Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[vannix]

Is there a screen setting that helps?

I've tried anything, from running the phone at 100% brightness (avoiding the PWM modulation), to color filter, disabling True Tone, running only night shift, reducing the white point etc.

Same result!

 

[Codybby1]

Has anyone tried disabling faceID and seeing if there is a difference? I had the strangest "headache" the first day I started using my X. I haven't had my face buried in the phone too much the past few days to really notice but after reading this I feel fatigued looking at the phone. Part of me wants to believe it's just some sort of placebo effect from reading this thread.

 

[wassup121]

I am experiencing the same issue,terrible headache after first day of use of the new iPhoneX. The same thing happened with an OLED TV which I returned. Changing the settings on the TV did not help (but perhaps I am not an expert in changing the settings). My wife had the same issue. Sad to have to return the phone, but that's what I need to do.

Me too. I've been having a faint headache above eyes across head ever since last Friday. I wasn't sure if it was the screen or not.

 

[acctman]

Hello all,

I thought I'd post here about an issue I've been having and see if anyone else is experiencing the same thing.

When I'm using the phone, my eyes feel strained, like they're trying to focus on the phone. And I've noticed that when I look away from my phone and at something else my eyes feel a little blurry and I have to blink.

Not sure why this is happening. I've tweaked with all the various displays settings (TrueTone/Night Shift/ White balance), nothing seems to make a real difference. Not using a screen protector.

Anyone else?

Turning off TrueTone worked for me...Also adjusted the brightness. But, yes I too had that problem. my eyes are fine now, I do think moving from a Plus to a smaller form it playing tricks with your eyes. I even had to turn off Contact icons in iMessage to give more space to messages.

 

[wassup121]

Turning off TrueTone worked for me...Also adjusted the brightness. But, yes I too had that problem. my eyes are fine now, I do think moving from a Plus to a smaller form it playing tricks with your eyes. I even had to turn off Contact icons in iMessage to give more space to messages.

True-Tone on my Ipad doesn't cause any issues for me. But will give this a shot

 

[vannix]

It seemed the culprit, but now I disabled it and I get a really bad pain even without it, 0 brightness, black wallpaper on lock screen! When I press the power button looking at the screen I get pain in the eyes

 

[acctman]

True-Tone on my Ipad doesn't cause any issues for me. But will give this a shot

The iPad does not have the OLED screen. my eyes have adjust but it did take a few days

 

[Fernandez21]

It seemed the culprit, but now I disabled it and I get a really bad pain even without it, 0 brightness, black wallpaper on lock screen! When I press the power button looking at the screen I get pain in the eyes

Don’t understand this last part. A black wallpaper will turn off all the pixels, doesn’t matter what brightness level you set it to, all the pixels will be off.

 

[vannix]

Don’t understand this last part. A black wallpaper will turn off all the pixels, doesn’t matter what brightness level you set it to, all the pixels will be off.

The clock and other texts are still there and disturbing, I agree that on a black photo I don’t feel this problem (covering all the screen)

 

[gold///]

Alright, so after a bit of research, I think I've narrowed it down to the PWM brightness system. I originally thought it was the ghosting of the text that was causing our headaches, but now I'm 99% sure this is the main cause (As others have suggested).

Take a look at these slo-mo videos, look how awful this is:

Minimum Brightness:
https://streamable.com/v3gsx

Maximum Brightness:
https://streamable.com/txrgw

Note that even at max brightness, there's still slight flickering. Meaning that no matter how you change your settings, you will always have flickering. I also tested my old phone and my desktop computer with the same parameters, they looked nothing like this.

So now that I have a definite answer, is there any hope of this being addressed in a software update? Excuse my ignorance, I have no idea how displays work, or if it's possible to adjust PWM like that. The reason I ask is because I did see some software based solutions for Galaxy phones, old computers, etc.

 

[AngelGuy7]

Alright, so after a bit of research, I think I've narrowed it down to the PWM brightness system. I originally thought it was the ghosting of the text that was causing our headaches, but now I'm 99% sure this is the main cause (As others have suggested).

