Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[from reddit the_top_g]

So I just went through every 15 and 14 review, and only the 14 Pro Max had this data. Not one of them had amplitude. So far only 16 Plus is out from 16 line.

View attachment 2432727

Excellent and thank you!

I will bring up to them with these information.

Thank you for sharing the above. I realized that I have missed a step for the rise and fall time. That explains why the iphone 14 pro max looked way too good at a total of ~1ms.

I will update my previous post in a while. The actual pulse duration of rise and fall time is about 3ms for this one.

 

[badger1212]

Still rocking my Honor Magic Pro 6 with minimal if any symptoms. I must have had it about 6 months now. I'm sure it's the PWM dimming at 4320 Hz that has helped. I miss iOS as most of my family are on iOS but even the 11 and SE3 gave me symptoms after the update to iOS 18. I don't think I'll bother with the 16s given the feedback on here. I just with Apple would follow some of the Chinese manufacturures lead on this.

 

[kerplunknet]

Excellent and thank you!

I will bring up to them with these information.

Thank you for sharing the above. I realized that I have missed a step for the rise and fall time. That explains why the iphone 14 pro max looked way too good at a total of ~1ms.

I will update my previous post in a while. The actual pulse duration of rise and fall time is about 3ms for this one.

A bit off topic, but PWM_Sensitive on Reddit has become a very valuable resource for this community. (That you again for creating it!) I noticed you are the only moderator there. I hope in the future you can appoint more moderators so that the community does not get shutdown in case you are absent for a long period of time. Thanks!

 

[from reddit the_top_g]

A bit off topic, but PWM_Sensitive on Reddit has become a very valuable resource for this community. (That you again for creating it!) I noticed you are the only moderator there. I hope in the future you can appoint more moderators so that the community does not get shutdown in case you are absent for a long period of time. Thanks!

You've made a good point. Without the community, we could not have gathered these insights. Indeed you are right on the above.

This is something I will have to think through about. 👍

 

[jtl_]

Wow - so now 256 Hz is considered "relatively high"......

Did they adjust the threshold they use to consider flickering high frequency?

 

[Oliwatts]

In case anyone’s interested…

…I’m planning to install an iFixit LCD screen replacement in a new iPhone 13 mini I bought off eBay.

The kicker is I plan to do this using the official Apple Self Service Repair toolkit (yes, the big one that comes in the huge flight cases). It was an easy process to order from their website, despite the hefty card authorisation fee.

The phone is already here, expecting the other parts next week.

 

[Megatron]

I just wanted to add a small bit of good news. My experience last year after trying the iPhone 15 pro was similar to others here - a vague bit of motion sickness/nausea, eye strain, headache. I switched it for an iPhone 15 plus and happily used that without problems all of last year.

This year I purchased an iPhone 16 plus and thought the panels would be largely similar, so I was surprised to have symptoms. The first day of use I had very strong symptoms of eye strain, heaviness around the eyes, a bit of discomfort in the sinus area, and a general tired feeling in the head. Maybe a bit of motion sickness but not as much as I had experienced with the 15 pro.

I decided to see if maybe there was some kind of adjustment period needed for my eyes / brain / etc. and stuck with it. Over the next few days the symptoms lessened a bit each day, and I am happy to say now that I am using the 16 plus without any symptoms.

I have no idea what the root cause of this all is but wanted to share my experience in case it helps someone, as it seems everyone has different reactions to these phones.

 

[DJTaurus]

 

[MICHAELSD]

I was planning to sit this generation out. Frankly, it’s almost impossible to properly test in an Apple Store. The odds of me being able to keep one are probably low as long as the display flickers, but any positive experiences here are reassuring.

I still have a gut feeling iPhone 17 will be the next generation to exhibit progress if not a solution.

 

[MICHAELSD]

That being said, iPhone 15 Plus was the best I’ve used. The issue is that it could be fine to use for a YouTube session then I still have to pick up the phone the next day and countless times throughout the day and the frequency will inevitably cause much worse headaches to recur.

 

[Heman87]

That being said, iPhone 15 Plus was the best I’ve used. The issue is that it could be fine to use for a YouTube session then I still have to pick up the phone the next day and countless times throughout the day and the frequency will inevitably cause much worse headaches to recur.

yes I have the same because the base models have low frequencies but better modulation than the pros. I saw the 17 line up will use a newer and a thinner OLED display. But no word about flickering or pwm.

