Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up
- Thread starter Kitkad
- WikiPost WikiPost
- Start date
-
- Tags
- eye strain xs max
- Sort by reaction score
- Status
On the top of the phone there is a notch in the screen where the speaker, front-facing camera, faceid and other sensors are housed.
Last edited:
I've been on that phone continuously since Friday afternoon. It's now Sunday afternoon. No issues. I would have noticed by now from the other one. Btw, PWM isn't a red herring. It's a known fact. People have issues.
As for the IR rays: I have no issues with Face ID either (I do not doubt that some people may be sensitive to that too), but I don't think that the low IR that this phone emits is going to be more harmful to your eyes than staring at the screen for any length of time. I mean, let's be real here: Walking around outside in the sunshine will do more harm to you than those IR lights from your phone. As an overall recommendation for your health, make sure you don't overdo it with the phone. Read a book. Go for a walk. Talk to your spouse. A phone is a tool. Use it, then put it away. That goes for EVERY smartphone. With IR light. Without IR light. PWM, no PWM. Just use common sense.
EDIT: The above mentioned common sense only applies a week after acquiring a new phone. When the newness dissipates, obviously.
As for the IR rays: I have no issues with Face ID either (I do not doubt that some people may be sensitive to that too), but I don't think that the low IR that this phone emits is going to be more harmful to your eyes than staring at the screen for any length of time. I mean, let's be real here: Walking around outside in the sunshine will do more harm to you than those IR lights from your phone. As an overall recommendation for your health, make sure you don't overdo it with the phone. Read a book. Go for a walk. Talk to your spouse. A phone is a tool. Use it, then put it away. That goes for EVERY smartphone. With IR light. Without IR light. PWM, no PWM. Just use common sense.
EDIT: The above mentioned common sense only applies a week after acquiring a new phone. When the newness dissipates, obviously.
Last edited:
It’s good that you are not affected. I hope that goes for the majority of people here.
However your arguments as to why it’s not harmful are not convincing because:
a) Apple has not published the intensity of the IR.
b) i don’t think that would be the same as being exposed to everyday IR. I imagine yhe phone will have to illuminate “over” the ambient IR to work.
c) you are discounting the fact of the diluted eye pupils.
d) the exact argument could be said for OLED but it is affecting you. So I don’t know why you are so quick to dismiss the case for IR.
The iPhone X was the first phone to really blow me away in many years but, after months of using it and accidentally discovering that it was the cause of my nasty headaches, I reluctantly sold it for the iPhone 8. Suffice to say I'm really, really glad that Apple made the iPhone XR. The size takes a little getting used to, but I am happy as can be with this phone and the insane battery life is a HUGE bonus!
I have Face ID and Attention Aware disabled on my iPhone XR and have had zero issues, but I just was playing with the camera (because I wanted to try portrait mode with the blurry background) and as soon as I switched to it I noticed my eyes felt this weird sensation/pressure. I had no idea what it was until about 10 seconds later when I realized what was happening. I won’t be using that feature, but I was a little bit shocked how easily I was able to notice it.
[doublepost=1540764951][/doublepost]
[doublepost=1540764951][/doublepost]
I think this thread has taught me that none of us should be so quick to dismiss others’ issues just because we aren’t experiencing them. Personally, I believe the IR blasters/flood illumination is not good for us.
Last edited:
You switched to the portrait mode on the front camera?
Well we will never know if this is harmless or not without deeper investigation done by professionals.
For sure this topic has changed from PWM eyestrain to Face ID eyestrain
Apple's future and basically financial backbone depends on FaceID. They will never acknowledge anything negative about it. The iPads are getting it next.
Just because something isn't necessarily clinically "harmful", it can still sure as hell be plenty irritating to some sensitive people. So even if FaceID won't burn out your eyeballs or make you go blind, it certainly is possible that sensitive people can't use it — just like that damn PWM flickering.
Just because something isn't necessarily clinically "harmful", it can still sure as hell be plenty irritating to some sensitive people. So even if FaceID won't burn out your eyeballs or make you go blind, it certainly is possible that sensitive people can't use it — just like that damn PWM flickering.
I have mentioned in this thread before that I can't use the iris scanner on my note 8 because it makes my eyes feel funny and gives me a spaced out feeling after just one use .I'm interested in coming back to the iPhone but faceid concerns me for given the issues I've had with iris scanning. So it interesting to hear some people are finding that it might not be the screen and actually faceid that is causing problems. Alarming but really important to know
IMHO it was irresponsible on Apple’s part that they don’t disclose the intensity of the IR so people can make an informed decision. Even more so given the rumors that inside early adopters reported the issue.
