Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[MICHAELSD]

Looks like I’m going to have to skip the XS.

iPhone has become a part of my identity after becoming absolutely enthralled by Steve’s keynote introduction of the original iPhone (at that age I probably watched that video a hundred times and showed it to anyone who cared to see it) and subsequently becoming practically obsessed with owning the original iPhone. After trying it in an Apple Store when it was released I knew I had to have it so at 12 years old I hustled hard over the next two weeks doing odd jobs (seriously, no parental assistance) and sold both my Nintendo DS and Zune, my two favorite devices at the time, on eBay to buy an 8GB iPhone for $599. On the upside that phone taught me a lot and quite honestly shaped the rest of my childhood and life more than anything else has.

I had planned to go down having owned every single iPhone since an annual upgrade is as much a part of my identity as my name. But that simply isn’t possible anymore. However, I’ll continue to support Apple whenever possible and will remain optimistic about this being improved in future generations.

 

[kerplunknet]

It doesn't look like this review is officially live yet, but here is a preview of NotebookCheck's iPhone XS review: https://www.notebookcheck.com/Test-Apple-iPhone-XS-Smartphone.331488.0.html



"Like in the iPhone X, Apple also uses an OLED screen in the XS model. The size remains unchanged and amounts to 5.8 inches (14.73 cm, 82.74 cm²). The panel resolution continues to be 2,436 x 1,125 pixels, resulting in a high pixel density of 463 PPI.

Brightness control by means of pulse width modulation is typical for OLED technology. Although the frequencies are quite low at around 240 Hz, the amplitude curve is so shallow that only very sensitive people should experience discomfort."



Flickering / PWM detected 240.4 Hz

The display flickers at 240.4 Hz (most likely through pulse width modulation PWM).

The frequency of 240.4 Hz is relatively low and therefore it should lead to sensitive people to problems such as flaring or eye complaints.

In comparison: 53% of all tested devices did not use PWM to reduce the brightness. If PWM was used, then at an average frequency of 8872 (minimum 43, maximum 142900) Hz.

 

[Faste]

Well, been using my iPhone XS all day today, same problems as the previous year. No change at all in PWM, still kills my eyes and the headaches are coming. F me this pisses me off so much.

 

[kerplunknet]

Everyone: don’t forget to let Apple know that this is a major problem.

https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

 

[ZoroastrianChemist]

Huh. I’ve been using my XS from morning to night. I guess I don’t have this issue fortunately

 

[5105973]

I got a 256 GB XS Max by surprise. The store had them when we went to pick up my watch and my husband’s phone. So I’ll just return the one shipping to me.

Anyway, he has the same model I do. We compared displays. They’re both gorgeous and look almost perfect. But I can see the slight jitter on his that is pwm flicker. I can’t see it as much on my display. He claims to not be bothered by pwm flicker and thinks I’m a bit bonkers. I’m comfortable so far with my display and getting the phone set up. I’m late to doing so because we had to go straight to an evening engagement that lasted several hours.

I’m surprise there’s a pwm flicker that’s more noticeable on one display than on another. His display is slightly brighter and has a crisper more contrasty quality to it. I’m afraid I’m not articulating it very well.

The ones I saw at the store didn’t bother me, either. Looking at the display on my husband’s phone which is the same exact model as mine does bother my eyes fairly fast.

I’m still not sure I’ll get along well enough to keep this lovely phone. I hope to know in a few days. If I can get along with it, there’s a chance there’s a display variance and that by luck of the draw some people sensitive to pwm flicker will be able to own these phones.

But it’s too early to say for sure. This is just a preliminary impression I’m noticing. And I need to test again and again to account for my being well rested vs fatigued and for changing room light conditions. We would also need to make sure our display settings are identical. We were just too tired to do that this evening.

 

[kalphr]

Notebookcheck has very good equipment and they are reliable when it comes to PWM testing. I think it's fair to say iPhone XS is using PWM just like iPhone X.

