Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[Maven1975]

I have this problem with ALL Apple dispays at this point -- MacBook, iPad, iPhone. I switched from MacBook to Windows (BTW, even with Windows there are some that seem to be doing temporal dithering, e.g. Microsoft Surface), I have never owned an iPad, and I'm on an iPhone SE 2022 that is barely usable. For content consumption (other than "listening" to YouTube videos), I use my Dynabook laptop (2.3 lb, EyeSafe display).

I have been reluctantly stuck on a Windows laptop myself.

Found the best thin a light for my eyes and use case. - Asus X13 32GB/4070.

I really HATE Windows, but have no choice as I need to be able to use it for hours at a time. - Did I say how much I dislike Windows? It feels like one gigantic ad/data sucking platform. Like it’s not even trying to hide it anymore…

Would really like a 14 Pro. Unfortunately, that’s a no go. Now with the rumors of OLED in the refresh, hopes are all but dashed at this point.

 

[dannyh5319]

I have been reluctantly stuck on a Windows laptop myself.

Found the best thin a light for my eyes and use case. - Asus X13 32GB/4070.

I really HATE Windows, but have no choice as I need to be able to use it for hours at a time. - Did I say how much I dislike Windows? It feels like one gigantic ad/data sucking platform. Like it’s not even trying to hide it anymore…

Would really like a 14 Pro. Unfortunately, that’s a no go. Now with the rumors of OLED in the refresh, hopes are all but dashed at this point.

Have you also tried the m1 pros?

 

[ghanwani]

I really HATE Windows, but have no choice as I need to be able to use it for hours at a time. - Did I say how much I dislike Windows? It feels like one gigantic ad/data sucking platform. Like it’s not even trying to hide it anymore…

I hate it as well and miss macOS but what to do when Apple doesn't care about their customers comfort. They talk big about being inclusive, but they have excluded me (and a whole bunch of others like me just because we are in a minority). If they wanted to be inclusive, they would offer EyeSafe options like most of the other vendors--you can find excellent displays from Dell, HP, and Lenovo.

 

[PwmMen]

For those who’ve used both: which one is better in terms of PWM/flicker and overall eye comfort?

I have no problems with the iPhone 17 Pro or the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Thanks to the PWM function, I can use all iPhone 17 devices without any issues.
The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max caused me significant problems, as I am also very sensitive to PWM.

 

[AshX]

Nightmare…so sorry to hear that.
If it’s any consolation, there was an active contributor on this thread a long while back who experienced the same physical trauma (seizure) using a new iPhone 15 PM while typing an email.
Clearly- for some people, Apple displays have become exceedingly toxic.
(and they didn’t used to be)

Thanks, it was a shock. I’ve used Apple devices and computers since the iPhone 3GS and never experienced anything like that. I had tested a 13” MacBook Air M4 and while that was really difficult to use, I was able to test it for a few days. I exchanged it for the 15” version thinking it was the panel and boom…

Interesting about the iPhone 15 PM. I first realized I had a problem with their screens when I tried upgrading from my iPhone 13 to the iPhone 15 Pro and couldn’t focus on the screen at all - it felt like trying to read something behind a waterfall. I had used the iPhone X, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro prior to this with no issues. I learned about PWM and dithering after that.

I’ve been on my iPhone 13 on iOS 15 ever since with zero problems. My mom has an iPhone 13 she purchased at the same time from T-Mobile (fall 2022) and while iOS 18 isn’t as comfortable as iOS 15, I don’t have any severe symptoms using it. iOS 16 and 17 were bad on her phone, though.

What’s very curious to me is after returning the iPhone 15 Pro in May 2023, I went to several stores: the Apple Store, Best Buy, Verizon, and T-Mobile. I took my iPhone 13 manufactured in 2021 and held it side by side the iPhone 13’s Apple has starting selling as the “budget” model for the iPhone 15 cycle. All of the new ones were unusable side by side. So something changed on the hardware level after 2022, too, in addition to software. I used to be able to use my 12.9” iPad Pro M2 until I updated it to iPadOS 17.

My guess is that it’s a combination of really high modulation PWM with a low base frequency and dithering/FRC. I don’t have another explanation for what’s going on…those are the only things that changed. I can tolerate certain LED lighting, too, so long as it’s a low modulation and fairly high frequency. Apple is just using too much low frequency PWM and dithering and there doesn’t seem to be a way to mitigate it without using external displays or older devices on an older OS. I only care about professional work so I’d happily use anything if my software, Avid Pro Tools, would work.

 

[super chimp]

Can I ask has iOS 26 made people’s eye issue worse or no difference?

 

[MICHAELSD]

iPhone Air in hand, finally. As is too typical for me, this is my first time using the phone without having put it down since setup—while the apps download, I tend to visit MacRumors.

