Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[gvcg9n]

It works for me. I had eye strain headache when using RWB very low brightness slider on 15pm.
17pm with only reduced PWM, i can use low brightness slider. Even though it is not as dim as RWB, but i dont get eye strain

 

[Abiyork]

Did you try 60hz and reduce motion?
Full brightness is too bright for anyone.

I tried the 60Hz but as I suffer badly and I am very sensitive it was either gonna be great or another failure.

Didnt want to risk much more exposure.

 

[badger1212]

I've had 12 days with the 17 pro now and tried PWM on/off, RWP, 60Hz, Low power mode, matte screen protector and max brightness. You name it I've tried it. But it's going back unfortunately. I'm gutted as it's a great phone. I tried to have a break from it but as soon as I picked it up again the symptoms re-appeared. I then bought an Honor magic 7 pro which has a lot of eye comfort features, high PWM and a lovely screen and I was fine with it. However, I don't like android and all my family are on ios and I control the kids' screentime with it. Why can't Apple do what the Chinese makers are doing. My work iPhone 15 with RWP and a matte screen protector is the most comfortable with an iPhone but the camera is not as good and can't do macro. I want to have a separate personal phone and am thinking of trying a base 16 but don't hold out much hope and may end up getting another 15 for personal use. One other question: Why is the iPhone 16 256Gb the same price as a 17 256Gb on Amazon? Thought it might be cheaper now.

 

[jimmy_uk]

I’m a bit torn with only a few days left to decide whether to keep my 17 Pro.

With my usual evening-only use, it seems fine, though I’ve noticed the surface of my eyes can feel slightly stinging in the mornings (not the muscles). It could be age, it could be the change in temperature, but I do wonder if it’s a sign of mild eyestrain building up.

During the day, I’m on two Studio Displays plus my iPhone 11, and when I switch to the 17 Pro, the warm yellow OLED tint really stands out to me in a bad way. At night, with warm lighting, it’s less noticeable, but in daylight, I see the familiar blotchy yellows I’ve disliked on past OLED iPhones. I usually keep brightness at around 40% for comfort—higher levels make whites look cleaner, but the extra brightness feels too harsh.

Interestingly, dark mode actually feels more comfortable this time around (first time ever), though I still find reading long passages of white text on black background tiring, so it’s not a long-term solution.

Then there’s the physical side of the phone. It’s light, but the shape feels a bit awkward in hand. I prefer using devices without a case, just a simple neoprene sleeve for my pocket, but I keep reading about the finish chipping easily, which makes me feel I have to buy a case. The camera bump also means my existing Belkin charger doesn’t work properly, so I’d need a MagSafe charger too. It all starts to feel like I’m paying extra just to make the phone usable but not the way I want, which isn’t ideal.

And there’s always the risk that Apple changes something in the OS that makes the device harder to live with down the line. I know—very much a first world problem—but it does sit in the back of my mind.

I can afford the phone, but it’s still a lot of money to spend on something I’m not 100% happy with. In a funny way, it’s made me appreciate my older iPhone more. 🙃

What really throws me is that this device does seem to be working for me. Did I just get lucky with a “unicorn” display? The iPhone Air I tried before was immediately unusable—shimmery, classic LG panel look. Yet with this one, I can even tolerate 120Hz, when in the past it gave me motion sickness. I find it hard to believe PWM smoothing alone is making such a difference. But it raises a concern: if this unit has a rare screen/build combo that works for me, what happens if the display ever needs replacing? Would I end up with a panel that I can’t use?

For the first time in nine years of buying iPhone flagships, I’ve got one that’s about 90% right for me—but I’m still not quite comfortable with it. It’s making me seriously consider a return, which is not where I expected to be.

 

[now i see it]

90% is good

 

[AshX]

I can afford the phone, but it’s still a lot of money to spend on something I’m not 100% happy with. In a funny way, it’s made me appreciate my older iPhone more. 🙃

What really throws me is that this device does seem to be working for me. Did I just get lucky with a “unicorn” display? The iPhone Air I tried before was immediately unusable—shimmery, classic LG panel look. Yet with this one, I can even tolerate 120Hz, when in the past it gave me motion sickness. I find it hard to believe PWM smoothing alone is making such a difference. But it raises a concern: if this unit has a rare screen/build combo that works for me, what happens if the display ever needs replacing? Would I end up with a panel that I can’t use?

For the first time in nine years of buying iPhone flagships, I’ve got one that’s about 90% right for me—but I’m still not quite comfortable with it. It’s making me seriously consider a return, which is not where I expected to be.