Take a look at these slo-mo videos, look how awful this is:

Minimum Brightness:
https://streamable.com/v3gsx

Maximum Brightness:
https://streamable.com/txrgw

Note that even at max brightness, there's still slight flickering. Meaning that no matter how you change your settings, you will always have flickering. I also tested my old phone and my desktop computer with the same parameters, they looked nothing like this.

So now that I have a definite answer, is there any hope of this being addressed in a software update? Excuse my ignorance, I have no idea how displays work, or if it's possible to adjust PWM like that. The reason I ask is because I did see some software based solutions for Galaxy phones, old computers, etc.

That is really good testing that you've done there! Thanks for proving that these displays are using PWM or have some other related flickering going on. I am also wondering if this could be fixed by a software \ firmware update of some sort or if this is locked in by the hardware.

 

[blackberrycubed]

Awesome job there! I am sensitive to PWM too and get headaches.

Be prepared to get " thats not scientific so not valid", "apple wont sell you screen with PWM", "get your eyes checked", "what flickering? all I see is the best best best apple screen in the world in those videos" kind of responses, apple cherry picked youtubers and media pundits in apples pocket also did not see it so how can this be true.... and so on and so forth.

Alright, so after a bit of research, I think I've narrowed it down to the PWM brightness system. I originally thought it was the ghosting of the text that was causing our headaches, but now I'm 99% sure this is the main cause (As others have suggested).

Take a look at these slo-mo videos, look how awful this is:

Minimum Brightness:
https://streamable.com/v3gsx

Maximum Brightness:
https://streamable.com/txrgw

Note that even at max brightness, there's still slight flickering. Meaning that no matter how you change your settings, you will always have flickering. I also tested my old phone and my desktop computer with the same parameters, they looked nothing like this.

So now that I have a definite answer, is there any hope of this being addressed in a software update? Excuse my ignorance, I have no idea how displays work, or if it's possible to adjust PWM like that. The reason I ask is because I did see some software based solutions for Galaxy phones, old computers, etc.

 

[vannix]

Alright, so after a bit of research, I think I've narrowed it down to the PWM brightness system. I originally thought it was the ghosting of the text that was causing our headaches, but now I'm 99% sure this is the main cause (As others have suggested).

Take a look at these slo-mo videos, look how awful this is:

Minimum Brightness:
https://streamable.com/v3gsx

Maximum Brightness:
https://streamable.com/txrgw

Note that even at max brightness, there's still slight flickering. Meaning that no matter how you change your settings, you will always have flickering. I also tested my old phone and my desktop computer with the same parameters, they looked nothing like this.

So now that I have a definite answer, is there any hope of this being addressed in a software update? Excuse my ignorance, I have no idea how displays work, or if it's possible to adjust PWM like that. The reason I ask is because I did see some software based solutions for Galaxy phones, old computers, etc.

Good Job man, I've also tested this by comparing an iP6 and the X with the slo-mo technique and it is crystal clear, even at max brightness it is still flashing (faster, but still). I would also know if it is fixable via software, but I feel that no one is gonna do anything, as not everyone is affected, and they don't care if who can't feel this is stressing the eyes the same, the panels are this and the only supplier to meet their demand is Samsung, that hides the OLED defects by running them always at full brightness and slapping a PWM controller.

 

[Fernandez21]

Good Job man, I've also tested this by comparing an iP6 and the X with the slo-mo technique and it is crystal clear, even at max brightness it is still flashing (faster, but still). I would also know if it is fixable via software, but I feel that no one is gonna do anything, as not everyone is affected, and they don't care if who can't feel this is stressing the eyes the same, the panels are this and the only supplier to meet their demand is Samsung, that hides the OLED defects by running them always at full brightness and slapping a PWM controller.

Does the Pixel 2 XL have this same issue? Maybe that's why it had such problems, because it isn't masking it's defects by doing the flashing?

