Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[MICHAELSD]

Straight Talk Wireless sells iPhone SE (3rd gen, 64 GB) for $149. You'd need to subscribe to one month of Straight Talk service and then cancel and let it unlock after 61 days since original activation date. Then you can use it anywhere. I've done this about 6 times now for various friends and family. iPhone SE is the best option, IMO.

That was a backup option, but I’d prefer not to port my number back and forth between carriers. Thanks for recommending that regardless, as I did remember your post from a few months ago.

I found while shopping that all modern OLED smartphones cause headaches, and I still have some lingering headaches now. It’s difficult to pinpoint which devices cause the worst persistent headaches after a few minutes of testing, as the Motorola Razr and Razr+ caused sensitivity as well. iPhone 15 Pro Max was more or less the same as previous OLED Pro iPhones for me, despite some users having success. It’s really only iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus that are more usable, but not immune from causing sensitivity. My draw towards iPhone 15 is that I want to enjoy using an iPhone again, I’m just not convinced it can do that if it causes migraines throughout the day.

 

[Jcmwwe]

Straight Talk Wireless sells iPhone SE (3rd gen, 64 GB) for $149. You'd need to subscribe to one month of Straight Talk service and then cancel and let it unlock after 61 days since original activation date. Then you can use it anywhere. I've done this about 6 times now for various friends and family. iPhone SE is the best option, IMO.

Is the iPhone se 3rd, the same screen and look the same as the iPhone se 2nd? Thanks

 

[ocean10]

So my headache story goes back a long way but my prescription drugs have done a good job in keeping it low pain for the last 12 months. However a couple of weeks ago it broke through the drugs.

Then I read this reddit post last night and its a lightbulb moment...... it started the day I updated to IOS17

https://www.reddit.com/r/PWM_Sensitive/comments/16xd21v

I made a backup of my phone to my mac before updating to IOS17, can I reset my phone and restore from backup to get IOS16 back?

What prescription drugs were working to help your screen sensitivity? Even though it eventually broke through I'd be curious what helped. Seemed like I haven't seen much in terms of drugs that potentially provide relief.

 

[Evilxardas]

What prescription drugs were working to help your screen sensitivity? Even though it eventually broke through I'd be curious what helped. Seemed like I haven't seen much in terms of drugs that potentially provide relief.

I have been using fluxarten for a year and it helps a lot with migraine!

 

[super chimp]

I thought this from the GSMArena review of the OnePlus 12R display might interest people on this thread.

Anyway, the LTPO OLED panel supports a variable refresh rate in the 1-120Hz range. High-frequency 2160Hz pulse-width modulation (PWM) is used for dimming, so you shouldn't be seeing flicker at low brightness settings, while the touch sampling rate is specified at up to 1000Hz (do we still care about that?). Dolby Vision and HDR10+ are on the list of supported standards too.

This is for their review of the OnePlus 12.

The OnePlus 12 is equipped with a 6.82-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1,440x3,168px. Its aspect ratio is 19.8:9 (2.2:1) and pixel density works out to 510ppi. The LTPO panel features dynamically adaptive refresh rate in the 1-120Hz range, and uses 2160Hz pulse-width modulation (PWM) for dimming. Dolby Vision is on the list of supported HDR standards too.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Apple fans are starting to return their Vision Pros

That 14-day return window is fast approaching.

www.theverge.com

Apple Vision Pro probably isn’t all that bad as far as flicker intensity/modulation considering it only has one brightness level, but Apple is at least cognizant of potential eye strain, headaches, and migraines with the headset.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Is the iPhone se 3rd, the same screen and look the same as the iPhone se 2nd? Thanks

Yes, although there is some variance in contrast and colors between panels, which is normal.

 

[2mw2]

https://www.macrumors.com/2024/02/16/apple-iphone-se-4-oled-panel-orders/

This is a phone that I won't be buying!

 

[GlenK]

Looks like they just don't care about the customers with this issue!!!

 

[asus389]

Yes, although there is some variance in contrast and colors between panels, which is normal.

With the iPhone SE, is the variance consistent? ie are some colors/storage styles consistently better than others or is it pretty much random panel lottery with all of the SKUs?

 

[MICHAELSD]

With the iPhone SE, is the variance consistent? ie are some colors/storage styles consistently better than others or is it pretty much random panel lottery with all of the SKUs?

I used to have a theory that it would be smart to put the best yield of parts in the higher SKU’s, but after typically owning base model Apple products I don’t find that to be the case at all. I think they’re all equivalent, even if I got the 128GB/Midnight SKU. It just matters how many manufacturers they use for panels, as there can be variance in color/contrast, as there has been for years. This shouldn’t impact eye strain.

Frankly I do want to just upgrade to an iPhone 15, but when I’m not using the later iPhones I forget about how persistent the migraines can be. It is odd not having an iPhone at the moment since there are times throughout the day where I’ll want to reach for it and feel smartphone withdrawals. But it’s really not all that bad—I could see Apple being on a potentially correct path with Apple Vision Pro and a future of mixed reality.

The best way for me to go about this would be to buy iPhone 15 and return it immediately if it causes excessive headaches, but again I don’t want to continue returning iPhones. PWM sensitivity makes buying a modern smartphone incredibly difficult for somebody who wants flagship specs.