I do have to say that my experience testing the entire iPhone 17 lineup in an Apple Store was better than before. Maybe the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 even seemed to be slightly gentler on the eyes, but my instinct was to go for the Air so I stuck with that. From a purely display quality perspective, my initial assessment that this has one of the finest displays seen on an iPhone to date is correct. Slightly off-topic but the single speaker is really not a dealbreaker as it’s still superior to my iPhone SE, and quite clear and punchy.

Unfortunately I do think my expectation of the PWM toggle not doing enough to make a LCD-equivalent difference will come to fruition, but I also think I may last longer with this iPhone than I did with the past two generations of Pro iPhones. Part of me thought I wouldn’t be on here to report feedback so quickly. PWM switch toggled, interestingly not available in the setup Accessibility settings until the iPhone is activated.

 

[AshX]

iPhone Air in hand, finally. As is too typical for me, this is my first time using the phone without having put it down since setup—while the apps download, I tend to visit MacRumors.

I do have to say that my experience testing the entire iPhone 17 lineup in an Apple Store was better than before. Maybe the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 even seemed to be slightly gentler on the eyes, but my instinct was to go for the Air so I stuck with that. From a purely display quality perspective, my initial assessment that this has one of the finest displays seen on an iPhone to date is correct. Slightly off-topic but the single speaker is really not a dealbreaker as it’s still superior to my iPhone SE, and quite clear and punchy.

Unfortunately I do think my expectation of the PWM toggle not doing enough to make a LCD-equivalent difference will come to fruition, but I also think I may last longer with this iPhone than I did with the past two generations of Pro iPhones. Part of me thought I wouldn’t be on here to report feedback so quickly. PWM switch toggled, interestingly not available in the setup Accessibility settings until the iPhone is activated.

I checked the iPhone 17’s out on Best Buy where they were running iOS 26.1. I had seen them earlier at the Apple Store on iOS 26 and they were awful. I found them to be quite tolerable compared to the Macs or the iPhone 15 Pro they had on display. Very curious why this is.

 

[DJTaurus]

iPhone Air in hand, finally. As is too typical for me, this is my first time using the phone without having put it down since setup—while the apps download, I tend to visit MacRumors.

I do have to say that my experience testing the entire iPhone 17 lineup in an Apple Store was better than before. Maybe the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 even seemed to be slightly gentler on the eyes, but my instinct was to go for the Air so I stuck with that. From a purely display quality perspective, my initial assessment that this has one of the finest displays seen on an iPhone to date is correct. Slightly off-topic but the single speaker is really not a dealbreaker as it’s still superior to my iPhone SE, and quite clear and punchy.

Unfortunately I do think my expectation of the PWM toggle not doing enough to make a LCD-equivalent difference will come to fruition, but I also think I may last longer with this iPhone than I did with the past two generations of Pro iPhones. Part of me thought I wouldn’t be on here to report feedback so quickly. PWM switch toggled, interestingly not available in the setup Accessibility settings until the iPhone is activated.

Did you check your screen panel ?

 

[Maven1975]

Have you also tried the m1 pros?

I don’t recall anymore. I believe I have tried every variant. Are there reports of the M1 Pros not causing issues?

 

[dannyh5319]

I don’t recall anymore. I believe I have tried every variant. Are there reports of the M1 Pros not causing issues?

Supposedly those models don’t have pwm issues like other models. I recommend trying that one out.

 

[left shark fan]

Video on PWM. Good to see it mentioned in more videos!

 

[ghanwani]

Video on PWM. Good to see it mentioned in more videos!

Wish there were more people talking about all forms of dithering. That is as much of a problem as PWM for many.

 

[AshX]

Wish there were more people talking about all forms of dithering. That is as much of a problem as PWM for many.

I really hope Nick does a similar video for dithering and FRC. I can actually use some devices and LED lighting if they have low modulation PWM. But dithering? Absolutely brutal.

It makes sense though. Most of Apple’s devices were up until recently 60Hz refresh rate…and theoretically at 120Hz the frequency can get as low as 8Hz for temporal dithering, compares to 15Hz for the MBA and iPad Air. If 480Hz PWM is bad…no wonder 15Hz is seizure inducing for some of us.

The weird thing is, dithering is a much easier fix than PWM. Apple doesn’t have to re-design hardware, they just have to enable a toggle to disable both GPU dithering and TCON panel FRC. Stillcolor proved we can disable the GPU side, we just need a minor OS update with a firmware patch to enable user access to disable FRC, and probably an official system wide version of Stillcolor, that brings the output down to 8-bit and it’s solved. Easy.

 

[ghanwani]

The weird thing is, dithering is a much easier fix than PWM. Apple doesn’t have to re-design hardware, they just have to enable a toggle to disable both GPU dithering and TCON panel FRC. Stillcolor proved we can disable the GPU side, we just need a minor OS update with a firmware patch to enable user access to disable FRC, and probably an official system wide version of Stillcolor, that brings the output down to 8-bit and it’s solved. Easy.

They are probably worried they will get bad press of cheaping out on hardware.