I would keep the phone. There’s always the option to sell it at a loss. God knows I’ve done that more times than I can count. I think you’re looking for guarantees where there are none. You have backups which is more than most of us can say. Most are lucky to have a phone and a computer they can use at all.

Your experience does bring up an interesting point. The device shouldn’t work, but it does. I’m in a similar situation where I can use two iPhone 13’s made in 2021 but none of the 2023 iPhone 13’s and none of the newer iPhones, Macs, or other LCD devices. I can’t figure out what the heck the driving factor is.

Maybe PWM is just a contributing factor in your case. Or maybe there is something different in the calibration by certain manufacturers or factories that mitigates PWM and dithering. Or maybe you’re not as sensitive as you think you are to flicker (the Studio Display is not immune to FRC or gray color flicker, for example, but it works for you) but rather to inconsistencies in the color temperature of devices in different environments. Hard to tell without doing some significant empirical testing and at home experiments.

I think there is something to be said for using well-calibrated devices on the operating system they were designed for. It’s why some have said to never upgrade more than one additional operating system generation out from what a device shipped on, as you’ll be more likely to encounter problems. I noticed a lot of iPhone SE users started having dithering problems 2-3 iOS generations after the one their device shipped on.

In theory it makes sense: older devices will have to rely on more “tricks” to render newer OS designed with newer technology. I’m still on iOS 15 so it is possible to just not upgrade if you’re willing to work around a bit. My last Mac was on Mojave until 2025. iOS 18 will work for a lot of folks for a few years. I think being able to actually look at a device is more important.

 

[Abiyork]

90% is good

But we shouldnt have to put up with something that has health consequences 10% of the time.

With my long standing health issues regarding OLED screens it needs to be 100% or nothing unfortunately.

 

[Heman87]

I’m a bit torn with only a few days left to decide whether to keep my 17 Pro.

With my usual evening-only use, it seems fine, though I’ve noticed the surface of my eyes can feel slightly stinging in the mornings (not the muscles). It could be age, it could be the change in temperature, but I do wonder if it’s a sign of mild eyestrain building up.

During the day, I’m on two Studio Displays plus my iPhone 11, and when I switch to the 17 Pro, the warm yellow OLED tint really stands out to me in a bad way. At night, with warm lighting, it’s less noticeable, but in daylight, I see the familiar blotchy yellows I’ve disliked on past OLED iPhones. I usually keep brightness at around 40% for comfort—higher levels make whites look cleaner, but the extra brightness feels too harsh.

Interestingly, dark mode actually feels more comfortable this time around (first time ever), though I still find reading long passages of white text on black background tiring, so it’s not a long-term solution.

Then there’s the physical side of the phone. It’s light, but the shape feels a bit awkward in hand. I prefer using devices without a case, just a simple neoprene sleeve for my pocket, but I keep reading about the finish chipping easily, which makes me feel I have to buy a case. The camera bump also means my existing Belkin charger doesn’t work properly, so I’d need a MagSafe charger too. It all starts to feel like I’m paying extra just to make the phone usable but not the way I want, which isn’t ideal.

And there’s always the risk that Apple changes something in the OS that makes the device harder to live with down the line. I know—very much a first world problem—but it does sit in the back of my mind.

I can afford the phone, but it’s still a lot of money to spend on something I’m not 100% happy with. In a funny way, it’s made me appreciate my older iPhone more. 🙃

What really throws me is that this device does seem to be working for me. Did I just get lucky with a “unicorn” display? The iPhone Air I tried before was immediately unusable—shimmery, classic LG panel look. Yet with this one, I can even tolerate 120Hz, when in the past it gave me motion sickness. I find it hard to believe PWM smoothing alone is making such a difference. But it raises a concern: if this unit has a rare screen/build combo that works for me, what happens if the display ever needs replacing? Would I end up with a panel that I can’t use?

For the first time in nine years of buying iPhone flagships, I’ve got one that’s about 90% right for me—but I’m still not quite comfortable with it. It’s making me seriously consider a return, which is not where I expected to be.

If it doesn’t work in the future. You can always sell your iPhone. iPhone have always a good value on the used devices market

 

[scotty91]

I just upgraded from an iPhone 12 to a 17 Pro (Samsung G9N display). Had it since Friday and I am struggling with it... noticed eye strain on Saturday afternoon after using it for a couple of hours, struggled to focus on things after using it, then a migraine started in the evening. Same thing happened yesterday, struggled to focus on things in the evening then woke up this morning with a painful migraine.

I suffer from migraines occasionally (maybe 3 or 4 a year) but never had two occur in such a short period of time. I'm going to stop using the 17 Pro for a few days then try it again towards the weekend. I had high hopes for the 17 Pro and enabled the PWM setting as soon as I set it up on Friday, but it doesn't seem to be helping for me.

