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Are you experiencing this issue?


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thelookingglass

macrumors 68020
Apr 27, 2005
2,203
682
Anyone with a regular 16 experiencing pwm issues?
They all use OLED panels, so my guess is there won't be variations in PWM between the different models.

I do wonder though how much of this is psychosomatic. Maybe try using it for consecutive days and see if your eyes can get accustomed to it.
 

PWMisSuperSUS

macrumors newbie
Dec 27, 2022
7
7
SE 2022 came in sooner than expected. Conveniently arrived with 17.5.1 installed, but feels pretty similar to iPhone 11 on iOS 18. Pretty bad strain after 15 minutes. So two separate LCD iPhones behave different on the same iOS version, cool. Again, maybe my 11's firmware was altered when updating to iOS 18. But then why does it feel better (but still worse than prior to updating to 18) on 17.6.1? Looks like I'm never making any sense of this, lol.

I updated the SE to iOS 18 just to see if there was a difference, there was none. Same strain.

Just bought a used mint iPhone 11 on 17.5.1. Fingers crossed it works just like my current 11 did before iOS 18. I'll never update it again and use it for as long as I can.
 

MICHAELSD

macrumors 603
Jul 13, 2008
5,484
3,494
NJ
What’s still shocking to me is that I mentioned that I get headaches from newer iPhones to a friend with an iPhone X and he went into depth about how he was getting headaches while using his phone that sometimes persist afterwards and was about to visit an optometrist without putting two and two together. He’s now convinced to replace his iPhone X with an iPhone SE.

Somehow this is a still a problem seven years later. I’m more convinced than ever that a higher percentage of users are experiencing some degree of headaches and migraines without making the correlation due to a lack of awareness that this can be a common issue due to smartphone PWM flickering.
 

jimmy_uk

macrumors 68020
Oct 19, 2015
2,484
3,309
UK
They all use OLED panels, so my guess is there won't be variations in PWM between the different models.

I do wonder though how much of this is psychosomatic. Maybe try using it for consecutive days and see if your eyes can get accustomed to it.
Nah. While the 16PM felt fine and I tried setting up a 16Plus, my body immediately started to react negatively to the Plus. Like most years, the standard and Pro models have different displays (both displaying 60hz).
 
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dannyh5319

macrumors member
Oct 6, 2023
43
26
Nah. While the 16PM felt fine and I tried setting up a 16Plus, my body immediately started to react negatively to the Plus. Like most years, the standard and Pro models have different displays (both displaying 60hz).
So the pro max was better for you?
 

jimmy_uk

macrumors 68020
Oct 19, 2015
2,484
3,309
UK
So the pro max was better for you?
It was until it wasn't. I was able to use the PM for many hours over 3 days until the strain on my eyes started to kick in. My eyes and brain did not react negatively until the third day; the muscles around my eyes felt sore, the back of my eyes felt pinched and a headache was brewing. Meanwhile, the 16 Plus immediately irritated my eyes and felt far too bright, like a torch being flashed in my face. I could feel my neck and brain start to tighten and waves of pressure came over my head.

I would not use me as a measuring stick for which OLED iPhone might or might not work for you as I'm clearly very sensitive/allergic to whatever is happening on these devices.
 
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Chrispy

macrumors 68020
Dec 27, 2004
2,270
524
Indiana
It's been a few years since I've been in this thread and it's sad to see not much has changed. So many familiar faces from years back still looking for our perfect new iPhones. I'm still rocking my XR/SE combo after giving iPhones a try with the 14 series - without luck. I was issued a Pixel 9 for work, but I basically use it as a pager. I only use it to check my notifications and then go to a computer to reply (thank goodness for Google Messages on the web). Any more than a few minutes with the Pixel and I start to get that familiar feeling behind my eyes, and I get dizzy.

I also gave the S24 Ultra a try and boy oh boy, that was the worst of them yet. I knew immediately that was a no go. Just getting through the setup made me super dizzy and kind of ruined the rest of my evening with the headache I had. Gave me flashbacks to when I tried to use the iPhone 14 Pro. So, here we all are, together once again looking for an iPhone that doesn't strobe our eyes into oblivion. I just wanted to drop in and say hello to all the familiar faces. :)
 

gmxplode

macrumors newbie
Sep 21, 2022
23
14
So i received iphone 16 plus today and after using it for an hour there is definitely some eye strain , its not as bad as iphone X or iphone 14 which i used before. But it is definitely not as comfy as my iphone 11 , i will be using it as my main device for another few days and see how it goes. I am at 100% brightness and RWP 70%
 
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2keane

macrumors newbie
Sep 28, 2021
7
11
Perth
Thanks for all the great info with the 16 series.

