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Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

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Who's going to be the 17e guinea pig?

0A0F534A-69A6-4993-82B2-941478AA235C.png
 
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So, according to oled-info.com, Samsung should be the main supplier for the 17e display. Sadly BOE and LGD are still in the screen lottery.

https://www.oled-info.com/samsung-d...lays-apples-iphone-17e?utm_source=chatgpt.com


I found the 17 Pro with the Samsung G9N display to be the most tolerable iPhone I’ve used so far, so I’m tempted to try the 17e. I much prefer the simpler design, especially the lower-profile camera module and the black finish.

That said, I couldn’t manage long-term with the 16e, even using the reverse display setup. I’ve also been considering trying the 17 Pro again, as my iPhone 11 has become very glitchy on iOS 18.7.2 (especially on this site), and the battery is tanking.
 
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There’s some early speculation that Apple may be testing an approach closer to true DC dimming than we’ve seen on the iPhone 17 models. We should have measurements sooner than later.

I tested my friend’s iPhone 17 Pro and found it more tolerable with the PWM toggle enabled, but still found my eyes didn’t love it and I had the faintest hint of behind-the-eye throbbing after giving the iPhone back. *Their iPhone 17 Pro didn’t have the setting initially enabled so I did stare at it with stock PWM in the beginning. Not sure which panel it had, not going to go to those extremes on a buddy’s iPhone, but it looked good. Preferred it to the Air overall.
 
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Heman87 said:
Why do people care so much about the pwm toggle. It is almost useless
Click to expand...
It does technically disable PWM, and there is a measurable difference. It’s just not as comprehensive or drastic as we would have liked to see. We need/expected true DC dimming, not PAM.

A PWM switch on a display panel that already has lower modulations than the average iPhone 17 could make it a unicorn device hypothetically. My eyes seem to prefer the look of lower-modulation displays, even if there has been no brightness level I’ve been able to use an iPhone 13-16 with a lower modulation LTPS at with no discomfort.
 
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MICHAELSD said:
It does technically disable PWM, and there is a measurable difference. It’s just not as comprehensive or drastic as we would have liked to see. We need/expected true DC dimming, not PAM.

A PWM switch on a display panel that already has lower modulations than the average iPhone 17 could make it a unicorn device hypothetically. My eyes seem to prefer the look of lower-modulation displays, even if there has been no brightness level I’ve been able to use an iPhone 13-16 with a lower modulation LTPS at with no discomfort.
Click to expand...
Yeah looking forward to Kerpnet's results on reddit and Notebookcheck and DXOMark probably gonna take at least a month to get results from them
 
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MICHAELSD said:
It does technically disable PWM, and there is a measurable difference. It’s just not as comprehensive or drastic as we would have liked to see. We need/expected true DC dimming, not PAM.

A PWM switch on a display panel that already has lower modulations than the average iPhone 17 could make it a unicorn device hypothetically. My eyes seem to prefer the look of lower-modulation displays, even if there has been no brightness level I’ve been able to use an iPhone 13-16 with a lower modulation LTPS at with no discomfort.
Click to expand...
Yes, the difference ( PAM)is only below 25%. This can help some users. But the most very sensitive users here shouldn’t see any difference. Because the iPhone uses 240/480hz PWM above 25% brightness. I tried the 17 and it was very harsh for my eyes. I can try the iPhone 17e. But I don’t think it will be better than the other iPhones. I’m interested in the OP 15r based on the test I saw on YouTube. It has the lowest modulation depth on a phone
 
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MICHAELSD said:
There’s some early speculation that Apple may be testing an approach closer to true DC dimming than we’ve seen on the iPhone 17 models. We should have measurements sooner than later.

I tested my friend’s iPhone 17 Pro and found it more tolerable with the PWM toggle enabled, but still found my eyes didn’t love it and I had the faintest hint of behind-the-eye throbbing after giving the iPhone back. *Their iPhone 17 Pro didn’t have the setting initially enabled so I did stare at it with stock PWM in the beginning. Not sure which panel it had, not going to go to those extremes on a buddy’s iPhone, but it looked good. Preferred it to the Air overall.
Click to expand...
Good news. Where did you read this? And is this for the 18 line up?
 