To be honest thinking about it, I never really suffered from migraines until I got my first OLED iPhone (iPhone X) so maybe the problem was always there for me but at least they weren't that frequent. So maybe the best option would be to give it to a family member and find a phone with a LCD display - it's a shame there aren't many good options available.

So as an update - I tried again with the 17 Pro but unfortunately the display just felt so uncomfortable to read, even after just 5-10 minutes, so I gave it to a family member (they cancelled their order as they were still waiting for delivery).

I have made the move to Android unfortunately, I would have liked to have stayed on iPhone as the integration works well with my Mac and Apple Watch but it was just not worth the eye strain or migraines, it was pointless spending so much on a device if I could hardly look at it. I have got a Honor Magic V5 - it seems that Honor have put a lot more thought into the display for those that suffer with eye strain and headaches - in fact there is a whole settings menu for 'Eye Care display' and there is an option that enables single pass DC dimming above 25% brightness, which feels much more comfortable than the display on the 17 Pro so far after a few days of comparing.

Hopefully Apple will pay attention and bring more comfortable displays and/or display settings to iPhone in the future, but for now, after 17 years as an iPhone user, it is unfortunately no longer suitable for me.

 

[jimmy_uk]

If it doesn’t work in the future. You can always sell your iPhone. iPhone have always a good value on the used devices market

I'm trialling the phone in the office today with normal use to get a real day effect. My colleague just asked me "why do your eyes looks so tired" 😩

 

[ghanwani]

So as an update - I tried again with the 17 Pro but unfortunately the display just felt so uncomfortable to read, even after just 5-10 minutes, so I gave it to a family member (they cancelled their order as they were still waiting for delivery).

I have made the move to Android unfortunately, I would have liked to have stayed on iPhone as the integration works well with my Mac and Apple Watch but it was just not worth the eye strain or migraines, it was pointless spending so much on a device if I could hardly look at it. I have got a Honor Magic V5 - it seems that Honor have put a lot more thought into the display for those that suffer with eye strain and headaches - in fact there is a whole settings menu for 'Eye Care display' and there is an option that enables single pass DC dimming above 25% brightness, which feels much more comfortable than the display on the 17 Pro so far after a few days of comparing.

Hopefully Apple will pay attention and bring more comfortable displays and/or display settings to iPhone in the future, but for now, after 17 years as an iPhone user, it is unfortunately no longer suitable for me.

Do you know if the Honor Magic v5 uses temporal dithering?

 

[now i see it]

Your experience does bring up an interesting point. The device shouldn’t work, but it does. I’m in a similar situation where I can use two iPhone 13’s made in 2021 but none of the 2023 iPhone 13’s and none of the newer iPhones, Macs, or other LCD devices. I can’t figure out what the heck the driving factor is.

This is my experience exactly with a different iPhone entirely - the model that consistently gets high ratings on this thread: The iPhone 11.
The iPhone 11 (I had) was by far the worst iPhone I have ever experienced. I couldn't look at it 5 seconds without my heart starting to race. None of my other 7 iphones (old ones) had that effect on me. It was absolutely unusable for me. Super toxic.
It wasn't PWM obviously, but my suspicion was maybe temporal dithering nailing me at my perception threshold.
Also --- this is the only iPhone I ever used that had Face ID.
Maybe the Vertical Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs): (These are the lasers responsible for projecting the dot pattern onto the face).
are perceptible to me. Who knows.

 

[scotty91]

Do you know if the Honor Magic v5 uses temporal dithering?

Apparently it doesn't - Nick Sutrich tested it on Youtube:

 

[super chimp]

What is temporary dithering in displays, and is there any good setting with it, or is best to have displays without it?

 

[bill-p]

What is temporary dithering in displays, and is there any good setting with it, or is best to have displays without it?

Temporal dithering is basically a pixel flickering between 2 colors really fast to finally output a color that the display is not capable of displaying.

This technique is very popular these days since it helps 8-bit display panels achieve the same output as 10-bit. Effectively increasing color depth.

The drawback of course is that the flickering will cause eye strain for some people.

Unfortunately, a lot of displays use this technique nowadays. Including monitors that are supposedly "flicker-free". Apple does this at OS level. When it is turned off on say... a Macbook Air, suddenly the display will lose color depth smoothness. Gradient regions will look very rough and patchy.

But I would not expect current iPhones to have temporal dithering. It's mainly there on models with LCD displays. OLED can factually display much more depth to colors, and PWM is already somewhat a form of temporal dithering.

P.S.: you can of course have LCD displays without it. Those will cost you a lot.

