Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[jimmy_uk]

I would note, there is much less glare from the 16PM. I immediately felt the torch like shine from the 16Plus. One of things I always notice is the colour shift, which is less pronounced on the huge PM display, but I always see a muddy, darker patch in the area I focus on - which is usually the middle to lower area of the screen. If I look towards the upper area, which is usually tilted ever so slightly away from me while resting in my hand, it looks a little brighter and blue/green.

My eyes/brain really doesn't like the yellowish whites of OLED, and I really hate the shift in colours which does have an effect on brightness.

But these are just the things I see. Of course the flashing display is still likely the main culprit.

 

[john g.]

Like every year, a real roller coaster. Some encouraging news and some "nope didn't work for me".
I'll eventually try one in a store, but I am super skeptical that this year's models will work.

I'm still on an iPhone 14 from a couple years ago that is, for whatever reason, kind of my unicorn modern iPhone.

Some family members have iPhone 13 and 15 models and I can't even look at them for over a minute.

It's also quite possible that no other 14 would work for me and I just got lucky with this one phone. So confusing.

 

[Martius]

Thank you guys for all your reviews. I will stick with my SE for another year. It seems like it's a pure gamble. Some screens might be better than others, some iPhone models have different impact on different people. But at the end of the day, my (and your) health is more important than having better photos or faster charging.

And of course I have saved at least 1200 EUR, which is nice. I will probably treat myself with just another film camera (Pentax 67). Thanks Apple for not caring about our health.

 

[DJTaurus]

Like every year, a real roller coaster. Some encouraging news and some "nope didn't work for me".
I'll eventually try one in a store, but I am super skeptical that this year's models will work.

I'm still on an iPhone 14 from a couple years ago that is, for whatever reason, kind of my unicorn modern iPhone.

Some family members have iPhone 13 and 15 models and I can't even look at them for over a minute.

It's also quite possible that no other 14 would work for me and I just got lucky with this one phone. So confusing.

I am using these days a 14 and it’s very tolerable for sure. Not 100% pain free. I get no headaches from it or nausea. Only dry eyes. Also for some reason it feels better with dark mode on.

 

[jimmy_uk]

This is worst phase for me. I start spiralling with anger that I can't just buy and use the things I want. Then I start thinking about my alternatives: should I try an Apple refurb 13/14 or roll the dice on a 16Pro.
Do I buy a Motorola something and bail on Apple?

My 11 has 87 battery health and doesn't get through the day. I've got Apple Care so have to wait until I'm at 80% battery health to get a replacement. Then the sweaty palm wait, hoping they don't break it and also put the casing back together perfectly.

Already starting to hope the iPad Mini 7 works and I could get a SE2022 for outside my home. iPad Mini 6 was fairly brutal to my eyes so not a lot of hope.

Ugh.

 

[Heman87]

This is worst phase for me. I start spiralling with anger that I can't just buy and use the things I want. Then I start thinking about my alternatives: should I try an Apple refurb 13/14 or roll the dice on a 16Pro.
Do I buy a Motorola something and bail on Apple?

My 11 has 87 battery health and doesn't get through the day. I've got Apple Care so have to wait until I'm at 80% battery health to get a replacement. Then the sweaty palm wait, hoping they don't break it and also put the casing back together perfectly.

Already starting to hope the iPad Mini 7 works and I could get a SE2022 for outside my home. iPad Mini 6 was fairly brutal to my eyes so not a lot of hope.

Ugh.

I feel you bro. This is so frustrating because we are such a minority so nobody cares. Every year the same bs. My wife has a such beautiful desert titanium phone. It’s so beautiful with the thin bezels and the premium feeling. Als ways on display. My 11 is so old and outdated. Scratches everywhere and a bad battery. And I’m a tech enthusiast unfortunately. I care about these things. I tried the 16p again and my eyes feel dry now. It must been lot of stress for them. So disappointing. I can get a phone from work. So I could use this phone as 2nd phone. And still have new modern phone. But I can’t use this phone as my main device. I am also going to try the regular 16. Obviously in the new blue color. And then I will make my decision.

 

[now i see it]

I gave up a long time ago. If a device has an OLED screen, I’m not going to look at it or even try it. They all flicker.

 

[OSXphoto]

I am new to this topic. I apologise for not reading the previous 446 pages. Are there also users who are not affected and who happily use their displays daily without issues?
I ask because I am considering an M4 iPad Pro.
I also ask because I am usually in the group that has high sensitivity for things like these.
I have an LG C8 42" OLED TV, which I like very much.
I use an iPhone 14 Pro Max and M1 Max MBP 15" daily, no issues.

Thank you very much

 

[now i see it]

I’ll summarize the last 447 pages.
There’s no way to be sure if a display will bother YOU without using it for yourself. What works for someone does not indicate if it’ll work for you.
Buy it and try it.

 

[jimmy_uk]

I am new to this topic. I apologise for not reading the previous 446 pages. Are there also users who are not affected and who happily use their displays daily without issues?
I ask because I am considering an M4 iPad Pro.
I also ask because I am usually in the group that has high sensitivity for things like these.
I have an LG C8 42" OLED TV, which I like very much.
I use an iPhone 14 Pro Max and M1 Max MBP 15" daily, no issues.

Thank you very much

If you can use a 14PM and Mini LED MBP, I see no reason why you wouldn't be fine with the OLED iPads.

The group gathered in this thread are mainly made up of people who are sensitive to nearly all of the OLED & Mini LED Apple devices. There are a lucky few who can use some of the OLED devices.