Tried a 12 and 13 but had nausea after 5 min. Have a work galaxy a53 and as long as I only use it for a few minutes at a time I don’t get any symptoms.

Have been using the 11 and upgrading to a 16 base model today. Have a dentist appointment and have a headache anyway but give me a few days and I’ll report back. Will give this one the full 14 days as I normally would test for a few days and return the phones.
 

Maven1975

macrumors 65816
Aug 24, 2008
1,014
275
SE 2022 came in sooner than expected. Conveniently arrived with 17.5.1 installed, but feels pretty similar to iPhone 11 on iOS 18. Pretty bad strain after 15 minutes. So two separate LCD iPhones behave different on the same iOS version, cool. Again, maybe my 11's firmware was altered when updating to iOS 18. But then why does it feel better (but still worse than prior to updating to 18) on 17.6.1? Looks like I'm never making any sense of this, lol.

I updated the SE to iOS 18 just to see if there was a difference, there was none. Same strain.

Just bought a used mint iPhone 11 on 17.5.1. Fingers crossed it works just like my current 11 did before iOS 18. I'll never update it again and use it for as long as I can.
I have not experienced any differences in eye comfort after upgrading my 11 to iOS 18.

However, I have noticed a HIGH UPTICK IN FRUSTRATION after installing iOS 18!

It has really destroyed the experience. This is what I was afraid! 🤬 Now, I’m closer than ever to that day I have to look elsewhere. (And I don’t even know if “Elsewhere” even exists)
 
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jimmy_uk

macrumors 68020
Oct 19, 2015
2,484
3,309
UK
I have not experienced any differences in eye comfort after upgrading my 11 to iOS 18.

However, I have noticed a HIGH UPTICK IN FRUSTRATION after installing iOS 18!

It has really destroyed the experience. This is what I was afraid of and now it’s getting even closer to having to look elsewhere. (And I don’t even know if “Elsewhere” even exists)
What are you finding are the friction points in using iOS18?
 

Maven1975

macrumors 65816
Aug 24, 2008
1,014
275
What are you finding are the friction points in using iOS18?
Laggy inputs, Terrible Safari browsing (lockups, no loading, timeouts) Mail just hangs, etc.

Even the App Store is sluggish. Simple things like loading my apps for updating takes twice as long.

It’s just not smooth by any stretch.
 
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Abiyork

macrumors regular
Sep 16, 2012
159
177
So glad I stopped my Iphone 11 at IOS16.

New battery last month and its a very capable phone for the time being.

However next year I will upgrade, probably not to Iphone 17 but another provider.
 

Evilxardas

macrumors member
Dec 5, 2019
57
49
This is what concerns me with Apple, and why I think I’m going to switch away from them. Even if you find a device that magically works and doesn’t give you eye strain, I do not trust them not to tinker with the operating system and mess it all up.
You will have the same problem with other brands. Even with Windows it happened to me 3/4 times that a perfect PC became totally unusable after an update. The only solution is to block updates when you find a device that doesn't make you sick.
Because going back to the previous version didn't always solve the problem for me. There was a BIOS update that destroyed my setup and going back to the old version did not solve my migraine problem.
 

now i see it

macrumors G4
Jan 2, 2002
11,258
24,293
I have not experienced any differences in eye comfort after upgrading my 11 to iOS 18.

However, I have noticed a HIGH UPTICK IN FRUSTRATION after installing iOS 18!

It has really destroyed the experience. This is what I was afraid
This is exactly the same experience when I upgraded my iPhone 6 Plus to iOS 12. It ruined that phone.
Seems like the mothership is doing business as usual — culling older iPhones by enticing users of older devices to ‘up’grade
 
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ultravegeta1981

macrumors 6502
Oct 12, 2017
333
278
Turkey
Had to sell my 16 pro. Didnt have problem with 12-15,but 16 pro gave me dry eyes couldnt stand it. Bought a new 15 pro and i can use my phone the way i want. Strange tho.
 
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