 

[john g.]

I’m a bit torn with only a few days left to decide whether to keep my 17 Pro.

With my usual evening-only use, it seems fine, though I’ve noticed the surface of my eyes can feel slightly stinging in the mornings (not the muscles). It could be age, it could be the change in temperature, but I do wonder if it’s a sign of mild eyestrain building up.

For the first time in nine years of buying iPhone flagships, I’ve got one that’s about 90% right for me—but I’m still not quite comfortable with it. It’s making me seriously consider a return, which is not where I expected to be.

I am in the same boat. 90% with my 17 Pro.
Probably 98% with my iPhone 16e and then only my older iPhone 11, which I use mostly for listening to music, is 100%.
So, unlike many individuals here, I do have some options so I can't complain. But I am seriously considering keeping this 90% 17 pro. The cameras are great and it has a lot of stuff the 16e doesn't have.

It's a risk, though if I need to sell it. Not as easy as making a return.

Like you said, I might try another 17 pro and not get a good result with it.

Evaluating the phone is harder this time because I caught a head cold from one of my children. So, when you are feeling lousy, it's hard to make an accurate assessment. But I'm gonna give it another day and if it doesn't peg me, I'm probably going to keep it.

 

[Heman87]

I'm trialling the phone in the office today with normal use to get a real day effect. My colleague just asked me "why do your eyes looks so tired" 😩

In that case your eyes are more important! No need to stress your eyes the whole time for an iPhone. So you can use a second device for media consumption. Or buy a lcd Android device. Or going back to iPhone 11 😕

 

[ultravegeta1981]

Im waiting for an update that makes the pwm off toggle available above 25% brightness. Must be possible

 

[jimmy_uk]

I’ve decided to return the 17 Pro.


This was a tough call, because in eight years of trying OLED iPhones (EIGHT YEARS!), this one came the closest to working for me. For a few days I genuinely thought I’d finally found a unit I could live with — the display felt more balanced, dark mode was tolerable, and even 120Hz didn’t throw me off like it has in the past. I really wanted this to be the breakthrough, and after 10+ days it nearly was.....


But after a full day of use — outside, at work, and at home — the familiar problems crept in. My eyes felt scratchy, with a sharp irritation in my left eye, and even some tightness across my forehead. With the 17 Pro, it often felt like the screen and text were being blasted into my eyes, rather than me simply looking at and reading the display. By contrast, when I picked up my iPhone 11, everything immediately felt calm and natural again. That difference made the decision for me.


Some have suggested just pushing through, but after years of testing these devices I’ve learned that if my eyes and brain aren’t comfortable from the start, things don’t get better — they only build up. I can compromise on colour, weight, or camera bumps, but not on my own comfort.


Honestly, I do feel a bit foolish — eight years in, and I’m still walking away from OLED. I can’t tell if Apple is genuinely getting closer to a solution, or if something in me has changed. My best guess is that I just got a unit that happened to be calibrated in a way that made it almost tolerable. The Air I tested reminded me it isn’t simply the new PWM smoothing toggle at work — that display was instantly harsh on my eyes, just like every OLED iPhone before this one.


I still think OLED on mobile isn’t for me — my eyes don’t like the warm, colour-shifted light blasting into them. I’d love to think “maybe next year,” but Apple’s slow pace in addressing this makes me less confident, especially when some Android manufacturers are already leaning into eye-comfort features. Perhaps the real takeaway is that I might be able to use OLED if I find the right implementation — and maybe that ends up being on an Android phone. I’ve ignored that option for a long time, partly out of fear of leaving the Apple safety blanket, but this has at least opened my eyes to the possibility.


I also realised autumn and winter are the worst seasons for me to trial a new device: the light changes, heating indoors makes my vision and contact lenses worse, and work pressure is at its peak. It’s already a stressful time without trying to speed-test whether I can adapt to a new screen.


And I know I can be overly critical of flaws, not great with change, and admittedly indecisive. I’ve often said I’d pay double for a flagship phone I could truly use — but the reality is that spending over £1,000 on something that doesn’t feel right is too hard to justify.


Back to the old faithful 11 - I'm definitely going to miss that extra RAM and fast charging. Not going to miss babying my phone though fear of dinging that soft aluminium and anodised finish!

TCL NXTPAPER 60 Ultra next?​

 

[AshX]

This is my experience exactly with a different iPhone entirely - the model that consistently gets high ratings on this thread: The iPhone 11.
The iPhone 11 (I had) was by far the worst iPhone I have ever experienced. I couldn't look at it 5 seconds without my heart starting to race. None of my other 7 iphones (old ones) had that effect on me. It was absolutely unusable for me. Super toxic.
It wasn't PWM obviously, but my suspicion was maybe temporal dithering nailing me at my perception threshold.
Also --- this is the only iPhone I ever used that had Face ID.
Maybe the Vertical Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs): (These are the lasers responsible for projecting the dot pattern onto the face).
are perceptible to me. Who knows.

