Apple’s new displays for its IOS devices, X/XS/Max iPhones and 2018 iPads, are clearly very different from their predecessors. And people are reacting to them differently. It’s hard to know exactly what is causing some users to have adverse reactions, visually and neurologically, to these displays. I have posted on this thread and much more exentisvely on the larger “Eye-strain while using iPhone X” (and XS/Max) thread. That thread has extensive discussion about the XR as an alternative.
I am a long, die-hard fan of Apple products. I have upgraded my iPhone and iPad every cycle when a new model was released since 2008. I think I have owned 10 iPhones and 7 iPads. Last year I opted for the 8 plus over the XS because of size (form factor). In the current 2018 release cycle, I have tried and returned the XS Max, XR and 3rd Generation 12.9” iPad Pro because of issues with the screen technology and weariness at looking at their displays.
Obviously, the XS phones that use OLED technology and low level PCM scanning have different and perhaps more acute issues than those with the Liquid Retina displays. I found the screen in the XS Max very difficult to tolerate. Last week, someone had a Samsung Galaxy S9 phone that they let me use which also uses OLED and I found absolutely no ssues using it. It’s a wonderful OLED display and much better than an LCD I have used (no I’m not jumping to Adroid).
The impact of Face-ID w/and with/out atttention awareness turned on is another factor that can only be speculated on. I find the way it does auto-logins by flashing “face-ID” with a skull and crossbones-like icon, to be downright creepy, and discomfiting.
I found the Liquid Retina LCDs on both the XR and 3rd Gen ipad to also be much less comfortable to read text on than their predecessors and I also found the text to be less clear, particularly on the XR which has a lower PPI. But I could see some graininess on both the iPad and iPhone XR iterations. Lilliputian font sizes on the XR which are harder to read add to the mix of undesirable visual aspects of that display. Using the Zoom display mode on this devices did nothing to resolve the discomfort and reduced other undesirable results such as text that wraps more so than my 8Plus. Word wrapping, particularly of titles, can contribute the mental effort required to glean and absorb text.
“Overg’ (post 192 above) I think has pretty much captured how some users experience the XS and XR and I would add the 3rd Gen iPad which uses a similar Liquid Retina screen. All of these are simply less comfortable (in the case of the XS really uncomfortable) to view and absorb content on, notably text..... for some users, to varying degrees who have posted on this and the XS eyestain thread.
The eyes must work harder, the display is starker and seemingly flatter and there is more glare. That’s what I have found anyway and Overg sums it up very well. Discomfort is very subjective, but people can feel when something is just not right, even if they are not sure what it is. Since my dog loves the adulation he gets at the Apple Store nearby (he’s a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier), I have made the pilgrimage down there and kicked the tires on these devices even though I have returned them, trying to figure out what the issue was.
And I can’t. I suspect it may have to do with a new anti-reflective coating on the displays. Such coatings can cause visual disturbance and/or weariness for some users. it may have to do with changes Apple made to accommodate rounded corners. Whatever it is, the Liquid Retina displays have a lot more in common, when viewed in person, with the OLED screens of the XS/Max than they do with the screens of the 6/7/8 phones and pre-3rd generation iPads.
I can well understand why so many users, at least on these threads, are rejecting Apple’s new displays and returning to the safe harbor of their “legacy” devices, hoping (probably futilely) that Apple will change its tune on display technologies for IOS devices.
