I used iPhone 14 (Samsung panel) with double invert and no any benefits. It’s bad. Tired / dry eyes…. By Monday i ll install the LCD from iFixit and i ll report back.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up
- Thread starter Kitkad
- WikiPost WikiPost
- Start date
-
- Tags
- eye strain xs max
- Sort by reaction score
- Status
The LG panel in the 16e with the double invert and manual brightness seems to be ok. I have a 16 that I picked up yesterday. It has a Samsung panel and I don’t think it’s good. I feel the burning sensation though no headache. It’s the second 16 with a Samsung panel so I will probably send it back. I haven’t tried the 16 plus yet.
Can we see the panel from the serial or imei ? Before opening the box ?
Ah, sounds like 16e might be the safest bet then. Anyone snagged a 16 with an LG display?
I managed to put in another hour of usage on a friend's 16e with double invert, it still seems fine but not 100% comfortable - I'd say 98%. Still a little concerned longer sessions would cause eye strain in the end.
Got my new battery installed in my 11 and the experience was flawless - 40 minutes and it was done, paid for with Apple care. A strong reason why I want to stay with Apple.
Last edited:
Quick report on the 16e that I'm trying.
Seems as good as my trusty 14, which has been the only OLED phone I have been able to use.
So the 16e is probably going to be a keeper.
Going to use it for the rest of the week until just before my return policy closes.
If I am pixel peeping, the 14 feels just ever so slightly more comfortable and has more contrast.
But I find the 16e to be a joy to use.
I don't really care about speed, but I'm surprised how peppy the 16e feels from the 14.
During this "testing period" I also tried a 16 Plus. Very nice phone.
Screen was significantly better than the two 15 models that family members have, but not good enough to keep.
Seems as good as my trusty 14, which has been the only OLED phone I have been able to use.
So the 16e is probably going to be a keeper.
Going to use it for the rest of the week until just before my return policy closes.
If I am pixel peeping, the 14 feels just ever so slightly more comfortable and has more contrast.
But I find the 16e to be a joy to use.
I don't really care about speed, but I'm surprised how peppy the 16e feels from the 14.
During this "testing period" I also tried a 16 Plus. Very nice phone.
Screen was significantly better than the two 15 models that family members have, but not good enough to keep.
Last edited:
16e really bothering Zollotech's eyes at the 7:08 Display is rough part
He is sensitive to low PWM frequencies. 480hz on the Pro modes works for him
While it continues to bother a lot of people even without being so disruptive for many, it's a very good thing that Zollo raises this problem... he has almost 2 million subscribers. The only solution for now is to swap the screen with a good quality LCD screen. I still don't understand if MicroLED will solve the issue or not, does anyone have a clue?
Has anyone done this successfully? With which LCD? There are so many suppliers it’s hard to know which one to try? Maybe I’m just not familiar enough with the market for aftermarket screens to be able to judge?
FWIW the 16E I tried in the Apple store felt the same as all of the other 60hz Oled iPhones to me. It gave me eye strain and a foggy feeling after using it for a minute or two.
From what I understand, one of the best brands for aftermarket LCDs is EK Pro, then there's ZY, EK and so on. I'm really curious to know how are the iFixit LCDs, but they mention lower resolution so i'm not so sure about them.
There are plenty of videos on youtube showing various brands that make LCD screens for iPhone, like this one:
There's also this one that shows the LCD for the iPhone 16, so they are keeping up quite fast:
I currently use an LCD on my iPhone Xs but i don't know which brand it is, for sure is not the best quality because it makes the phone very hot in the summer and battery life is not that great, but it's also a 2018 phone and it already overheated by itself with its own original screen. Other than that, at least it makes my phone usable for me so i can keep using iOS.
If it will keep working for at least another year or two, i will then consider getting a refurbished 16e around 300/400 euros and then replacing the screen.
There are plenty of videos on youtube showing various brands that make LCD screens for iPhone, like this one:
There's also this one that shows the LCD for the iPhone 16, so they are keeping up quite fast:
I currently use an LCD on my iPhone Xs but i don't know which brand it is, for sure is not the best quality because it makes the phone very hot in the summer and battery life is not that great, but it's also a 2018 phone and it already overheated by itself with its own original screen. Other than that, at least it makes my phone usable for me so i can keep using iOS.
If it will keep working for at least another year or two, i will then consider getting a refurbished 16e around 300/400 euros and then replacing the screen.
