I have been following this thread since XS was released but haven't read all posts from the beginning, so just to quickly summarize, some people seem to experience eye strain using X which is either attributed to OLED displays or FaceID flood illuminatior or both? If it's OLED then the theory is it's because of PWM (pulse width modulation). Also many have claimed that after switching to XR with LCD screen, eye strain was not felt even though it has the same FaceID.
Now is this issue specific to Apple's displays or OLED in general because haven't heard about it from Samsung or other users? And if it's PWM that causes the eye strain then why is implemented only on OLED and not LCD displays? And what symptoms do you feel (watery eyes?) to identify that it's caused by iPhone usage and not other factors?
The Apple Store is only 10 minutes away from me and my dog, Toby, a Wheaten Terrier, is quite popular there, so I have made it a Sunday thing where he gets part of his walk to the 4th St. Store in Berkeley). Each time I go, I spend some time comparing the screens of my iPhone 8 Plus which I have gone back to as a safe harbor twice, first after I returned the XS Max and then after returning the XR.
This is a bit of a round about way of answering the questions above, but I will get around to responding to the questions. I first compared the Plus with the XR last Sundat. I hold the phone about 10”-12” inches away and use it primarily for emails, browsing and Apple News in particular. I conducted my tests with and w/out glasses and got the same result in both. Obviously, w/out glasses, I have to hold the phone an inch or so closer.
I also own a 55” OLED TV from LG and an Apple Watch 4 which also uses an OLED screen. I have never had a second thought that either of them making me uncomfortable. The LG TV is fantastic. Comparing the Plus with the XR, it’s very evident that the XR is much brighter. Notwithstanding the screen brightness advantage, the XR, in standard display mode, uses a very small font which is much harder to resolve and could cause eye strain in people used to the plus screens. In Zoom mode, the font is too large and there is a lot of word wrapping, especially of titles. Because of the narrow aspect ratio, the eyes have to work harder to glean the information, especially focusing on bottom of the screen which used to be occupied by the home button on earlier phones. Over time, this is both inefficient for reading and fatiguing vs the wider screen and sharper for distinct text on the 8 Plus.
These drawbacks of the XR display are made all the worse on the XS Max. Whenever I start to use an XS Max, I have a general feeling of discomfort within about 10 seconds of looking at that screen. The screen has an infinite contrast ratio, but if you put the XR next the XS Max, it’s apparent that in normal daylight, the OLED screen is considerably less bright, even dim compared with the LED backlit (and I have read there are as twice as many LEDs on the XR as in past LCDs) XS Max. What good is the contrast ratio, if in normal light, the display has brightness challenges? The XS Max is huge. When reading text, the eyes must travel really far down the display due to its design vs the display of the Plus in which the home button stops the text flow veritically before the eyes have to strain to read it.
Also the dizzying visual effects, the bouncing of the screen when you touch the bottom of the screen to invoke the home screen or pull down the control center or the lock screen, simply increases the sense of discomfort with the (Apple’s interation of the) OLED screen generally. Yes, you can go into accessibiilty and reduce the motion, but it only moderates it a bit. It’s still there. The XS Max is also a magnet for glare and that glare also contributes to discomfort viewing the screen for me. Finally, the auto-login using Face ID is creepy and Apple displays an icon which resembling a skull and crossbones when invoking it. Personally, although I takes longer, I prefer the Touch ID for authenticating. All in all, the XS phones and in particular the XS Max are a toxic brew of discomfort or in Steve Jobs’ words, a big bag of hurt, for many of those who have posted on this forum thread.
I owned the XS Max for a week and have tested in innumerable times in the Apple store. Using it, looking at the screen makes me queasy and uncomfortable. Typically when I feel this way, I stop. I don’t continue to the point of amping up the eye strain further and perhaps getting a headache. I have the 8 plus. I love it. It may be my last iPhone. What’s the point of torturing myself? If Apple continues down this path, in a couple years I will buy another one, which will be several hundred dollars less, and put it in a closet, ready to go when the current 8 Plus give out.
I wonder how many XS and XS Max users are suffering in silence?
