not normal! As much as you love the X, it’s not worth injuring your eyes to use it.
I noticed extra eye sensitivity for about 10 days after I stopped using mine entirely. My eyes seem ok now after a few weeks, thank goodness.
[doublepost=1521086207][/doublepost]@Pazman2000... the 3D projector laser could be the real issue. I had a laser from a fiber optic cable go into one eye, a long time ago when I worked in that field and only a few seconds exposure was noticeable. It would also explain the red skin MICHAELSD shared.
@Byzanti... if old CRT monitors bothered you, I am certain the X will also.
@MICHAELSD... the red around your eyes is worrisome. That is not normal! As much as you love the X, it’s not worth injuring your eyes to use it.
I noticed extra eye sensitivity for about 10 days after I stopped using mine entirely. My eyes seem ok now after a few weeks, thank goodness.
[doublepost=1521086207][/doublepost]@Pazman2000... the 3D projector laser could be the real issue. I had a laser from a fiber optic cable go into one eye, a long time ago when I worked in that field and only a few seconds exposure was noticeable. It would also explain the red skin MICHAELSD shared.
Unfortunately that premise is faulty because there is PWM at 50% brightness. What they’re seeing is the camera shutter speed matching with the 60HZ flicker from 50-100% brightness. Totally unfounded article.
[doublepost=1521089755][/doublepost]
I agree that it’s very concerning, I’ve decided to completely refrain from using iPhone X until there is a solution.
Frankly I don’t think FaceID is the issue here. I can disable that entirely and it doesn’t alleviate my symptoms at all. For me at least I believe all of issues are caused by the PWM.
Glad your eyes recovered.
I’m glad to hear that you stopped using the X for now. I hope your symptoms clear up as well! Hopefully nothing is permanently damaged.
My eyes are extremely sensitive. I have blue eyes plus I wear contact lenses most of the time which amplifies sensitivity.
I tried the ‘reduce white point’ feature to 80% brightness on my 8, and WOW, it’s wonderful! I programmed it into my home button triple click for quick access. My eyes thank you all!
My eyes are extremely sensitive. I have blue eyes plus I wear contact lenses most of the time which amplifies sensitivity.
I tried the ‘reduce white point’ feature to 80% brightness on my 8, and WOW, it’s wonderful! I programmed it into my home button triple click for quick access. My eyes thank you all!
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Lol noooo, you can't keep us in suspense
Is it news from the person you've been talking to at apple?
Lol noooo, you can't keep us in suspense
Is it news from the person you've been talking to at apple?
Yes.
I'm about to ditch my X for an 8, would you advise me to wait on that decision?Yes.
That’s the setting I’m trying now and other than the display being too bright for dark environments I’ve been fine so far. I’ve tried it in the past and still ended up with throbbing pain but I’ve never tried it after taking a break from the phone.
Theoretically 50% and 100% are the best brightness settings for sensitive users.
[doublepost=1521166880][/doublepost]
I'm about to ditch my X for an 8, would you advise me to wait on that decision?
Unfortunately I would ditch the X if you’re still having issues. Can share more at a later time.
Ah, alright. To be honest, my biggest worry about this situation was that I'd ditch my X, and then Apple would release some kind of fix out of nowhere. Here's to next years model hopefully having this issue sorted.
My guess is Apple told Michael it won't be addressed with the X but they will "look into it" for future OLED iPhones.
I’m glad you shared that. It just confirms ditching the iPhone X at least for now, for those experiencing unresolved eye problems using it, is the way to go. Keep us updated on if this gets addressed in the future and thanks for contacting the higher ups at Apple
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I’m glad you shared that. It just confirms ditching the iPhone X at least for now, for those experiencing unresolved eye problems using it, is the way to go. Keep us updated on if this gets addressed in the future and thanks for contacting the higher ups at Apple
I’ll share more at a later date, but persistence does pay off even if it didn’t lead to a fix on this model.
Our options are:
A) Continue figuring out how to use iPhone X without pain.
B) Switching to iPhone 8 and potentially being unhappy with it.
Neither are ideal options, though if I can figure out how to use iPhone X without throbbing pain I’d put up with it. So far I’ve been able to use the X at 100% brightness without throbbing pain. Potentially I can train auto brightness to favor high brightnesses and switch to a reduced white point at night. I find that you have to take a break from the phone (~ 12-24 hours) and wait for the pain to go away before trying out new potential solutions. There’s going to be a compromise with all of them without Apple releasing their own option but at least maybe we can figure out how to use iPhone X. For me personally I absolutely can’t use the phone at lower brightnesses but higher brightnesses aren’t as bad. Hoping since I took a break this time that I don’t get throbbing pain again but usually with these solutions it ends up coming back after a few hours anyway.
[doublepost=1521232554][/doublepost]If it’s any consolation, the PWM on the Galaxy Note 8 is worse at lower brightnesses as the display flickers on and off at up to 50% brightness while the iPhone stops flickering completely off at 25%.
Although, it doesn’t seem to be too bad at 100% brightness on the Note 8. Curious to see the PWM on the Galaxy S9.
Again, here’s the iPhone X chart for comparison:
It’s a shame all the sites that measure PWM are from different countries so there’s a language barrier, otherwise I’d ask for advice.
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Maybe that is why a few X’s at the carrier stores seemed better, they usually run brightness at 100% and Face ID/attention settings aren’t set up on them either. I got past 10 min using it in the store, but not really long enough to fully retest it on my eyes, because at that visit, I had already decided to switch phones.
After testing today it seems like 100% brightness + reduce white point may be a viable option. The main downside here is that you have to manually go into settings and adjust the white point to dim or brighten the display. I did try it with auto-brightness on and even at ~ 67% I still got some pain. It would be great if Apple could release an automatic white point option so it isn’t a hassle.
I was hoping/suggested they could release an Accessibility option to tie the brightness control to the white point and set the display to its true max brightness so there’s no PWM but I don’t think they’re going to do that on this phone.
[doublepost=1521233905][/doublepost]For reference, this is what a flickerfree curve would look like on an OLED display. (The refresh intervals are necessary.) The Note 8’s PWM curve at 100% more closely resembles this.
[doublepost=1521234612][/doublepost]Actually, Samsung did a good job with the PWM on the Note 8... which was released before iPhone X. To Apple’s credit, this was their first OLED display. I’m curious to see if they further improved it on the S9.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-8-Smartphone-Review.249118.0.html
[doublepost=1521235955][/doublepost]Bottom line though is that PWM is a terrible technology and Apple should invest R&D into getting rid of it before they release more OLED models. Who thought “invisible” flicker was a good idea? It’s basically constantly flickering bright light at users when they’re using a lower brightness while still not producing steady light at higher brightnesses.
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I’m wondering if maybe the display only turns off fully at 25% brightness and under. (At that level it’s constantly turning itself on and off.) It gets a bit tiring having to constantly change the white point. Maybe I can keep reduce white point permanently at 80% which is the highest it can be without introducing a purple hue and train the auto-brightness to only adjust between 33%-100? I would’ve done it between 50%-100% but 50% is still too bright for dark environments. Just an idea. Kind of sucks we have to do all this tinkering just to use the phone rather than enjoying it.