I’ve been using an iPhone 12 Pro Max for the past 48 hours and I can confidently state that all of my assumptions going into it came to fruition:
While setting up iPhone 12 Pro Max I did notice the faintest hint of a migraine lingering in the back of my mind, which wasn’t surprising. I used it for about a half hour without any major signs of a headache. Then I put the phone down and went for a walk with my dog, and began noticing the throbbing pain behind my eyes that started the second I began using iPhone X.
The good news is that I think I was right in my assumption that it was worth trying a new iPhone this year since it does seem like Apple has done the most to address this issue since iPhone X was released. However, what they’ve done isn’t nearly enough.
I can use iPhone 12 Pro Max for longer periods than I could use iPhone X, and I would get a terrible migraine just from looking at a YouTube video on an iPhone 11 Pro Max. Now this may be entirely anecdotal since the second time I tried iPhone X I was able to use it for a day before the headaches began to come back. Even right now while typing this on iPhone 12 Pro Max I’m getting migraines and a tension headache, so maybe the migraines that started with iPhone X just needed time to resurface.
I was going to say that I do feel that it’s improved at ~ 25-75% brightness since I noticed immediate migraines at the extremes of the brightness scale (~ 10% and at near max brightness) but the iPhone 12 Pro Max is sitting at 39% brightness right now and I’m noticing migraines.
I must be particularly sensitive to PWM because I can visibly see the flicker at times, especially on white backgrounds. I find text more difficult to focus on than it is on a LCD display. It’s almost dizzying staring at the display while typing this. It just seems off.
I was almost prepared to come here and state that they’ve just about fixed it on this generation; however, the more time I’ve spent with the phone the more I’m realizing that isn’t the case. I can’t state with certainty that it’s better in any meaningful way than the PWM implementation on iPhone X was.
I would like to try iPhone 12/iPhone 12 Pro since it does seem like it uses a new 60Hz mode that’s similar to DC dimming at between 22-50% brightness, which I couldn’t confirm is also implemented on iPhone 12 Pro Max. Unfortunately I would expect the end result to be the same.
As nice of a phone as iPhone 12 Pro Max is, realistically there’s no way I’ll be able to continue using it without dealing with constant migraines 24/7. I’d also be worried about the potential long-term health consequences.
Bottom line: I can’t say the PWM implementation on the iPhone 12 series for me is any better than it was on iPhone X, as much as I was hoping this would be the generation with the most drastic improvement. I don’t think the most PWM-sensible users will be able to use an iPhone again until they get rid of the flicker entirely.