I have a work 17 Pro that is so close to usable. After a short time though, issues slowly creep back in. I am refreshing wildly for real PWM results.
 
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BigBen2493 said:
PWM toggle confirmed
Click to expand...
Came to the thread to say this. Was one of the first things I checked when I got my hands onto the 17e…


MICHAELSD said:
The LTPS OLED could be really better than average for us.
Click to expand...
Why? Is the 17e display (I assume, made by BOE) an LTPS? Or an LTPO?


MICHAELSD said:
There’s some early speculation that Apple may be testing an approach closer to true DC dimming than we’ve seen on the iPhone 17 models. We should have measurements sooner than later.
Click to expand...
Where have you heard -or read- such speculation?
 
So almost a week later anyone have success with the iPhone 17e?
I also ask because with the tests that Kerpnet did on his website: https://www.pwmtests.com/ The 17e was better with modulation depth than the other 17 models even if the modulation depth was still too high
 
BigBen2493 said:
So almost a week later anyone have success with the iPhone 17e?
I also ask because with the tests that Kerpnet did on his website: https://www.pwmtests.com/ The 17e was better with modulation depth than the other 17 models even if the modulation depth was still too high
Click to expand...
My 17 pro is still working for me so I am going to stick with that.
However, we got my son a 17e for his birthday.
He is even more sensitive to PWM than I am, and he's been using it a week and said so far so good.
Plus, he looks at his phone screen way more than I look at mine.
I guess that's a pretty good sign since no other OLED was tolerable for him.
I remain cautiously optimistic that it's gonna work for him, and we're going to use the entire return window to make sure.

It's so strange, you really gotta try every phone you're interested in I guess. 😳
 
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john g. said:
However, we got my son a 17e for his birthday.
He is even more sensitive to PWM than I am, and he's been using it a week and said so far so good.
Click to expand...
A family connection to PWM sensitivity? Interesting...

If you don't mind, how old is your son?

Happy birthday to him too.
 
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john g. said:
My 17 pro is still working for me so I am going to stick with that.
However, we got my son a 17e for his birthday.
He is even more sensitive to PWM than I am, and he's been using it a week and said so far so good.
Plus, he looks at his phone screen way more than I look at mine.
I guess that's a pretty good sign since no other OLED was tolerable for him.
I remain cautiously optimistic that it's gonna work for him, and we're going to use the entire return window to make sure.

It's so strange, you really gotta try every phone you're interested in I guess. 😳
Click to expand...
Happy to hear both phones are working out for you and your son! How's the 17 Pro overall for you? PWM Toggle worth it? How long have you had it?
 
BigBen2493 said:
Happy to hear both phones are working out for you and your son! How's the 17 Pro overall for you? PWM Toggle worth it? How long have you had it?
Click to expand...
I got a cosmic orange 17 pro on launch day. It wasn't bad but it wasn't symptom-free. I returned it and then in the beginning of November I tried a silver 17 pro and for whatever reason it felt much better. Maybe screen lottery?
I do run the PWM toggle.
Working good for me, it's not as comfortable for long use as my iPhone 11 that I still have but overall I'm satisfied. Surprised because I could never use the pros before, I tolerated a 14 and then a 16e.
 
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super chimp said:
Has there been any online feedback about what impact if any the privacy screen on the S26U is having on people with sensitive eyes?
Click to expand...

It seems that this is causing issues even for non-PWM sensitive people: Some Galaxy S26 Ultra owners say they had to return the phone over the display

Could be related to some type of 3D-like effect, Nick thinks: Galaxy S26 Ultra display review: Privacy at the cost of everything else

Perhaps this will kick open that door that we need kicked open to bring awareness to these screens 🤞
 
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john g. said:
I got a cosmic orange 17 pro on launch day. It wasn't bad but it wasn't symptom-free. I returned it and then in the beginning of November I tried a silver 17 pro and for whatever reason it felt much better. Maybe screen lottery?
I do run the PWM toggle.
Working good for me, it's not as comfortable for long use as my iPhone 11 that I still have but overall I'm satisfied. Surprised because I could never use the pros before, I tolerated a 14 and then a 16e.
Click to expand...
Can you check your screen serial ?
 
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