Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[micqo]

Use less your phone and your eyes say thank you.

Ps. It’s not your iPhones fault

 

[5105973]

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

They’re only using Samsung this year, though. Or so I read.

 

[TDDM]

Use less your phone and your eyes say thank you.

Ps. It’s not your iPhones fault

Maybe do a bit of reading first and try to understand what we're all talking about before just dismissing the issue.

 

[jimmy_uk]

Use less your phone and your eyes say thank you.

Ps. It’s not your iPhones fault

So anyone sensitive to PMW flicker are wrong? Even when PWM has been shown to be be present in the X series phones.

 

[Roadstar]

They’re only using Samsung this year, though. Or so I read.

According to https://www.theverge.com/circuitbre...8/apple-iphone-xs-max-lg-oled-display-samsung they were using only Samsung for the X, but the Xs is split between Samsung and LG. This would explain the differences.

 

[brig2221]

I’m coming from an iPhone 7, have had my XS for less than two days, and I’ve had constant sinus headache pain around the bridge of my nose and eyes.

I love the new phone, but can’t/won’t deal with this is its going to be constant.

 

[matthijst]

I’m coming from an iPhone 7, have had my XS for less than two days, and I’ve had constant sinus headache pain around the bridge of my nose and eyes.

I love the new phone, but can’t/won’t deal with this is its going to be constant.

Test it some more and otherwise return it.

 

[ooloo]

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.

So some displays are made by Samsung while others are made by LG. All we need to find out is which ones are better and how to tell which one is which. Easy!

 

[brig2221]

Test it some more and otherwise return it.

Thank the lord I kept my iPhone 7. I’m not sure what I would be able to do if I didn’t have it.

If it keeps up, I’m going to have to take it back, switch back to my 7, and then wait a month for the XR, ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.......

 

[user1234]

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 way I understand it is that the brain reacts to the quickly changing light levels, and continously adjust the pupils to compensate, which is what’s causing the eye strain. I’m not a doctor though, just a person with a lot of experience with eye strain who has done a lot of research on the issue.

 

[kerplunknet]

Even if the displays this year are made by either Samsung or LG, the specifications have to be the same. No way Apple uses PWM in some versions of the same model and not in others. Remember Qualcomm vs Intel modems last year? Apple crippled the Qualcomm ones so they performed the same as Intel. With that said, I’d still like to see evidence.

 

[ooloo]

A

Even if the displays this year are made by either Samsung or LG, the specifications have to be the same. No way Apple uses PWM in some versions of the same model and not in other.

According to GrumpyMom, they even look differently.

 

[Macalway]

The way I understand it is that the brain reacts to the quickly changing light levels, and continously adjust the pupils to compensate, which is what’s causing the eye strain. I’m not a doctor though, just a person with a lot of experience with eye strain who has done a lot of research on the issue.

I'm getting more curious about this. Worst case I'll return it for an 8+ or something. We shall see if this pans out to be some kind of contentious issue with Apple. It might, or might not.

 

[user1234]

I'm getting more curious about this. Worst case I'll return it for an 8+ or something. We shall see if this pans out to be some kind of contentious issue with Apple. It might, or might not.

If you don’t like the XR the 8 Plus would be a good choice. I really hope they will keep making LCD phones until their OLEDs are PWM free

 

[Macalway]

If you don’t like the XR the 8 Plus would be a good choice. I really hope they will keep making LCD phones until their OLEDs are PWM free

Xr maybe

 

[miniyou64]

They want to charge me the restocking fee. Anybody have any tips to avoid that? I'm over AT&T and going to switch carriers if they won't waive it.

 

[TDDM]

Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely disappointed that I can't use the Max. However, after 24 hours with it, I really think the XR will be a fine replacement.