 

[Jcmwwe]

With the iPhone SE, is the variance consistent? ie are some colors/storage styles consistently better than others or is it pretty much random panel lottery with all of the SKUs?

Yes, although there is some variance in contrast and colors between panels, which is normal.

I never knew that the same model iphone se 2022 screen could look different. Thst they have different contrast and colors. I thought they would all be the same.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I never knew that the same model iphone se 2022 screen could look different. Thst they have different contrast and colors. I thought they would all be the same.

They’re more or less all the same. Apple has fairly strict tolerances, and I think they’ve gotten better over the years. I don’t want to confuse potential buyers: there’s possibility for slight panel variance on any display. Two iPhones placed next to each other should look the same in theory, but colors can vary between display panels.

 

[Abiyork]

What prescription drugs were working to help your screen sensitivity? Even though it eventually broke through I'd be curious what helped. Seemed like I haven't seen much in terms of drugs that potentially provide relief.

It doesn’t help my sensitivity it helps with the constant headache/migraine I live with now. They are drugs previously used for other issues but over time they have pain killing effects against the glands in the brain. They effectively stop my brain receiving them pain signals (or a percentage of them)

I have tried

Propanolol
Topiramate
Indometacin
Noritryptaline
Candesaertan
Amitrytaline

I am currently on a cocktail of the three last ones in my list.

Since rolling back to IOS16, the drugs have now managed to win the battle and the pain has subsided back to lower levels.

 

[now i see it]

As far as I know — the way virtually all LEDs are dimmed is with PWM. OLED, LED backlights on LCD screens and LED flashlights.
We’re all doomed.

 

[kerplunknet]

‎

 

[Jcmwwe]

I have over 200 flashlights (/r/flashlight and BLF shout-out) and many of them are constant current with no PWM used.

My LG OLED TV doesn't use PWM (an insignificant blip on one horizontal line of pixels is detected by measuring tools, but it's not PWM, and it does not cause any issues).

There is hope. I just hate that everyone's solution is to increase the PWM frequency instead of not use PWM at all. Keep the faith.

With that said, I did buy a new iPhone SE (3rd gen) 256 GB today, because I think it's going to be a long haul. Could be a 7 year phone for me.

What version of iOS did it come with when u activated it today? Thanks

 

[kerplunknet]

‎

 

[Jcmwwe]

17.2.1

Darn it.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I have over 200 flashlights (/r/flashlight and BLF shout-out) and many of them are constant current with no PWM used.

My LG OLED TV doesn't use PWM (an insignificant blip on one horizontal line of pixels is detected by measuring tools, but it's not PWM, and it does not cause any issues).

There is hope. I just hate that everyone's solution is to increase the PWM frequency instead of not use PWM at all. Keep the faith.

With that said, I did buy a new iPhone SE (3rd gen) 256 GB today, because I think it's going to be a long haul. Could be a 7 year phone for me.

Right, there’s no technical reason that we have to expose ourselves to constant flickering. This could be solved one day, if not several generations ago, rather than forcing sensitive users to decide between 24/7 headaches or a newer iPhone.

Suffice to say I‘ve tested all of the latest iPhones in a store and none of them were usable. I lowered the brightness from 100% and quickly started getting the usual headaches/migraines from the standard iPhone 15. I’d prefer to be on iPhone 15 Pro, but in retrospect that was just as headache-inducing as past generations. It’s not even just headaches, my eyes don’t like focusing on the OLED which makes it unusable for real tasks.

So I’ll also replace my iPhone SE third-generation with another iPhone SE third-generation with the expectation of keeping it long-term, while holding out some hope that there will be a fix next generation when they switch to a more power-efficient display technology.

 

[MICHAELSD]

It is odd how iPhone 15 Plus was occasionally much more usable than average for a smartphone OLED and I could barely get through five minutes with iPhone 15, but it is probably still wiser to get another iPhone SE and wait to see if there is a significant upgrade to iPhone 16.

 

[badger1212]

I've had a lot more migraines during the last couple of weeks than normal and I wonder if my iPhone 11 has been causing it. I have gone back to it after an iPhone 15 pro max I tried for 3 weeks which gave me headaches. The 11 had started giving me eye pain round about October last year which probably would have been after the update to iOS17. Has anyone found the SE3 more comfortable than the 11 (even though they are both LCD)?

 

[DJTaurus]

I've had a lot more migraines during the last couple of weeks than normal and I wonder if my iPhone 11 has been causing it. I have gone back to it after an iPhone 15 pro max I tried for 3 weeks which gave me headaches. The 11 had started giving me eye pain round about October last year which probably would have been after the update to iOS17. Has anyone found the SE3 more comfortable than the 11 (even though they are both LCD)?

To me se3 is like oleds.

 

[Jcmwwe]

I've had a lot more migraines during the last couple of weeks than normal and I wonder if my iPhone 11 has been causing it. I have gone back to it after an iPhone 15 pro max I tried for 3 weeks which gave me headaches. The 11 had started giving me eye pain round about October last year which probably would have been after the update to iOS17. Has anyone found the SE3 more comfortable than the 11 (even though they are both LCD)?

People r saying that some changes in iOS 17 is causing it.

 

[Jcmwwe]

Is this ios17 eye issue just a iPhone problem or is the iOS 17 issue also on iPad’s also?