 

[miniyou64]

Found this thread after I experienced eye strain on my XS and not being able to see the screen as clearly as on my iPhone 7.

I don't know what to do. I spent all day setting up my XS as a new phone, just to start fresh which is a serious hassle, and now I'm considering returning it. I want this phone, I had not even considered the XR, but spending $1200 on this XS that hurts my eyes and head just doesn't make sense. Ugh.

I definitely let Apple know via that link in a thorough, well written message, but I would think this issue would get some more attention? Anything we could do to get MacRumors to acknowledge the issue?

Everyone: don’t forget to let Apple know that this is a major problem.

https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

 

[5105973]

My question to those with their new XS’es: Can you perceive the flicker and if so, does it look like text is very slightly “vibrating”?

That’s what it looks like to me. I can perceive that vibration pretty readily on my husband’s new XS Max display, just as I did on my X that I returned last January. It’s also pretty bad on my Pixel 2, which is used for most everything that does not require me to stare at the display.

I can just barely perceive it on my Samsung S9+ and new XS displays. Actually to be accurate I have my XS Max on the lowest brightness setting with True Tone on and Night Shift on and am reading in bed in a dark room and can’t see that little jitter of the text. Not even when scrolling. My eyes feel ok. No headaches or migraine symptoms yet.

The point to all this is I think there may be for those of us with less severe sensitivity to pwm to play the “display lottery” and get an XS that doesn’t hurt our eyes. These displays vary quite a bit more than I would have expected, in subtle ways. It’s a terrible waste of resources, though, to play such a lottery.

 

[vannix]

Guys... I'm one of the early participants of this thread. I have to confirm that I'm also experiencing the same issues with a new iPhone Xs 256gb... Bad for them, I'm returning it, and think that I was one of the "new iPhone each year" user. Waiting for 2019 and some smart move from Apple, I hope

 

[user1234]

Guys... I'm one of the early participants of this thread. I have to confirm that I'm also experiencing the same issues with a new iPhone Xs 256gb... Bad for them, I'm returning it, and think that I was one of the "new iPhone each year" user. Waiting for 2019 and some smart move from Apple, I hope

Not interested in the XR?

 

[AJAAY]

My question to those with their new XS’es: Can you perceive the flicker and if so, does it look like text is very slightly “vibrating”?

Ha! I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I notice that "vibrating" mostly on the top bar, especially when looking at the time and location arrow. I sometimes catch it right after a screen transition.

My symptoms are low to almost non existent with the XS. Much better than what I experienced with the X. I'm still on the fence about keeping it. I'm going to give it a week to see how I feel.

 

[5105973]

Ha! I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I notice that "vibrating" mostly on the top bar, especially when looking at the time and location arrow. I sometimes catch it right after a screen transition.

My symptoms are low to almost non existent with the XS. Much better than what I experienced with the X. I'm still on the fence about keeping it. I'm going to give it a week to see how I feel.

Best of luck to you. I think I’ll be able to keep this particular XS Max.

I did get a Product Red 8 Plus a few months ago with Apple Care Plus to keep always for ebook reading. I didn’t even really want to trade in my silver 8 Plus but I really wanted some features only the 2018’s have. I’m willing to try the XR if this doesn’t work out.

 

[daveak]

Anyone thinking of returning their phone should wait a few days. I found my X last year caused eye strain initially but these went away after a few days. Still happens occasionally if I look at the screen for a very prolonged period, i.e. hours rather than minutes, but no where close to the first few days.

 

[bsmr]

Your eyes are trying to adopt... But overall the PWM doesn't go away and in general it's not a good thing for your eyes...

Sadly they didn't change the PWM on the Xs models

 

[kerplunknet]

Your eyes are trying to adopt... But overall the PWM doesn't go away and in general it's not a good thing for your eyes...

Sadly they didn't change the PWM on the Xs models

This exactly.

