Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[RD207]

Which storage capacity did you folks get?

My carrier had a few in stock. I like the XR display and phone size is perfect for me. I’m definitely ordering one ASAP.

 

[1369281]

I went with 64 GB, but 128 is probably the sweet spot for only $50 more.

I am so pleased with the iPhone XR. Just wish the Apple Silicone Cases were available!

 

[5105973]

Which storage capacity did you folks get?

My carrier had a few in stock. I like the XR display and phone size is perfect for me. I’m definitely ordering one ASAP.

I got 256 GB because that’s what my 8 Plus is and I take a lot of video. I’m planning on taking more now that I can record in stereo! I’d been using my S9+ more.

 

[rnbarg]

I went with 64 GB, but 128 is probably the sweet spot for only $50 more.

I am so pleased with the iPhone XR. Just wish the Apple Silicone Cases were available!

The knockoffs in Amazon are just as good.

 

[mpavilion]

I have an 8 Plus and found the XS Max fatiguing to use and returned it. I ordered the XR which I got today. There is no issue with the screen as far as eye fatigue goes, the phone is as fast as lightning and the Face ID and gesture-based access to the home screen and app switching are great improvements over the traditional home button.

Unfortunately, for me, coming from a Plus screen, there are too many negatives that I realized after about an hour of use comparing the phones side by side. The XR is considerably narrower than the 8 Plus and uses a smaller font as well. And the side bezels on both phones are about the same. In fact, the bezels on the XR, being part of the screen actually look worse vs the white side bezels on my silver 8 Plus which are much less distracting and to a better job than demarcating the content from non-content. Imagine if your TV set had black bezels on the screen itself.

Text wraps a lot more on the XR than the Plus phones. You get more text per line on the plus even w/its larger font. My eyes have to work harder with the narrower width of the XR moving from line to line. I have had Plus phones for the past four years and am used to reading text on them. Moreover, the XR displays even more information than the Plus phones. It displays the same amount of information as the mammoth XS Max. It simply can't do this w/out smaller fonts which is also a negative for me. It simply takes me longer to read the text and it is not as comfortable.

Also I can definitely see the difference in text quality between the 401 PPI that I'm used to on the 8 Plus and 326 ppi on the XR. It could be the distance I hold the phone from my eyes or I just have a sharp eye for details. This is particularly noticeable on an Apps like Reeder 3, an RSS reader, which uses gray text and is one of my go to apps. My perception of this difference may also be because I have had the 401 PPI resolution for 4 years. And I can definitely see the difference on videos which size perfectly to the 8 Plus's 1080p resolution and of course have w/no notch that can potentially obscure part of the video. The aspect ratio on the XR is just not that great for most video vs. the Plus phones.

I can see that for the person coming from a non-plus iPhone, 5,6,7,8 used to the smaller font size, narrower screen (than the Plus), and 326 ppi, the XR is probably a great upgrade. The natural migration path for Plus users is the XS Max in my view. Unfortunately for me, that's not a good option for the reasons stated.

And as far as the camera, almost all the pictures that I take use the telephoto lens that the XR does not have. I am not a camera buff, but that is the one feature I really value.

I guess I will be using the 8 Plus for the foreseeable future.

So you can’t do Zoomed display mode on the XR?

 

[1369281]

I’ve been using the XR for a few hours now and it is simply amazing. Call me crazy, I actually prefer the larger borders... this is close to being a perfect phone in my opinion. If anyone is on the fence, I am going to solidly recommend this phone. Even the size of it is perfect.

 

[rnbarg]

1. So you can’t do Zoomed display mode on the XR?

   Sure but you sacrifice screen real estate - about as much viewable content as on an xs.

 

[Tijdelijk]

I've been using mine for 7 hours setting it up, and no more eye-strain than I would usually have when the shape I have been in today. So far so good! I have had it set to about 20% brightness which was appropriate for todays light levels indoors.

Really happy with it so far

1. 
   Sure but you sacrifice screen real estate - about as much viewable content as on an xs.

Well i see with the zoom function almost as much viewable content as on the 8 plus.

The narrower screen is better for one hand typing. About watching videos where most of them are 16:9 there is no notch involved

 

[matthijst]

Been using the XR for 5-6 hours now and no eye strain
Have had the X for a month month and the XS Max for 3 days and those gave me headaches.

Love the XR, screen is great (like the colors more than the whiter OLED). An 8 plus screen is nicer because of the slightly higher ppi but it's not like the XR is crap.
Happy with this one. Keeping it.
Hope they fix pwm but I would prefer a Max phone with LCD

 

[rnbarg]

Well i see with the zoom function almost as much viewable content as on the 8 plus.