 

[dannyh5319]

I’ll summarize the last 447 pages.
There’s no way to be sure if a display will bother YOU without using it for yourself. What works for someone does not indicate if it’ll work for you.
Buy it and try it.

This is very true as I can use a 13 pro with hardly any symptoms but a lot of people on here say the 13 pro is one of the worst ones with pwn.

 

[OSXphoto]

@jimmy_uk : yes the 14PM has OLED, but the MBP hasn't. Still your analysis could hold up, thanks.

@now i see it : thank you. And yes okay I could order it and hope for the best, could return if need be. Or I could visit an Apple Store first and play with a demo unit for two hours. If those of you who are "PWM unlucky" tend to get these symptoms within ten minutes then two hours should give me a pretty good indication. In fact I already did spend around 30 minutes or so with the M4 13" and 11" already. So far so good.

Then again, there could still be effects that I don't recognise directly from the device, but that leave their mark nonetheless. If a large group is noticing it clearly, it can't be totally harmless for everyone else.

Actually I acknowledge that using display technology (computers, tablets, phones) for several hours a day everyday is not healthy, yet in my daily life it's hard to do without them.

My optometrist recommended to only use my phone as a necessary tool for on-the-go, but to discard it while at home and use larger displays instead. The rationale is to keep a longer distance to the display, thus putting less strain on the eyes. For this reason I started using my 9 year old iPad Air 2 a lot more since his recommendation.

However this iPad's CPU is from the iPhone 6 era, which translates to many and substantial interruptions. So my first thought was to get a new base iPad. Then after thinking through what use cases I could have with a tablet, I decided to go for a higher model. Being used to 120Hz promotion made me consider the M4 OLED.

 

[now i see it]

Contributors to this thread have had good luck with the previous 11” LCD iPad Pro. I’d go for that.

 

[OSXphoto]

So that would be the iPad Pro 6th gen, announced oct 2022, with M2 chip?

The thing is that I would miss out on 120Hz promotion, 100% black top/bottom bars while watching movies and Face ID. So if my eyes could handle it, I have a strong preference for the M4.
I think I'll just give it a go and see how I like it.

 

[gigapocket1]

New update: iphone 16 pro max #2 is a no go.. the first one I had pain in the middle of my head. This one initially looked like the screen was better. But I’ve had a pain in the left side of my head and queasy feeling all day..
Gave mom my iPhone 15 pro max…
Looks like I’m going back down to my 14 pro max.. may give the regular 16 a try

 

[dannyh5319]

If you can use a 14PM and OLED MBP, I see no reason why you wouldn't be fine with the OLED iPads.

The group gathered in this thread are mainly made up of people who are sensitive to nearly all of the OLED Apple devices. There are a lucky few who can use some of the OLED devices.

I don’t think there’s oled Macs yet.

New update: iphone 16 pro max #2 is a no go.. the first one I had pain in the middle of my head. This one initially looked like the screen was better. But I’ve had a pain in the left side of my head and queasy feeling all day..
Gave mom my iPhone 15 pro max…
Looks like I’m going back down to my 14 pro max.. may give the regular 16 a try

you were able to exchange for another 16 pro max so quick?

 

[gigapocket1]

I don’t think there’s oled Macs yet.

you were able to exchange for another 16 pro max so quick?

Yeah. Stalked the apple website. Bought outright. Then went to the store. Returned the first one.. and then when picking up. re did the upgrade.. refund going back to my card.

 

[brig2221]

Ordered my wife an iPhone 16 she got on Friday. Finally got to spend some time with it on the way to dinner tonight. No exaggeration, I could feel the pressure inside my sinuses and wound up getting some dizziness just using the things for less than 5 minutes at 100% brightness.

For context, the original iPhone X just about killed me, and I've been clinging to my iPhone 11 since. I bought a 15 Plus last year that didn't affect me immediately, but over a full days use I could tell it was affecting me and I'm not going to compromise one inch on using a phone that ducks with my head.

For me personally, the iPhone 16 is worse than the iPhone 15.

 

[gigapocket1]

As much as i want to ditch the iPhone.. It’s kinda hard when i have an Apple Watch Ultra.. macbook Pro 16” that i spent like 5k on.. The new iPad Pro…. Im so ingrained into the ecosystem.. I don’t even know how to get out….
Not to mention, icloud +.. Apple Home Kit.. Every TV is Apple TV boxes.. HomePods… Mac Studio.. Set up my job to be mostly apple friendly as well… So Apple TV’s where needed, etc…

 

[jimmy_uk]

I don’t think there’s oled Macs yet.

you were able to exchange for another 16 pro max so quick?

Sorry, I meant the Mini LED MBP (which has PWM)

 

[dannyh5319]

Small update: That sensation I felt with the nose and smell ended up coming to me without using the phone while sleeping and I felt a certain numbness towards the chest area and leg too, so far its looking like returning the phone may be the best option even though it’s been a better experience than the 15 series..will give it a few more days before I make a definitive decision. I just hate using the lightning cable nowadays reverting to the 13 pro.

 

[jimmy_uk]

Back to the Apple Store and refunded. My eyes are very sore and heavy today 😞

Best of luck to everyone.

 

[johhno140]

My 16PM is packed up and ready to be returned. This was not the one. Currently undecided whether to try a basic 16 or just give up on Apple and try the Honor Magic6Pro as they seem to care a little more about eye health.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I almost feel like I shouldn’t try one since it will be the same as every year: detailed complaints about headaches on otherwise great phones, and disappointment.

 

[dannyh5319]

Would you guys say it would be worth it to do an exchange or it’d probably just be the same result?