iPhone 15 Pro Anyone else find ProMotion Nauseating?

[bodonnell202]

I'll have to admit, I hadn't used an Apple device with ProMotion but was considering an upgrade and (for the first time since before Covid) went to visit an Apple Store to try out the new iPhones as 15 Pro/Max was a definite possibility. I was surprised to find that I found the display to be sort of nauseating. The effect was similar to a TV with motion interpolation/motion smoothing turned on (aka "the soap opera effect") which I know bugs some people and others don't even notice it. I also find interpolation nauseating and I almost returned the first TV I bought with it until I figured out how to turn it off, now turning off "motion smoothing" is the first thing I do when I get a new TV. Does ProMotion bother anyone else in the same way, or am I alone on this one? I ended up ordering a 15 Plus, and having never used a Plus/Max phone before hopefully I can adjust to the size.

 

[now i see it]

Yes- other people are nauseated by ProMotion too. It may be due to the variable refresh rate. If it locked on 120hz, I bet no one would be bothered.
Luckily you can turn it off.

 

[bodonnell202]

Yes- other people are nauseated by ProMotion too. It may be due to the variable refresh rate. If it locked on 120hz, I bet no one would be bothered.
Luckily you can turn it off.

Interesting. I guess that makes sense. I probably made the right choice then!

 

[Starscape]

Not at all for me. The television framerate interpolating feature definitely look weird and unnatural to me, but I really like the 120Hz iPad screen.

 

[christlinah]

It took me some minutes getting used to it but now there's definitively no going back anymore - it's a night and day difference when it comes to UI smoothness.

 

[dan428]

I'll have to admit, I hadn't used an Apple device with ProMotion but was considering an upgrade and (for the first time since before Covid) went to visit an Apple Store to try out the new iPhones as 15 Pro/Max was a definite possibility. I was surprised to find that I found the display to be sort of nauseating. The effect was similar to a TV with motion interpolation/motion smoothing turned on (aka "the soap opera effect") which I know bugs some people and others don't even notice it. I also find interpolation nauseating and I almost returned the first TV I bought with it until I figured out how to turn it off, now turning off "motion smoothing" is the first thing I do when I get a new TV. Does ProMotion bother anyone else in the same way, or am I alone on this one? I ended up ordering a 15 Plus, and having never used a Plus/Max phone before hopefully I can adjust to the size.

It’s just because your eyes aren’t accustomed to such smooth motion on a digital screen yet.. I’m sure you’d get used to it within days

 

[dan428]

Yes- other people are nauseated by ProMotion too. It may be due to the variable refresh rate. If it locked on 120hz, I bet no one would be bothered.
Luckily you can turn it off.

That makes no sense.. the rate isn’t visually variable at all times, it only drops when you aren’t touching it and it would be wasting refreshes unnecessarily, otherwise it locks into specific rates

 

[LiE_]

I'm in the same boat OP. When I use a phone with ProMotion I get motion sickness and a sort of spaced out sensation. I'm very sensitivity to the soap opera effect and cannot watch TV when it's enabled. I also cannot use VR as I find that I also get motion sickness. I couldn't play God of War because the FoV (field of view) was too narrow and panning the character caused me to get motion sickness.

It's not 120hz that is the issue it's the combination of 120hz and the animations. I can comfortably use 120hz Android phones and a 144hz 4K monitor without issue.

I had to return my 15 Pro and debating getting a regular 15 for the 60hz screen, even though I do notice it being less smooth.

 

[Torty]

Yes- other people are nauseated by ProMotion too. It may be due to the variable refresh rate. If it locked on 120hz, I bet no one would be bothered.
Luckily you can turn it off.

Turning it off looks bad because the pro motion display doesn’t blur like the 60hz displays.

 

[krspkbl]

Nah, i really like it. My TVs are both 120Hz and my PC monitor is 165hz so I'm used to high refresh rate displays. Pro Motion was one of the things i was most excited about when upgrading. 60Hz isn't bad but I'd rather not use it.

 

[MarkNewton2023]

I'll have to admit, I hadn't used an Apple device with ProMotion but was considering an upgrade and (for the first time since before Covid) went to visit an Apple Store to try out the new iPhones as 15 Pro/Max was a definite possibility. I was surprised to find that I found the display to be sort of nauseating. The effect was similar to a TV with motion interpolation/motion smoothing turned on (aka "the soap opera effect") which I know bugs some people and others don't even notice it. I also find interpolation nauseating and I almost returned the first TV I bought with it until I figured out how to turn it off, now turning off "motion smoothing" is the first thing I do when I get a new TV. Does ProMotion bother anyone else in the same way, or am I alone on this one? I ended up ordering a 15 Plus, and having never used a Plus/Max phone before hopefully I can adjust to the size.

This is interesting 🤔 I have not found pro motion is causing nausea on me. But, some people might be sensitive to it. Enjoy your 15 plus and larger size! 😊

 

[StudioMacs]

The effect was similar to a TV with motion interpolation/motion smoothing turned on (aka "the soap opera effect") which I know bugs some people and others don't even notice it.