Has anyone here actually done this? If so how do you start the process. Will it work on a 16E ? I've got one I'm about to return.
An aftermarket LCD display would likely void warranty and trade-in eligibility.
I've done this on a 13 mini. It's not worth it in my opinion. You will get heat, battery and colour issues as well no auto brightness capability. There may still be pwm in some of these LCD panels. The only good news is that you can pay Apple to put back an OLED panel though it will be expensive.
I suspect the 16e is too new. I have the 16e and it seems the double invert + minimum brightness of 50% seems to be ok for me so maybe I am more sensitive to dithering. The 16 with the Samsung panel was a no go for me even with these settings - no headache but my eyes felt tired.
I have tried incell from JK, JR, EK Pro and now the one iFixit sells. I still get small headaches….. so if it’s not the OLED the issue then WTF is it ?
I am now on iPhone 14 with iFixit LCD….. i just enabled double invert (which didn’t work when i used it on iPhone 14 with OLED in it) and things now seem a little better.
I am now on iPhone 14 with iFixit LCD….. i just enabled double invert (which didn’t work when i used it on iPhone 14 with OLED in it) and things now seem a little better.
Last edited:
Thanks for the feedback guys. Can't say I'm surprised but did have hopes!!! Thanks!!!
Don’t know mate. I still have headaches even with LCD incell. iPhone 14 is going back. Back to 11….. already feeling better.
Last edited:
Hello everyone, I wanted to provide a quick update on my experience with iPhone 16e
I used it for a little over a week, with no eye strain whatsoever.
However, a few days ago I woke up with severe eye strain. I took a break from the iPhone 16e and started using iPhone SE 3 and my symptoms improved right away.
Therefore, the iPhone 16e has been returned.
I would like to share my experience with the iPhone 16
iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max did not work for me at all - besides eye strain, I felt lightheaded and experienced brain fog with iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max - these symptoms went away as soon as I stopped using them
iPhone 16 (6.1) provided eye strain within minutes, so this wasn’t much of an improvement
iPhone 16e worked until it didn’t, as I previously stated
My most bearable experience was with iPhone 16 Plus, it didn’t really annoy me as much, and I think I may be able to use it as long as I pair my use of an iPhone 16 Plus with my current iPhone SE 3rd generation or an LCD iPad - iPad 11th gen, iPad Mini or iPad Air - I would must likely use these devices at home at night when I have to lower the screen brightness
I just want a phone that I can use to take awesome pictures and videos during the spring and summer
Hopefully by fall we have something better, we can only hope
My apologies for the long paragraph - good luck everyone
I used it for a little over a week, with no eye strain whatsoever.
However, a few days ago I woke up with severe eye strain. I took a break from the iPhone 16e and started using iPhone SE 3 and my symptoms improved right away.
Therefore, the iPhone 16e has been returned.
I would like to share my experience with the iPhone 16
iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max did not work for me at all - besides eye strain, I felt lightheaded and experienced brain fog with iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max - these symptoms went away as soon as I stopped using them
iPhone 16 (6.1) provided eye strain within minutes, so this wasn’t much of an improvement
iPhone 16e worked until it didn’t, as I previously stated
My most bearable experience was with iPhone 16 Plus, it didn’t really annoy me as much, and I think I may be able to use it as long as I pair my use of an iPhone 16 Plus with my current iPhone SE 3rd generation or an LCD iPad - iPad 11th gen, iPad Mini or iPad Air - I would must likely use these devices at home at night when I have to lower the screen brightness
I just want a phone that I can use to take awesome pictures and videos during the spring and summer
Hopefully by fall we have something better, we can only hope
My apologies for the long paragraph - good luck everyone
I have an 11 pro that gives me no eye strain whatsoever.
Bought a 15 pro that gave me a tension headache and eye strain nearly immediately after starting to use it. Returned that.
Bought a 16 pro that I hoped would be better. Basically the same issue. Also returned.
Tried a regular 16 thinking that maybe ProMotion had something to do with it - no luck, basically the same issue, also returned.
At this point… I’m hoping the 17 pro has some feature that will resolve this for me. I’d even go with a regular 17 even tho I’d miss some of the pro features. Otherwise… might have to think about switching back to Android even tho I’d really rather not. The 11 pro is still holding up very well but can’t keep it forever
Bought a 15 pro that gave me a tension headache and eye strain nearly immediately after starting to use it. Returned that.
