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Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

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Are you experiencing this issue?

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mstgkillr

macrumors regular
Feb 11, 2012
237
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I have been sensitive to lighting used in large stores like Costco, Wal-Mart, etc... since my 20s. I try to get in and out as quickly as possible and hopefully avoid the nausea. I've known that watching too much TV would make my eyes a little tired and the LED lights around my house seemed a little irritating, but until this thread I never considered it was because PWM.

I tried the iPhone X for a little over 30 days. During that time I had an ocular migraine for the first time in my life, two of them actually. It started off as a small blurry spot in the center of my vision, then progressed into a rainbow zigzag mess of colors taking almost half of my field of view. In about 25 min it subsided but left me completely worn out and in the ER. After a CT scan, I was sent on my way with a diagnosis of ocular migraine. The followup with my ophthalmologist revealed perfect 20/20 vision and no other issues.

My ophthalmologist also suffers from ocular migraines. He said that I need to find my trigger, whether it be stress, alcohol, certain lighting, foods, etc... I’ve been thinking long and hard, but the only thing different was my iPhone X. After switching back to an 8 Plus, thankfully, I have not had anymore ocular migraines!

With that being said, I preordered an Xs Max. Hopefully, something has changed or maybe the PWM is not my trigger. We will see.
 
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Fzang

Fzang

macrumors 65816
Jun 15, 2013
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mstgkillr said:
I have been sensitive to lighting used in large stores like Costco, Wal-Mart, etc... since my 20s. I try to get in and out as quickly as possible and hopefully avoid the nausea. I've known that watching too much TV would make my eyes a little tired and the LED lights around my house seemed a little irritating, but until this thread I never considered it was because PWM.

I tried the iPhone X for a little over 30 days. During that time I had an ocular migraine for the first time in my life, two of them actually. It started off as a small blurry spot in the center of my vision, then progressed into a rainbow zigzag mess of colors taking almost half of my field of view. In about 25 min it subsided but left me completely worn out and in the ER. After a CT scan, I was sent on my way with a diagnosis of ocular migraine. The followup with my ophthalmologist revealed perfect 20/20 vision and no other issues.

My ophthalmologist also suffers from ocular migraines. He said that I need to find my trigger, whether it be stress, alcohol, certain lighting, foods, etc... I’ve been thinking long and hard, but the only thing different was my iPhone X. After switching back to an 8 Plus, thankfully, I have not had anymore ocular migraines!

With that being said, I preordered an Xs Max. Hopefully, something has changed or maybe the PWM is not my trigger. We will see.
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Saying it happened solely because of the iPhone might be very anecdotal if it only happened once. I’ve experienced the same symptoms, maybe once or twice a year only, for as long as I can remember. For the last couple of years I’ve kept a log on everything I did or ate around that time, and I’ve found no clear pattern as of yet.
 
Deacon-Blues

Deacon-Blues

macrumors 6502a
Aug 15, 2012
670
853
California
I kind of thought by now one of the early recipients of these phones would have commented on the PWM implementation in these new screens. Perhaps there has been a change in hardware or software.
 
TDDM

TDDM

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Nov 25, 2017
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Deacon-Blues said:
I kind of thought by now one of the early recipients of these phones would have commented on the PWM implementation in these new screens. Perhaps there has been a change in hardware or software.
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I honestly think 99% of the major review outlets or youtubers aren't even aware of PWM. The only one I know of that mentions PWM in their reviews is notebookcheck.com, and their review isn't up yet (Should be up within a few days)
 
Deacon-Blues

Deacon-Blues

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Aug 15, 2012
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I'm betting it will be unchanged. Which will be too bad for people with such sensitivities. I personally have had other PWM phones and did not experience any side effects, but I do find this topic interesting. I think the actual numbers of people affected are infinitesimal (just 250 on this, the most wide-reaching Apple forum), which makes it less likely that the concerns will provoke a serious and timely response on Apple's part.
 
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kerplunknet

Cancelled
Oct 8, 2006
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Deacon-Blues said:
I'm betting it will be unchanged. Which will be too bad for people with such sensitivities. I personally have had other PWM phones and did not experience any side effects, but I do find this topic interesting. I think the actual numbers of people affected are infinitesimal (just 250 on this, the most wide-reaching Apple forum), which makes it less likely that the concerns will provoke a serious and timely response on Apple's part.
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Doesn’t it make you wonder though, if even though you personally don’t notice any effects, how could it be good for your eyes/optical nerves/brain?
 