Most people who are bothered by the soap opera effect object to it because it is a stylistic change to the original content. It alters the cinematic look and feel by removing the 24 frames per second look of film. It’s not an objection due to health reasons in most cases. If you‘ve ever set your Apple TV to 24 Hz, you can see how poor a framerate it is for smooth UI animation. Personally, I prefer smooth UI animations, especially on anything larger than an iPhone mini display.

 

[bodonnell202]

I'm in the same boat OP. When I use a phone with ProMotion I get motion sickness and a sort of spaced out sensation. I'm very sensitivity to the soap opera effect and cannot watch TV when it's enabled. I also cannot use VR as I find that I also get motion sickness. I couldn't play God of War because the FoV (field of view) was too narrow and panning the character caused me to get motion sickness.

It's not 120hz that is the issue it's the combination of 120hz and the animations. I can comfortably use 120hz Android phones and a 144hz 4K monitor without issue.

I had to return my 15 Pro and debating getting a regular 15 for the 60hz screen, even though I do notice it being less smooth.

Makes me wonder if Apple has not programmed the animations to run natively at 120hz and there is some sort of interpolation going on. It was definitely the animations that looked off to me. I’m apparently very sensitive to interpolation.

 

[bodonnell202]

Most people who are bothered by the soap opera effect object to it because it is a stylistic change to the original content. It alters the cinematic look and feel by removing the 24 frames per second look of film. It’s not an objection due to health reasons in most cases. If you‘ve ever set your Apple TV to 24 Hz, you can see how poor a framerate it is for smooth UI animation. Personally, I prefer smooth UI animations, especially on anything larger than an iPhone mini display.

I’m not a cinema purist who objects to stylistic changes. I can tell when there is interpolation happening as to me there is something unnatural about the way things move. If you’ve ever seen interpolated video slowed down it does introduce unnatural shapes in the interpolated frames so I assume I’m picking up on that. Content that runs natively at higher frame rates doesn’t bother me so I’m guessing some parts of the iOS UI must rely on interpolation when running at 120Hz on a promotion display.

 

[StudioMacs]

I’m not a cinema purist who objects to stylistic changes. I can tell when there is interpolation happening as to me there is something unnatural about the way things move. If you’ve ever seen interpolated video slowed down it does introduce unnatural shapes in the interpolated frames so I assume I’m picking up on that. Content that runs natively at higher frame rates doesn’t bother me so I’m guessing some parts of the iOS UI must rely on interpolation when running at 120Hz on a promotion display.

The movies are pre-rendered into individual frames, so the in between frames need to be interpolated to fill in the missing gaps needed to match the screen’s higher refresh rate.

The iPhone’s UI is closer to a video game, where images are rendered on the fly based on the screen‘s refresh rate.

 

[NeoSe7en]

I’m pretty susceptible to motion sickness and I’ve never had an issue with it.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Love Pro Motion on my 12.9 iPad Pro and am equally pleased with it on my 15 ProMax.

 

[KooL BeAnZ]

I've had up to 360Hz on Desktop PC's however I had to switch off PM on my iPhone as it gave me an instant headache.

Totally unexpected.

 

[I7guy]

I dislike the “soap-opera” effect on my TV and adjusted the settings so this wouldn’t occur.

I didn’t find the same type of thing with promotion on my 15PM - but I turned it off to save battery. I don’t find it made me nauseas or queasy.

 

[Dust-by-Monday]

I'm finding the complete opposite. Ever since getting the iPhone 15 Pro (had 12 mini before) the extra smoothness in motion is very easy on my eyes, however, using the iPhone 15 Pro with power saving on actually seems to strain my eyes more as it looks more like 30fps than 60.

I also just got a 240Hz monitor for my Mac, so now I no longer have any 60Hz displays in my life (except at work... ugh). I find the high refresh rate really seems to be easier to look at since anything else looks very stuttery to me.

 

[Harmonious Zen]

I'm finding the complete opposite. Ever since getting the iPhone 15 Pro (had 12 mini before) the extra smoothness in motion is very easy on my eyes, however, using the iPhone 15 Pro with power saving on actually seems to strain my eyes more as it looks more like 30fps than 60.

I also just got a 240Hz monitor for my Mac, so now I no longer have any 60Hz displays in my life (except at work... ugh). I find the high refresh rate really seems to be easier to look at since anything else looks very stuttery to me.

Congratulations, your eyes have now been officially ruined. You’ll never be able to use a low refresh rate device again. 😂

 

[dmr727]

Congratulations, your eyes have now been officially ruined. You’ll never be able to use a low refresh rate device again. 😂

Yep. This 15 Pro is gonna end up being the most expensive device I've purchased, as it already has me looking to upgrade my MBA to a MBP.

 

[barkomatic]

Like several people here, I can't stand motion smoothing on a TV and I also turn it off. On my computers and smartphones it's a must though. When I look at a screen stuck at 60hz it now looks broken to me.

 

[Mackilroy]

I'm glad ProMotion is gradually making its way through the iPhone lineup - I've had an iPad Pro with it for years, and my desktop has a 165Hz monitor attached. It can be a subtle thing, but it's still appreciated.

 

[Jackbequickly]

I can not say it bothers me, in fact I find it's effect nice with very smooth scrolling on both phone and iPad