iPad Pro Do you think OLED iPad Pro will cause PWM issues to sensitive people?

[Populus]

I open this thread to speculate about the upcoming OLED screens that the next M3 iPad Pro is going to come with, and wether you think it will be causing eye soreness issues to PWM sensitive people or not. In the future when the new iPad Pro are released, I will rename this thread for people to share their experiences regarding the new iPad Pros and PWM.

So, for now, let’s speculate. The OLED screen that the next iPad Pro is carrying is an hybrid display, with two layers. Maybe the two layers will cancel each others PWM, or maybe it will cause more issues. Or maybe Apple will implement DC dimming on this OLED iPads, what do you think?

I’m not sure if I’ll sell my current iPad Pro to get the M3, mainly because it will be very expensive, and because the PWM sensitivity I have. But if the next OLED iPad Pros don’t have this problem, the M3 iPad Pro could become very attractive to me, especially if it comes with an appropriate keyboard.

 

[okkibs]

Many iPhone models have low frequency PWM flickering, thus I believe it likely that an OLED iPad too will flicker - Apple obviously doesn't care.

Unless you have the 11" version, which would see a considerable display upgrade with the OLED switch, you should stick with a 12.9" M1/M2 model as that has less problematic high frequency PWM flicker, and the miniLED display is plenty decent aside from the blooming around highlights and from my experience it's merely somewhat annoying.

For me the iPad hardware is really good enough as is, since the M1 models. Few workflows can make use of the M1, let alone the M2. The 8GiB will suffice for the next couple years as well. I'll revisit the idea of purchasing a new iPad around 2030. And whatever display tech they have then, be it OLED or microLED, I am sure it will be a decent upgrade over 2022/2023 models.

Until then, all these Mx upgrades, display upgrades and so on feel very incremental/small to me. And since the PWM flickering is currently at a very high frequency I'd think at best new models will remain like that and at worst get that "iPhone-style" 59Hz flicker.

 

[ericwn]

One would hope that less people would be affected by a newer technology but who knows. Will I sell my M1 Pro for an M3? Rather unlikely.

 

[Shirasaki]

Apple will never care about anything but money. So, they will not be bothered to care about PWM issues regardless. I would go with LCD display before OLED because, let’s face it, how many people actually take full benefit of OLED display From day to day use? Id argue not too many. Current LCD technology is plenty good enough.

 

[rui no onna]

Apple sells a crap ton more iPhones than iPads and almost all iPhone models are OLED bar the SE3.

Apple never cared about PWM on the iPhone so I don’t see them caring about it on the iPad either.

In any case, I’m not worried about my M1 iPP feeling slow anytime soon.

 

[Populus]

Me neither, but I know the M3 is going to be so awesome and efficient, and Apple is going to blow us with the next iPad Pro design, that I’m a bit sad about not being able to adapt myself to OLED technology. We’ll see, it’s a double stack display, maybe the effects are not that bad (or maybe they are worse).

 

[rui no onna]

Me neither, but I know the M3 is going to be so awesome and efficient, and Apple is going to blow us with the next iPad Pro design, that I’m a bit sad about not being able to adapt myself to OLED technology. We’ll see, it’s a double stack display, maybe the effects are not that bad (or maybe they are worse).

It’s a rectangular slab with a glass front.

Honestly, the design is pretty much as efficient as it can get barring camera placement. Until we get foldable iPads, I really don’t see what changes Apple can make to be able to wow me with a new design.

OLED itself isn’t going to wow me as it gives me headaches. I expect M3 will just be an evolution from M2 rather than a revolution.

 

[Populus]

It’s a rectangular slab with a glass front.

Honestly, the design is pretty much as efficient as it can get barring camera placement. Until we get foldable iPads, I really don’t see what changes Apple can make to be able to wow me with a new design.

OLED itself isn’t going to wow me as it gives me headaches. I expect M3 will just be an evolution from M2 rather than a revolution.