TDDM

TDDM

macrumors 6502
Nov 25, 2017
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kerplunknet said:
Doesn’t it make you wonder though, if even though you personally don’t notice any effects, how could it be good for your eyes/optical nerves/brain?
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I've always wondered that. Even if someone doesn't have the negative side effects from PWM, I can't imagine how staring at a flickering screen like that wouldn't be harmful at the very least.
 
ooloo

ooloo

macrumors member
Aug 9, 2018
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I haven't read this complete thread, but i've read on some other forums that for some people the problem cease to exist after 1-3 weeks of using the iphone X or other phones and tvs with OLED screens. Anybody had similar experiences?
 
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kerplunknet

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Oct 8, 2006
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ooloo said:
I haven't read this complete thread, but i've read on some other forums that for some people the problem cease to exist after 1-3 weeks of using the iphone X or other phones and tvs with OLED screens. Anybody had similar experiences?
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The human body is pretty magical, for lack of a better term, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some people can adapt to PWM over time, but I think for those who are noticeably affected by this issue it isn’t something that easily goes away.

FWIW, I have a 2018 LG OLED 65-inch TV and have never had eye strain because this don’t use PWM (or if they technically do, the refresh is so fast that even a hardware measuring device can’t see it)
 
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5105973

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Sep 11, 2014
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kerplunknet said:
Doesn’t it make you wonder though, if even though you personally don’t notice any effects, how could it be good for your eyes/optical nerves/brain?
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I don’t know if it’s harmful but I noticed my vision was weird for awhile after my time with the X, like I was looking at everything through a heat shimmer. And oddly my myopic vision improved so that I could see clearly without my glasses for short periods of time. That all faded several weeks after I returned my X and I’m as nearsighted as ever. I have an S9+ with OLED and don’t notice anything strange. My eyes aren’t quite as comfortable as on the iPhone 8 Plus display, but I’m not getting unpleasant effects, either.
 
AJAAY

AJAAY

macrumors 6502
Sep 29, 2012
438
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kerplunknet said:
The human body is pretty magical, for lack of a better term, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some people can adapt to PWM over time, but I think for those who are noticeably affected by this issue it isn’t something that easily goes away.
Click to expand...

I agree. I was having issues with tingling on my wrist when I first bought my Apple Watch (sensitivity to all the electronics that close to the skin). But I continued to wear it, and eventually stopped having issues.

I just didn't give the X enough time. I didn't want to chance waiting past the return window and still having issues with looking at the screen.
 
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MICHAELSD

MICHAELSD

macrumors 603
Jul 13, 2008
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TDDM said:

Here's a test of the iPhone XS Max PWM using the slo-mo video method. Looks to be the same as the X?

Oh well, XR it is then.
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It might be better than the original X at high brightnesses but it doesn’t look like it was eliminated. :( Lower brightnesses look about the same but maybe less aggressive.

Oh well, oscilloscope tests are what we need to look out for. There are also variations like disabling auto brightness can lead to a higher max brightness in some settings and there could be an option in Accessibility. I doubt the latter but someone with an XS can check tomorrow.
 
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tonybarnaby

macrumors 68020
Dec 3, 2017
2,385
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It’s insane to me that the X is the first time I’ve heard of this issue. I’ve had every single oled Samsung galaxy s phone (Samsung makes the x display to Apple specifications) and I have never heard anyone bring this up? Apparently all galaxy phones have it too, but I can’t recall any topics about it before.
 
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Deacon-Blues

Deacon-Blues

macrumors 6502a
Aug 15, 2012
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tonybarnaby said:
It’s insane to me that the X is the first time I’ve heard of this issue. I’ve had every single oled Samsung galaxy s phone (Samsung makes the x display to Apple specifications) and I have never heard anyone bring this up? Apparently all galaxy phones have it too, but I can’t recall any topics about it before.
Click to expand...

If you've had a Galaxy S6 or 7, you've already experienced OLED PWM. I had both those phones for a few months (before going back to iPhones) and never had any problems with them. Like you, the first I ever heard of PWM-related eye strain issues was on this forum. It's a huge bummer for people affected by it, especially considering that for the XS and XS Max crowd, the XR is going to be an unsatisfying alternative.
 
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