 

[lsutigerfan1976]

This is another reason I went with the Max. The eye strain was unbearable. At times it would give me headaches etc from staring at that screen. No issues with the Max.

 

[Perene]

Eye strain can be easily solved if you reduce brightness to 30-40% (during the day I use 25-30, 40 or more for videos) and follow these tips:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...t-night-black-background-for-reading.2051591/

Especially the one about bias lighting:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/bias-lighting-for-tv/

In your bedroom just put the lamp behind the monitor, in a way that it's not over your head and you can't see while in said room. It should be hidden from plain sight. Search for warm LED (3000K) because it has less blue light and it's more suitable for night. Find one that is ideal for the size of your environment (there's a way to calculate this - lux/lumens).

I also recommend using these:
https://www.quora.com/I-have-an-ant...my-glasses-Is-it-okay-to-use-Zeiss-Lens-wipes
https://blog.euromonitor.com/2016/07/blue-light-available-protect-eyes.html

For blue light blocking eyeglasses I recommend Zeiss. For cleaning use a microfiber cloth and pH-neutral soap as instructed here:
https://www.zeiss.ca/vision-care/en...t-way-to-clean-and-care-for-your-glasses.html

Don't following these tips = you are wasting time. With this iPhone or any other device.

Once I reduced brightness in ALL my devices (in my LCD from my PC it's down to ZERO) and used dark mode alternatives (for ebook reading try Adobe Acrobat for iOS) I never had eye strain again.

If you think eye strain is caused only by the device you use and nothing else matters then you are being a fool.

 

[itsmemuffins]

I’ve had the X for a year. No eye strain. Also I’ve owned a plasma tv and now an oled. No eye strain.

 

[Macalway]

So this appears is an electrical, brain phenomena, and not the result of eye stress. This would explain why it effects only some people and not just a matter of degree, which would be the case if it had a physical source.

The point is, when reading these threads one wonders if it could actually be hurting your eyes. This doesn't seem to be the case though

Then of course there's the psychologic aspect.

I don't know, it's scary but i'm curious to test this myself. I didn't notice anything with an X, but now that i'm aware of a potential issue, who knows?

I do think you might just adapt over time. CRT's never really bothered me either, and those were like strobe lights.

Who knows.

 

[5105973]

So this appears is an electrical, brain phenomena, and not the result of eye stress. This would explain why it effects only some people and not just a matter of degree, which would be the case if it had a physical source.

The point is, when reading these threads one wonders if it could actually be hurting your eyes. This doesn't seem to be the case though

Then of course there's the psychologic aspect.

I don't know, it's scary but i'm curious to test this myself. I didn't notice anything with an X, but now that i'm aware of a potential issue, who knows?

I do think you might just adapt over time. CRT's never really bothered me either, and those were like strobe lights.

Who knows.

My husband has used his X since it came out. His eye tests at the opthamologist show that his eyes are healthy, so I guess there’s no actual physical damage being done. At least not over the course of a little under a year. He also used Face ID all this time, too.

I experienced intense pain with the Samsung iris scanner and the pain and sensitivity grew more intense over a very short time. My eyes tested out as healthy, as well. I still don’t trust that iris scanner.

Only time will tell if long term issues surface, but the problem is I’m already 52 and my grandma had macular degeneration and cataracts, so who could say any future eye problems had anything to do with any of this technology. We need real proper scientific studies and it would take quite a few years to accumulate all the data we need.

 

[kerplunknet]

It’s not a question of whether this is an issue or not: it is.

At this point, I think we are all just hoping that Apple stops using PWM and other technologies that mess with our eyes in future devices.

 

[Macalway]

The sun is so incredibly damaging, that something like this is probably nothing.

 

[odvan]

The difference between same Xs iphones could be explained by different screen manufacturers: Samsung and LG.

 

[Jimmy James]

Is constant current not possible with oled?