You think the M3 will be an evolution, I feel the M3 will be a (r)evolution -with a much bigger neural engine, more CPU/GPU cores and maybe RayTracing-, but in any case, I think we’re good with the current pros, as long as Apple doesn’t start limiting them on the software side, but it’s still soon for that.

 

[Isengardtom]

I suppose they could make the bezels real slim and make sure there‘s still no accidental touches and indeed the much desired move of the camera.

Personally I’m looking forward to OLED but will evaluate if it’s worth it when it arrives.

what I do think they could score with is an upgraded Magic Keyboard Gen 2 and Apple Pencil Gen 3

Other than this, the real big evolution for the iPad is more going to be in the software

Personally not a big fan of foldable iPads unless they really can make the crease not appear at all. I have a friend who’s got a 2 year old Galaxy fold and the crease line is now a white stripe across the phone. No go for me

 

[pdoherty]

For me the iPad hardware is really good enough as is, since the M1 models. Few workflows can make use of the M1, let alone the M2. The 8GiB will suffice for the next couple years as well.

Current Pro 12.9s have 16GB as well (just not the lower tier ones). My 1TB model has 16GB.

 

[jimmy_uk]

Seeing as I cannot use any of the OLED iPhones, MiniLED iPad Pro and now the iPads with LCD and dithering ("liquid Retina"), I do not think for 1 second I will be able to use any OLED iPad. Apple doesn't care. It's not just PWM, dithering is also an issue.

 

[Populus]

Seeing as I cannot use any of the OLED iPhones, MiniLED iPad Pro and now the iPads with LCD and dithering ("liquid Retina"), I do not think for 1 second I will be able to use any OLED iPad. Apple doesn't care. It's not just PWM, dithering is also an issue.

Do you know if current iPad Pros use that temporal dithering?

 

[jimmy_uk]

Do you know if current iPad Pros use that temporal dithering?

I've tried all the 11" iPad Pros and all of them bothered my eyes sadly. Not as fierce as the OLED iPhones but still the usual eye strain/fatigue. iPad 9 is fine and I'm considering an iPad 10 to avoid dithering.

Reduce motion on, true tone off, attention aware off and brightness around 30% for comfort. All these features allow me to use the iPhone 11 but not the Pro iPads 🤷‍♂️.

 

[Populus]

I've tried all the 11" iPad Pros and all of them bothered my eyes sadly. Not as fierce as the OLED iPhones but still the usual eye strain/fatigue. iPad 9 is fine and I'm considering an iPad 10 to avoid Liquid Retina.

Reduce motion on, true tone off, attention aware off and brightness around 30% for comfort. All these features allow me to use the iPhone 11 but not the Pro iPads 🤷‍♂️.

I know this sounds crazy but are those 11” iPP you tried of 128GB or 256GB+? I ask this because I had to settle on a 128GB model due to the fact that the 256GB models caused me sore/red eyes.

Fortunately, I can comfortably use my current M2 iPad Pro.

 

[jimmy_uk]

I know this sounds crazy but are those 11” iPP you tried of 128GB or 256GB+? I ask this because I had to settle on a 128GB model due to the fact that the 256GB models caused me sore/red eyes.

Fortunately, I can comfortably use my current M2 iPad Pro.

It was always entry-level specs.

 

[jm31828]

I know this sounds crazy but are those 11” iPP you tried of 128GB or 256GB+? I ask this because I had to settle on a 128GB model due to the fact that the 256GB models caused me sore/red eyes.

Fortunately, I can comfortably use my current M2 iPad Pro.

What were your specific symptoms?

It’s the weirdest thing… I’ve tried the 11” pro, Air 5, and 9th gen- and they all cause dry eyes with a slight burning sensation. (iPhone se2 does, too- but not other lcd devices like my iMac 2017, or dell laptop)

I don’t get sore eyes, they don’t get red- so I am hopeful it’s not actually harmful.
Some days it’s very minimal, some days it’s more noticeable.

Oled displays bother me in different ways- I don’t get the dry eye feeling with my iPhone mini, but after using for very long, I can often get eye strain or a headache.