The narrower screen is better for one hand typing. About watching videos where most of them are 16:9 there is no notch involved

I like the bigger keyboard on the plus a lot. Fewer mistakes. Bottom line is once you get used to a plus size phone, call it plus or a max, but it’s a wide phone and a correspondingly wide field of view and a distinctive feel in your hand, there is no turning back to what feels like a cramped narrow phone. That’s my view anyway fwiw.

 

[Tijdelijk]

I like the bigger keyboard on the plus a lot. Fewer mistakes. Bottom line is once you get used to a plus size phone, call it plus or a max, but it’s a wide phone and a correspondingly wide field of view and a distinctive feel in your hand, there is no turning back to what feels like a cramped narrow phone. That’s my view anyway fwiw.

Yes I known what you mean.
I will try it for a week and see.
The XS max has a perfect size but the Oled was an issue for me

 

[Mackinjosh]

I have an 8 Plus and found the XS Max fatiguing to use and returned it. I ordered the XR which I got today. There is no issue with the screen as far as eye fatigue goes, the phone is as fast as lightning and the Face ID and gesture-based access to the home screen and app switching are great improvements over the traditional home button.

Unfortunately, for me, coming from a Plus screen, there are too many negatives that I realized after about an hour of use comparing the phones side by side. The XR is considerably narrower than the 8 Plus and uses a smaller font as well. And the side bezels on both phones are about the same. In fact, the bezels on the XR, being part of the screen actually look worse vs the white side bezels on my silver 8 Plus which are much less distracting and to a better job than demarcating the content from non-content. Imagine if your TV set had black bezels on the screen itself.

Text wraps a lot more on the XR than the Plus phones. You get more text per line on the plus even w/its larger font. My eyes have to work harder with the narrower width of the XR moving from line to line. I have had Plus phones for the past four years and am used to reading text on them. Moreover, the XR displays even more information than the Plus phones. It displays the same amount of information as the mammoth XS Max. It simply can't do this w/out smaller fonts which is also a negative for me. It simply takes me longer to read the text and it is not as comfortable.

Also I can definitely see the difference in text quality between the 401 PPI that I'm used to on the 8 Plus and 326 ppi on the XR. It could be the distance I hold the phone from my eyes or I just have a sharp eye for details. This is particularly noticeable on an Apps like Reeder 3, an RSS reader, which uses gray text and is one of my go to apps. My perception of this difference may also be because I have had the 401 PPI resolution for 4 years. And I can definitely see the difference on videos which size perfectly to the 8 Plus's 1080p resolution and of course have w/no notch that can potentially obscure part of the video. The aspect ratio on the XR is just not that great for most video vs. the Plus phones.

I can see that for the person coming from a non-plus iPhone, 5,6,7,8 used to the smaller font size, narrower screen (than the Plus), and 326 ppi, the XR is probably a great upgrade. The natural migration path for Plus users is the XS Max in my view. Unfortunately for me, that's not a good option for the reasons stated.

And as far as the camera, almost all the pictures that I take use the telephoto lens that the XR does not have. I am not a camera buff, but that is the one feature I really value.

I guess I will be using the 8 Plus for the foreseeable future.

I gotta echo this. I love the XR, but whatever font they've chosen to use is way too small for me when I use Safari. I have much smaller phones that display content bigger than the XR can and Zoomed mode doesn't help much at all. I'll need to take my XR to a store or visit my sister who has a 7+ and compare how much bigger text is on that. If it's noticeably better, I'll be returning the XR for an 8+. I also hate the pillars that are put on the phone when I watch videos. It makes the screen look tiny, and when I zoom in I lose way too much content.

 

[Tijdelijk]

I gotta echo this. I love the XR, but whatever font they've chosen to use is way too small for me when I use Safari. I have much smaller phones that display content bigger than the XR can and Zoomed mode doesn't help much at all. I'll need to take my XR to a store or visit my sister who has a 7+ and compare how much bigger text is on that. If it's noticeably better, I'll be returning the XR for an 8+. I also hate the pillars that are put on the phone when I watch videos. It makes the screen look tiny, and when I zoom in I lose way too much content.

The zoom on the XR shows the same font size as the 8 plus without. Maybe a little bigger

 

[rnbarg]

Yes I known what you mean.
I will try it for a week and see.
The XS max has a perfect size but the Oled was an issue for me

Same here

 

[Tijdelijk]

Same here

I think the zoom option is needed for me.
Otherwise the fonts are to small

 

[204353]

I'm really happy with the Xʀ.