I know the screen and camera are worse, and the lack of 3D touch isn't great either. Honestly though, when I think of the reasons why I really like the X series over the older models, I come up with:

-120hz touch rate
-Tap to wake
-Face ID
-All-screen Design
-High PPI OLED screen (Disregarding the PWM, Ha)
-A12 chip
-Gesture controls

The XR has every single one of these features, except the high PPI screen. And if I wanted to be extremely optimistic, I could look at it like we're trading PPI for extra battery life. 2,942 mAh on a sub-1080p display powered by the A12? This thing is gonna be *insane* with battery life.

If I'm being honest, I'd definitely prefer a better screen with less battery, but the trade off isn't all bad, considering we're getting something in return. Overall, I'm looking forward to the XR and hope that Apple can address the PWM issue next year.

 

[skadd]

So let me get this straight. Xs has a pwm of 240 hz and CRTs used a pwm of 50-100 hz?
I never had any issues with CRTs back in the day. So I shouldn't have any with the Xs either.

 

[kerplunknet]

So let me get this straight. Xs has a pwm of 240 hz and CRTs used a pwm of 50-100 hz?
I never had any issues with CRTs back in the day. So I shouldn't have any with the Xs either.

“It is also important to distinguish the difference between flicker in CRT displays and CCFL and LED backlit TFT displays. While a CRT may flicker as low as 60Hz, only a small strip is illuminated at any time as the electron gun scans from top to bottom. With CCFL and LED backlit TFT displays the entire screen surface illuminates at once, meaning much more light is emitted over a short time. This can be more distracting than in CRTs in some cases, especially if short duty cycles are used.”

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/pulse_width_modulation.htm

 

[benh911f]

I’ve been using the Xs for a little over 24 hours (coming from a 6s) and I am definitely noticing eye strain. Even right now I’m going back and forth between the phone and an iPad, and when I look at the iPad it’s taking my eyes a little while to adjust back, almost like being out in the bright sun for a while and walking back in the house. Even looking at the phone it’s almost like my eyes never fully focus on the phone, it almost seems less sharp as weird as that sounds. I’ll give it a few more days then return it and probably go with the XR. Sucks because I wanted to like this phone and I know going forward it’s going to be OLED screens

 

[ssledoux]

I’m coming from an iPhone 7, have had my XS for less than two days, and I’ve had constant sinus headache pain around the bridge of my nose and eyes.

I love the new phone, but can’t/won’t deal with this is its going to be constant.

I returned mine today. Honestly, just using it for a few hours last night was making my head hurt and I had some trouble reading on it.

I tried with and without True Tone, with the brightness turned WAY down, in a bright room and a darker room.

I guess maybe I could have made my eyes adjust, but honestly, my 8+ is a good phone that doesn’t affect me like that. I’m not willing to pay that much more for something that may be damaging my eyes.

 

[dazz87]

I had the same issue when I had my X....Went back to my lcd phone and headaches are gone. I just hoping they dont go away from lcd screen in the next 3 years....

 

[brig2221]

Thank the lord I kept my iPhone 7. I’m not sure what I would be able to do if I didn’t have it.

If it keeps up, I’m going to have to take it back, switch back to my 7, and then wait a month for the XR, ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.......

I turned off True Tone, and it’s much better on my eyes as far as I can tell.

I’m going to give it a few more days, but if it keeps up, I’ll be returning and counting the days until I can preorder the XR, which I really don’t want to do.

 

[Maven1975]

I wish apple would make the MBP's flicker free too!

Used an Lenovo X1C with a flicker free HDR display and its was noticeably easier on the eyes.

 

[kerplunknet]

I wish apple would make the MBP's flicker free too!

Used an Lenovo X1C with a flicker free HDR display and its was noticeably easier on the eyes.

MBPs have a VERY high frequency for PWM so it should almost be nonexistent.

MacBook Pro: 119000 Hz
iPhone X*: 240 Hz

But I agree, completely PWM free is better.

List: https://www.notebookcheck.net/PWM-Ranking-Notebooks-Smartphones-and-Tablets-with-PWM.163979.0.html