I really hope it’s just me and long term use doesn’t cause permanent health problems.
Even if the intensity of the IR is as much as a normal LED light, the fact that your eye pupils don’t adjust to accommodate for it, having it blink in your eyes 8hours a day, can’t be healthy.
Btw. Does anyone know if there is a cheap device Or sensor that can measure the intensity of the IR? Something one can buy on eBay or Amazon maybe?
And voila; my theory is very close to be proven.
Imagine it is night, you have the lights off and are in bed watching a movie with your iPhone at the lowest bright level.
Your eye pupils are dilated to adjust to the night, and suddenly, boom! a very intense IR light blasts them. After 5 seconds, boom again! And again, and again.
Imagine it is night, you have the lights off and are in bed watching a movie with your iPhone at the lowest bright level.
Your eye pupils are dilated to adjust to the night, and suddenly, boom! a very intense IR light blasts them. After 5 seconds, boom again! And again, and again.
I was experiencing really bad headaches like I've never had before while I was using the X, but didn't connect the dots at the time. I had my eyes checked and the doctor confirmed my eyesight was fine, and suggested that it was perhaps stress related or eye strain from prolonged computer use at work. Solution: over the counter eye drops
One day I dropped my X and broke the back glass, so I switched to an old 6S+ (we usually keep one old phone in our house as a spare for when something like this happens) for a couple of weeks. Since it happened right before a work trip, I didn't have the time to get a replacement X right away.
Voila! No headaches during the 2 weeks, with zero lifestyle changes and if anything those weeks were more stressful than usual with the travel and work stuff.
Once I got back home I went to the Apple Store, paid my AppleCare+ deductible, got my replacement and went back to using the X. The headaches returned. I began to doubt if it was my phone, and one day after a particularly nasty headache I googled iPhone X eye strain headaches and learned that PWM may cause headaches in some people. So as a test I switched back and forth from my X and 6S+ over a few weeks, and determined that my eyes were not fatigued nor was I getting headaches when using the 6S+. I used notebookcheck to validate that our OLED TV, external monitor for my Macbook and iPad were all PWM free - I never got these headaches before November 2017, and never while using those devices for extended hours.
So I traded in my X and got an 8 (on IUP so I qualified for an "early" upgrade). I lost money, of course, but it was totally worth it to go back to the 8. I followed the keynote closely and held out hope that the XR wouldn't have this problem because of the LCD, even though some LCDs have PWM. I really did miss Face ID, the edge-to-edge screen and the buttery smooth UI of the X, so I'm now a very happy customer on Friday after picking up the XR.
Like you said before we don't know if it a intense beam. Don't come here with a YouTube video and talk about your theory is very close to proven
I will leave this thread because everything is based on totally nothing. Even my remote control is flashing etc.
You could be right or wrong. No one from us will now until...
Last edited:
Yes, I did. I was trying to figure out why I get eye pain with the XR.
The blink you see every 2 seconds is the proximity sensor. The intensity is very low and is not a problem at all.
The one that blinks very intensively every 5 seconds is the "flood illuminator" that face id is using.
This is good to know. I have turned off faceid attention. Is there anythin else I could do to stop the flood illuminator except while I am unlocking the phone ?
Make sure you have the "Attention Aware Features" and the "Require Attention for Race ID" off.
All we think (included me) is based on nothing. Also every device which uses IR light is accepted and tested before it's allowed by the government. If it's to intense the yellow caution symbol is applied to those devices.
Last edited:
What do you mean? It’s not just a YouTube link, I got the video just now.. you don’t think the illumination we see is intense?
Well, I enjoy having the argument with you, as you appreciate reason and like to base the discussion on logic, so it will be pity if you leave.
In another thread someone suggested to compare with the IR light coming from a kitchen stove.
Here are the results:
Last edited:
So you showed us the flood illuminator beam in the dark.
As long as we don't have any numbers of the intensity we don't know nothing.
This recording tells us nothing about the danger.
If we all want to know if this is a potential risc we should ask for investigation by a certified instance
Last edited:
Of course. But neither you, nor me have the resources and time to do a scientific study.
But IMHO the video gives you a way to estimate the intensity. By comparing it for example with the intensity of the rest of screen.
And I would say, in visible light equivalent, is pretty close to that of the phone’s flash light. Would you agree?