The display is great and I've always preferred LCDs overall. I love how clean they look: no blotchiness, no motion duplication/smearing, no PWM flicker, cooler and purer whites, no PenTile... I also think TrueTone looks more natural on the LCD, and it matches my MacBook Pro instead of being much more yellow like the OLED.

While the PWM eye strain issue has been fairly minor for me (compared to some others in this thread), I have noticed an immediate difference and this display is significantly easier on my eyes.

And I love the rest of the phone as well. The colour, the feel of it (rounder sides and the subtle plastic border around the rear glass makes it feel seamless), the battery life... the price!

Edit: I actually ended up going back to the 8 Plus. As great as the Xʀ is, I found myself missing the telephoto camera, 256GB storage and higher-density display (without the drawbacks of OLED). Absolutely love the 8 Plus and happy to have Touch ID again, and every single app and game fully-optimised. I'm planning to stick with this phone until microLED or a better, PWM-free OLED.

 

[phdane]

I’m torn on making the move from an 8+ to the XR. I still have a few days on my return window (when I went from XS Max to 8+ due to eye strain). I really miss the effortless nature of having the home gestures instead of the physical home button. Also battery is my top priority.

Seems like the XR is a natural move especially since I can return my 8+ for a few more days! I just felt really burned by the eye strain issue and it even lasted for days after getting off the XS Max.

Someone talk me down .

 

[wassup121]

Yes I known what you mean.
I will try it for a week and see.
The XS max has a perfect size but the Oled was an issue for me

Same....came from the Plus. Tried the X last year but had eye strain. Just got the Xr. It’s nice but I like holding the plus better in my hand. I suppose the Xr will do. I wanted something slightly smaller than the plus just for fitting in my pocket.

 

[5105973]

I’m torn on making the move from an 8+ to the XR. I still have a few days on my return window (when I went from XS Max to 8+ due to eye strain). I really miss the effortless nature of having the home gestures instead of the physical home button. Also battery is my top priority.

Seems like the XR is a natural move especially since I can return my 8+ for a few more days! I just felt really burned by the eye strain issue and it even lasted for days after getting off the XS Max.

Someone talk me down .

I can’t talk you down. I’m too giddy with my Xr! It’s such a happy yellow! While I find the 2x zoom lens on my 8Plus a tremendous convenience in photographing pets and wild animals especially, I think the Xr camera is just far better in the vast majority of difficult lighting conditions I typically encounter. And stereo audio for my videos is something I can’t give up.

 

[karinatwork]

I think overall the move from a 6, 7, or 8 is a no-brainer. When you're coming from a Plus phone, it's a bit more difficult. I understand that. But boy oh boy, do I ever love this XR!

 

[rnbarg]

I’m torn on making the move from an 8+ to the XR. I still have a few days on my return window (when I went from XS Max to 8+ due to eye strain). I really miss the effortless nature of having the home gestures instead of the physical home button. Also battery is my top priority.

Seems like the XR is a natural move especially since I can return my 8+ for a few more days! I just felt really burned by the eye strain issue and it even lasted for days after getting off the XS Max.

Someone talk me down .

Phdane's concern demonstrates that individual users have certain priorities that go into the calculus on what phone is best for them. For most it's the screen, but for some it's the battery or the camera or using the telephoto lens to take close ups of their pets who might move out of position if you move forward to use a single lens camera like what is on the XR.

I don't begrudge anyone their choice of phone. I respect that choice and only wish I could have gotten used to the XS Max which on paper is an amazing phone, but which for some is fatiguing to look at on an extended basis.

I also loved a lot of features on both the XS Max and XR including the more modern and facile gestures vs the home button and the Face ID used both to authenticate the device and to move quickly thru login screens. I have posted my experience here simply to help others make an informed choice, not because I have vested interest in seeing people keep their legacy plus (ie 8+) phones. I am also a user experience designer for a large medical center and 50% of our users are on a mobile platform, mostly iPhone, so this is a very useful exercise for me in assessing users needs broadly.

Having said all that here is a summary and some resources on comparing the certain screen characteristics of the XS, XR and XS max.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-xr-vs-iphone-8-plus.2144772/page-2

"Let's go through the numbers:

iPhone 6s: 2.3" wide with 375 screen points = 163 points per inch (which is half of 326 ppi)
iPhone 8+: 2.7" wide with 414 screen points = 153 points per inch
iPhone XR: 2.54" wide with 414 screen points = 163 points per inch (which is half of 326 ppi)
iPhone XS: 2.45" wide with 375 screen points = 153 points per inch (which is one-third of 458 ppi)
iPhone Max: 2.71" wide with 414 screen points = 153 points per inch (which is one-third of 458 ppi)

The lower the points per inch, the larger the font size.