 

[MICHAELSD]

yes I have the same because the base models have low frequencies but better modulation than the pros. I saw the 17 line up will use a newer and a thinner OLED display. But no word about flickering or pwm.

iPhone 17 will be the next major redesign, including new display drivers:

This Technology Could Pave the Way for the 'iPhone 17 Air' Next Year

Taiwanese company Novatek has announced plans to begin mass production of OLED displays with TDDI (touch and display driver integration) technology...

www.macrumors.com

I would hold out hope that this is the PWM-free generation. Otherwise, I’m not sure what to do since I won’t be optimistic about future generations.

 

[Heman87]

iPhone 17 will be the next major redesign, including new display drivers:

This Technology Could Pave the Way for the 'iPhone 17 Air' Next Year

Taiwanese company Novatek has announced plans to begin mass production of OLED displays with TDDI (touch and display driver integration) technology...

www.macrumors.com

I would hold out hope that this is the PWM-free generation. Otherwise, I’m not sure what to do since I won’t be optimistic about future generations.

I really hope so. But I don’t want to be hopeful for a another year and be disappointed again.

I’m using a iPhone 16 for basic tasks to text and calling and light web serving. And my 11 for watching YouTube and social media and playing games. It work pretty fine so far.

 

[now i see it]

The current iPhone SE 2022 (touch ID & LCD) will be a usable iPhone for at least another 7 years.

 

[du57in]

At this point I’m more or less giving up on some new display technology coming along to save display flicker (QDEL, color eink, etc.), and putting my money on OLED rising to meet the challenge.

I don’t think Apple will lead the charge, but I think they will eventually follow. There are many manufacturers who are clearly tuned into it. And looking at the differences from generation to generation at Apple, they absolutely know about it and have to be paying close attention.

Maybe I’m feeling optimistic tonight, but I think it’s only a matter of time until there are some better options again.

 

[bsmr]

So when reading this thread and other sources it should be much better to use the iPhone 16 instead of the 16 Pro, or am I wrong?

 

[dannyh5319]

So when reading this thread and other sources it should be much better to use the iPhone 16 instead of the 16 Pro, or am I wrong?

That’s what I’ve been seeing

 

[bsmr]

That’s what I’ve been seeing

Did you test it?

 

[PwmMen]

I've tested them all, and the iPhone 16 is by far the best iPhone for me since the iPhone 12 Pro.
I can now use it without any problems. I'm so happy to be able to use a modern iPhone.
If there are actually PWM-free iPhones, I will of course switch straight away.

 

[dannyh5319]

Did you test it?

Not yet personally, still waiting for carrier to remove installments from iPhone 16 pro return, I was saying I’ve also been reading a lot of favorable views on the base 16s being more tolerable than the pros.

 

[bsmr]

I've tested them all, and the iPhone 16 is by far the best iPhone for me since the iPhone 12 Pro.

Thanks for your details. So you also test the 16 Pro and you find the 16 better concerning PWM?

 

[Heman87]

The best is to try them self out. Everybody is different. Btw The 15 line up had a lower modulation than the 16 series. So for some people the 15 line up works fine. Except the 15 pro regular. That’s the one of the worst

 

[dannyh5319]

The best is to try them self out. Everybody is different. Btw The 15 line up had a lower modulation than the 16 series. So for some people the 15 line up works fine. Except the 15 pro regular. That’s the one of the worst

I was actually going to try the 15 pro before 16 😭

 

[Heman87]

I was actually going to try the 15 pro before 16 😭

maybe it wil work for you. I got immediately headache from using it. The 15 pro Max was one of the best iPhones for me personally. But I couldn’t use it for a long period time. With heavy usage my eyes were burning next day. With moderate usage it was more than fine. I could use 2 phones like I’m doing now but I returned the phone because it was too expensive and too big to use it as a second phone.

 

[dannyh5319]

maybe it wil work for you. I got immediately headache from using it. The 15 pro Max was one of the best iPhones for me personally. But I couldn’t use it for a long period time. With heavy usage my eyes were burning next day. With moderate usage it was more than fine. I could use 2 phones like I’m doing now but I returned the phone because it was too expensive and too big to use it as a second phone.

I actually had serious eye strain using the 15 pro max and could not use the phone in 120hz when scrolling, hoping for a better experience with the regular 15 pro before settling for the 16 with no 120hz.