I get tachycardia from dithering on the Apple Silicon Macs, so yes, I agree it’s dithering causing your symptoms. It goes away when I disable it with Stillcolor but the FRC still causes eye issues with focusing.

 

[benh911f]

Even though it doesn’t seem the PWM toggle does much, is there a consensus on what people are having the most potential luck with between the 17, Air and 17 Pro? I’m not confident, but I figure I’ll order one and just anticipate having to go back to the SE.

 

[BigBen2493]

Even though it doesn’t seem the PWM toggle does much, is there a consensus on what people are having the most potential luck with between the 17, Air and 17 Pro? I’m not confident, but I figure I’ll order one and just anticipate having to go back to the SE.

@PwmMen is having success with the 17 pro max

 

[PwmMen]

@PwmMen is having success with the 17 pro max

That's right! The iPhone 17 Pro Max is the first Pro Max I've been able to use without any issues.
Before that, only the iPhone 12 Pro worked without issues, and the iPhone 16 Plus had slight issues after extended use.
For me, the PWM button on the iPhone 17 Pro Max is a blessing.🙏

 

[Maven1975]

I’ve decided to return the 17 Pro.


This was a tough call, because in eight years of trying OLED iPhones (EIGHT YEARS!), this one came the closest to working for me. For a few days I genuinely thought I’d finally found a unit I could live with — the display felt more balanced, dark mode was tolerable, and even 120Hz didn’t throw me off like it has in the past. I really wanted this to be the breakthrough.


But after a full day of use — outside, at work, and at home — the familiar problems crept in. My eyes felt scratchy, with a sharp irritation in my left eye, and even some tightness across my forehead. With the 17 Pro, it often felt like the screen and text were being blasted into my eyes, rather than me simply looking at and reading the display. By contrast, when I picked up my iPhone 11, everything immediately felt calm and natural again. That difference made the decision for me.


Some have suggested just pushing through, but after years of testing these devices I’ve learned that if my eyes and brain aren’t comfortable from the start, things don’t get better — they only build up. I can compromise on colour, weight, or camera bumps, but not on my own comfort.


Honestly, I do feel a bit foolish — eight years in, and I’m still walking away from OLED. I can’t tell if Apple is genuinely getting closer to a solution, or if something in me has changed. My best guess is that I just got a unit that happened to be calibrated in a way that made it almost tolerable. The Air I tested reminded me it isn’t simply the new PWM smoothing toggle at work — that display was instantly harsh on my eyes, just like every OLED iPhone before this one.


I still think OLED on mobile isn’t for me — my eyes don’t like the warm, colour-shifted light blasting into them. I’d love to think “maybe next year,” but Apple’s slow pace in addressing this makes me less confident, especially when some Android manufacturers are already leaning into eye-comfort features. Perhaps the real takeaway is that I might be able to use OLED if I find the right implementation — and maybe that ends up being on an Android phone. I’ve ignored that option for a long time, partly out of fear of leaving the Apple safety blanket, but this has at least opened my eyes to the possibility.


I also realised autumn and winter are the worst seasons for me to trial a new device: the light changes, heating indoors makes my vision and contact lenses worse, and work pressure is at its peak. It’s already a stressful time without trying to speed-test whether I can adapt to a new screen.


And I know I can be overly critical of flaws, not great with change, and admittedly indecisive. I’ve often said I’d pay double for a flagship phone I could truly use — but the reality is that spending over £1,000 on something that doesn’t feel right is too hard to justify.


Back to the old faithful 11 - I'm definitely going to miss that extra RAM and fast charging. Not going to miss babying my phone though fear of dinging that soft aluminium and anodised finish!

TCL NXTPAPER 60 Ultra next?​

I would really love for this display to be put in a high spec device. With all the R&D, I can’t believe TCL has not thought about this by now.

 

[super chimp]

That's right! The iPhone 17 Pro Max is the first Pro Max I've been able to use without any issues.
Before that, only the iPhone 12 Pro worked without issues, and the iPhone 16 Plus had slight issues after extended use.
For me, the PWM button on the iPhone 17 Pro Max is a blessing.

Apparently that toggle seems to work for some but not others but it appears to be entirely potluck which way of the line you fall. I mean is it less sensitive people who are fine, and more sensitive who still have issues. Or is not that simple I wonder?