 

[Kitkad]

Alright, so after a bit of research, I think I've narrowed it down to the PWM brightness system. I originally thought it was the ghosting of the text that was causing our headaches, but now I'm 99% sure this is the main cause (As others have suggested).

Take a look at these slo-mo videos, look how awful this is:

Minimum Brightness:
https://streamable.com/v3gsx

Maximum Brightness:
https://streamable.com/txrgw

Note that even at max brightness, there's still slight flickering. Meaning that no matter how you change your settings, you will always have flickering. I also tested my old phone and my desktop computer with the same parameters, they looked nothing like this.

So now that I have a definite answer, is there any hope of this being addressed in a software update? Excuse my ignorance, I have no idea how displays work, or if it's possible to adjust PWM like that. The reason I ask is because I did see some software based solutions for Galaxy phones, old computers, etc.

How do you know there were software fixes for Samsung phones?

 

[gold///]

How do you know there were software fixes for Samsung phones?

I came across a thread where someone developed a PWM-Free kernel for the S7 Edge, apparently it worked really well. Unfortunately, we can't really use any unofficial mods like that without jailbreaking.

Anyway, what are you guys gonna do with your phones now that we know what the issue is? Seems like the only options are either to always use it at max brightness, return it, or put up with the headaches. I'm going to see if I can get used to it before the end of my return window. If I still have the problems, I guess I'm just going to return it.

Also, does this PWM situation worry you guys as much as it worries me? If the Super Retina display works for the majority of users, isn't it likely that they'll start using OLED (With PWM) on their other products as well? I'm really bummed about this, it essentially means I'm locked out of any new tech they release if they choose to go the OLED route.

Here's hoping Apple can somehow come up with a solution for us.

 

[AngelGuy7]

I came across a thread where someone developed a PWM-Free kernel for the S7 Edge, apparently it worked really well. Unfortunately, we can't really use any unofficial mods like that without jailbreaking.

Anyway, what are you guys gonna do with your phones now that we know what the issue is? Seems like the only options are either to always use it at max brightness, return it, or put up with the headaches. I'm going to see if I can get used to it before the end of my return window. If I still have the problems, I guess I'm just going to return it.

Also, does this PWM situation worry you guys as much as it worries me? If the Super Retina display works for the majority of users, isn't it likely that they'll start using OLED (With PWM) on their other products as well? I'm really bummed about this, it essentially means I'm locked out of any new tech they release if they choose to go the OLED route.

Here's hoping Apple can somehow come up with a solution for us.

I came across the same thread about the S7 Edge \ Android kernel mod, and how it fixed the PWM related problems. I also read elsewhere of people complaining about PWM related headaches on laptops and it being fixed with graphic driver changes... so HOPEFULLY there's a software fix to this problem that Apple could put out.

But it does concern me as well that Apple is going down this path with OLED screens. For now, I'm doing the same as you and trialing this during my return period to see if I can adjust to it. Even then, I question the long term effects on my eyes which, since you're only born with two, is the greatest concern for me.

 

[techtechtech]

I came across a thread where someone developed a PWM-Free kernel for the S7 Edge, apparently it worked really well. Unfortunately, we can't really use any unofficial mods like that without jailbreaking.

Anyway, what are you guys gonna do with your phones now that we know what the issue is? Seems like the only options are either to always use it at max brightness, return it, or put up with the headaches. I'm going to see if I can get used to it before the end of my return window. If I still have the problems, I guess I'm just going to return it.

Also, does this PWM situation worry you guys as much as it worries me? If the Super Retina display works for the majority of users, isn't it likely that they'll start using OLED (With PWM) on their other products as well? I'm really bummed about this, it essentially means I'm locked out of any new tech they release if they choose to go the OLED route.

Here's hoping Apple can somehow come up with a solution for us.