Bought a 16 pro that I hoped would be better. Basically the same issue. Also returned.
Tried a regular 16 thinking that maybe ProMotion had something to do with it - no luck, basically the same issue, also returned.
At this point… I’m hoping the 17 pro has some feature that will resolve this for me. I’d even go with a regular 17 even tho I’d miss some of the pro features. Otherwise… might have to think about switching back to Android even tho I’d really rather not. The 11 pro is still holding up very well but can’t keep it forever
The rigamarole in this thread is kind of out of control with every post now being “just purchased the latest eye destroyer IPhone 16 with OLED and….boy are my eyes tired”. There is absolutely no point whatsoever in buying an OLED iphone when even IPhone 11 causes mild eye strain/headache after about 30 minutes to an hour.
The only non-headache inducing ones are IPhone 8 Plus with JDI panel (NOT LG), and IPhone 7 Plus (which is a crappy 16nm SOC that overheats and resets if you try to play something like a 3d game on it). Besides those choices, about the only other option is Samsung A14 5G or IPhone SE2 (which I haven’t tried but some people claim is good until post iOS 16.1.1 update).
But surprise, surprise, having 5G turned on for any electronic device will also give you a headache, so you have to force LTE instead on any device like that whether it’s Crapple or Samsung. If you want to know what a “JDI IPhone 8 Plus” looks like, it’s simply the one that doesn’t have oversaturated, cartoon colors. Mine is on IOS 15 so I can’t tell you if something in IOS 16 destroys the phone or not, but there seems to be a lot of IOS 16 complaints from many different iphone users…
I have personally done a panel swap from an IPhone 7 Plus that had zero eye strain on I think it was IOS 15.7.1 and it now has some but not huge eye strain on latest IOS 15, so the software does alter it.
The only non-headache inducing ones are IPhone 8 Plus with JDI panel (NOT LG), and IPhone 7 Plus (which is a crappy 16nm SOC that overheats and resets if you try to play something like a 3d game on it). Besides those choices, about the only other option is Samsung A14 5G or IPhone SE2 (which I haven’t tried but some people claim is good until post iOS 16.1.1 update).
But surprise, surprise, having 5G turned on for any electronic device will also give you a headache, so you have to force LTE instead on any device like that whether it’s Crapple or Samsung. If you want to know what a “JDI IPhone 8 Plus” looks like, it’s simply the one that doesn’t have oversaturated, cartoon colors. Mine is on IOS 15 so I can’t tell you if something in IOS 16 destroys the phone or not, but there seems to be a lot of IOS 16 complaints from many different iphone users…
I have personally done a panel swap from an IPhone 7 Plus that had zero eye strain on I think it was IOS 15.7.1 and it now has some but not huge eye strain on latest IOS 15, so the software does alter it.
Last edited:
Part of what I hate about this is not being sure 100% what is causing the issue for me. I went from a 7+ to 11 pro and did not notice any ill effects, so I did not even know this could be a problem until years later when I went to upgrade. So for you saying 11 should be causing eye strain… it definitely doesn’t for me which makes me wonder if the real issue is something else?
I did try to get a little scientific about it and took my 16 pro to my eye doctor during an appointment to see if they could do some assessments while I was looking at it vs 11 pro to see if he could measure any differences. His suggestion was that I am EMF sensitive and that the 16 pro, for some reason, was causing some issues that the 11 pro did not. So I came away from that experience feeling a little validated but also possibly even more confused than before.
I should also note that I experience eye strain from a M1 MacBook Pro, which is part of what made me think it is almost definitely PWM related.
I have an 11 pro that gives me no eye strain whatsoever.
Bought a 15 pro that gave me a tension headache and eye strain nearly immediately after starting to use it. Returned that.
Bought a 16 pro that I hoped would be better. Basically the same issue. Also returned.
Tried a regular 16 thinking that maybe ProMotion had something to do with it - no luck, basically the same issue, also returned.
At this point… I’m hoping the 17 pro has some feature that will resolve this for me. I’d even go with a regular 17 even tho I’d miss some of the pro features. Otherwise… might have to think about switching back to Android even tho I’d really rather not. The 11 pro is still holding up very well but can’t keep it forever
11 Pro or Pro Max? For whatever reason the 11 Pro Max (with some modified settings) was the only OLED device I could sort of tolerate. Unclear why.