However, all of the above phones except the SE and XS can use Zoomed Display mode. If you use this:

iPhone 6s: 2.3" wide with 320 screen points = 139 points per inch <-- This turns it into a giant iPhone SE.
iPhone 8+: 2.7" wide with 375 screen points = 139 points per inch <-- This turns it into a giant iPhone 8.
iPhone XR: 2.54" wide with 375 screen points = 148 points per inch <-- This is the odd one out.
iPhone XS: (Zoomed Display mode not supported)
iPhone Max: 2.71" wide with 375 screen points = 139 points per inch <-- This turns it into a giant iPhone XS.

So, for people with bad eyesight, the best setup to use is Zoomed Display mode on the Plus or Max. The XR is an interesting compromise though, since it can use Zoomed Display mode, but with smaller fonts. However, XR in Zoomed Display mode still has bigger fonts than all other iPhones in Standard Display mode including the XS, while displaying the same amount of information as the XS.

IOW, XR with Zoomed Display mode turns it into a big XS, but not a giant XS. To get the giant XS as indicated above, you need a Max with Zoomed Display mode."

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-xr-vs-iphone-8-plus.2144772/page-2

"The OLED will be crisper, but you shouldn't be fooled by the 458 ppi number. The effective pixel density, once you consider the subpixel count, is much higher than 326 ppi, but it's much lower than 458 ppi.

Why? Cuz Apple LCDs have 3 subpixels per pixel. Apple OLEDs have only 2 subpixels per pixel. While the numbers cannot be truly compared directly, nonetheless if you count up the number of subpixels and convert that to LCD type numbers, the equivalent pixel density of Apple's OLEDs is closer to 375 ppi."

I'm very skeptical that the effective adjusted PPI of the Plus phones is greater than the OLED screens, but this comment suggests that the PPI On the 8+ is a lot closer to the XS phones than the XR phones.

https://www.paintcodeapp.com/news/ultimate-guide-to-iphone-resolutions - excellent chart analysis of form factors, resolutions, and PPI

"Apple iPhone X's 5.8-inch screen is actually smaller than the 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus display"

https://www.phonearena.com/news/App...an-the-5.5-inch-iPhone-8-Plus-display_id98116

The above discussion was created when the XS came out. It's relevant because the XR in Zoomed Display mode emulates the XS in terms of screen real estate. As discussed above, that emulation uses larger fonts than the 8+ and their is less than meets the eye.

What all of this suggests is that the narrower aspect ratio of the XR phone is offset by the amount of information you can see horizontally. Sure you get nearly the same amount of content, but it's displayed w/more wrapping, and even more in XR zoomed mode. The difference in width between the 8+ and XR is stark and the side bezels, physical in one case and screen-based on the other, effectively cancel each other out.

Consider your visibility on a two lane vs. three lane highway or reading a page on a ebook reader. Do you really care about the text far down the page or is the user experience improved by having a wider field of vision, less wrapping and crisp(er), optimally size text? For me the answer is obvious, but maybe a non-event and non-factor for others and as almost reviewers have said, the XR screen is "good enough" "its just fine", or like the comment by a famous politician about another, "likable enough", which unfortunately, depending on your political persuasion, turned out not to be the case.

 

[stafil]

I guess I am the minority of the minorities, but this morning I woke up with fatigued eyes. Similar feeling like I used to get the first days I got the X. Guess it wasn’t the flickering for me.

Maybe it’s just a placebo effect at this point, but have decided to stay back with my 8+.

 

[Tijdelijk]

I guess I am the minority of the minorities, but this morning I woke up with fatigued eyes. Similar feeling like I used to get the first days I got the X. Guess it wasn’t the flickering for me.

Maybe it’s just a placebo effect at this point, but have decided to stay back with my 8+.

Face id?

 

[stafil]

Face id?

I really don’t know anymore. Maybe just placebo.

 

[Roadstar]

Face id?

In this case it seems the most logical explanation. For after all, if you use the phone a lot, that’s quite an amount of IR showers on your face throughout the day. A single dose isn’t harmful, but the accumulated total might show somewhere.

If I recall correctly, some people here (GrumpyMom?) said that their eyes felt strange after using Animoji. In that scenario the IR cameras are working actively in a prolonged scenario, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s more or less the same effect as the accumulated total of daily FaceID unlocks getting high enough.