It is a concern since at some point in the not too distant future all new phones could be using a variation of OLED screen technology, I just hope that they will overcome this particular problem in due course. The iPhone 8 could be the last model that doesn't use an OLED style screen, interesting to know what percentage of iPhone X owners will experience eye strain or headaches from the technology being used in the current variant.

Personally I do like the blacks and contrast of AMOLED/OLED, also the battery life benefits, but the resulting headaches and dizziness are a show stopper for me unless the technology changes in future releases.

 

[jimmy_uk]

I came across a thread where someone developed a PWM-Free kernel for the S7 Edge, apparently it worked really well. Unfortunately, we can't really use any unofficial mods like that without jailbreaking.

Anyway, what are you guys gonna do with your phones now that we know what the issue is? Seems like the only options are either to always use it at max brightness, return it, or put up with the headaches. I'm going to see if I can get used to it before the end of my return window. If I still have the problems, I guess I'm just going to return it.

Also, does this PWM situation worry you guys as much as it worries me? If the Super Retina display works for the majority of users, isn't it likely that they'll start using OLED (With PWM) on their other products as well? I'm really bummed about this, it essentially means I'm locked out of any new tech they release if they choose to go the OLED route.

Here's hoping Apple can somehow come up with a solution for us.

This has me concerned about my future with Apple as they will switch all devices to oled moving forward. I'm knee deep in with my iphone, watch and ipad pro.

 

[majkom]

“At any level of brightness, modulation with a frequency of approximately 60 or 240 Hz is present"

https://translate.googleusercontent...x.html&usg=ALkJrhgE-BSgBDhYdneV5qZKMZi0Q1SYvg


I had a raging headache most of sunday and had hoped it was something else, but it’s the first headache I’ve had in a month, so probably the X.


I believe the refresh rate for most of these devices is 60. The problem is the backlight flickering instead of using DC to lower the brightness. Apparently, the X is 240hz.




Where did you all get this info? Can you give us a link so we can read about it?




Every ophthalmologist I’ve seen hasn’t been familiar with this. Also, I don’t believe there’s anything we can do to alleviate this issue. Some of us have a different cone/rod layout and can perceive this flicker. It’s not all bad news tho. In addition to some flicker free products available, we also seem to “visualize faster” and notice things others do not. For example, my bro and I were mountain biking and he went in front of me, then I followed a few seconds later and came to a dead stop in front a tiny spider on a web just above my head. Also, I tend to have a quicker reaction time when playing FPS than my friends.

Exactly, you probably have better vision than the rest and thats why you see/sense flickering and have all those problems... i have it similar with plasma tv, Ive seen plasma flickering and could not stand it... and it is really funny when those who cant see it tell you to visit opthalmologist... really useful advice

 

[blacksurfer]

No problem with the 8+.

 

[MacQork]

Hello all,

I thought I'd post here about an issue I've been having and see if anyone else is experiencing the same thing.

When I'm using the phone, my eyes feel strained, like they're trying to focus on the phone. And I've noticed that when I look away from my phone and at something else my eyes feel a little blurry and I have to blink.

Not sure why this is happening. I've tweaked with all the various displays settings (TrueTone/Night Shift/ White balance), nothing seems to make a real difference. Not using a screen protector.

Anyone else?

Btw you can't call a strong headache migraine, there are very obvious differences. Just a pet peeve of mine lol

 

[gold///]

If you haven't already, please send in feedback about this issue. At the very least, it'll make them aware that a segment of their users are being affected.

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

 

[blackberrycubed]

Yes, send feedback to apple, not likely they will do anything about it.

 

[gold///]

Yes, send feedback to apple, not likely they will do anything about it.

If they get enough feedback from users that are having issues, it will at least put the PWM problem on their radar. It can't hurt to let them know.


Anyway, maybe there is hope after all: https://9to5mac.com/2017/11/10/iphone-x-jailbreak-demoed-video/

If someone was able to release a PWM-free kernel for the S7, maybe there's a chance someone could create a tweak that reduce the PWM effects. Let's hope that jailbreak gets released sooner than later.