Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[MICHAELSD]

Anyone find anything on the new iPads yet? Probably too soon but I'm seeing lots of hands-on stuff already.

“The M4 chip is built with second-generation 3nm technology and features a new display engine.”

Possible that the new display technology has improved/fixed this? Tandem OLED is new at least. I’ll have to watch the full event. Hypothetically if Apple fixed this on the iPad then it would probably bode well for the iPhone.

 

[du57in]

“The M4 chip is built with second-generation 3nm technology and features a new display engine.”

Possible that the new display technology has improved/fixed this? Tandem OLED is new at least. I’ll have to watch the full event. Hypothetically if Apple fixed this on the iPad then it would probably bode well for the iPhone.

I would say I don’t want to get my hopes up but too late! Exciting news.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I would say I don’t want to get my hopes up but too late! Exciting news.

“New display engine” is really what we want to hear.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I would say I don’t want to get my hopes up but too late! Exciting news.

Although, to be fair, the new Tandem OLED display is highly sophisticated and would require a new display engine regardless. We can only hope that they took the opportunity to take a better approach to display flickering as they developed the super-color-accurate, super-bright Ultra Retina XDR.

 

[Heman87]

Although, to be fair, the new Tandem OLED display is highly sophisticated and would require a new display engine regardless. We can only hope that they took the opportunity to take a better approach to display flickering as they developed the super-color-accurate, super-bright Ultra Retina XDR.

You can see here that the screen flickers

 

[kerplunknet]

You can see here that the screen flickers

Yuck. They are clearly flickering.

Thanks for posting this.

 

[MICHAELSD]

You can see here that the screen flickers

Notebookcheck in one month:

The iPad Pro Tandem OLED flickers at 240Hz. However, the flickering is constant and similar to DC dimming so it should present a problem only to very sensitive users.

Very sensitive users:

😢

 

[Leindt]

They don't care about us 😢

 

[MICHAELSD]

It is odd how they’ll spend time and resources developing display technology that can reach a peak brightness of 1,600 nits rather than addressing display flickering.

 

[kerplunknet]

It is odd how they’ll spend time and resources developing display technology that can reach a peak brightness of 1,600 nits rather than addressing display flickering.

I'm sure their engineers are just like many people on these forums -- their opinion is that there is no issue, so why spend time trying to fix it?

It's a totally incorrect opinion, of course, and I am still flabbergasted that we finally got to a point of flicker-free computer monitors and most devices only to be back in the same flickering hellhole we are in today.

 

[now i see it]

It’s because not enough people complain- or even notice it.
“most” people aren’t bothered by the flickering inherent in all OLED screens.

 

[MICHAELSD]

It’s because not enough people complain- or even notice it.
“most” people aren’t bothered by the flickering inherent in all OLED screens.

That’s fair: if it’s not a direct problem to 99.9% of users, is there an issue at all?

That still doesn’t help us when we get 24/7 headaches that only arise from using these flickering displays. Color accuracy, HDR, brightness, motion handling, etc. are their priorities.

Not that I don’t think fixing this will make Apple’s displays easier on the eyes for all users.

 

[GlenK]

I've posted this before but I still believe there is a good size number of people who are affected but simply haven't connected the dots. The last phone I returned I told the AT&T clerk about the issue and she said, I never heard that maybe that's why I have a headache all the time. She's been going to the dr but they couldn't figure out the issue.

 

[kerplunknet]

I've posted this before but I still believe there is a good size number of people who are affected but simply haven't connected the dots. The last phone I returned I told the AT&T clerk about the issue and she said, I never heard that maybe that's why I have a headache all the time. She's been going to the dr but they couldn't figure out the issue.

Totally agree with you. My girlfriend has iPhone 15 Pro Max and she complains about headaches all the time. I told her it's her phone, but she REFUSES TO LISTEN. It's insane how in denial people are about this. They can't believe Apple has betrayed their customers and use this abhorrent flickering display technology.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Totally agree with you. My girlfriend has iPhone 15 Pro Max and she complains about headaches all the time. I told her it's her phone, but she REFUSES TO LISTEN. It's insane how in denial people are about this. They can't believe Apple has betrayed their customers and use this abhorrent flickering display technology.

Even go to an Apple Store and employees have friends/family affected. It’s crazy this isn’t addressed.

I’d be willing to bet it affects a wider percentage of users to various degrees than Apple’s internal research would have shown. They must know there is a subset of users that can only use LCD iPhones due to the flickering.

 

[now i see it]

Now that I’ve become very attuned to flickering light sources - as in I now can clearly notice it in all bulbs that flicker - except incandescent bulbs since the modulation on those is so smoothed out / I really despise the flickering LED light bulbs that have replaced the standard frosted bulb used in lamps. They’re flicker monsters too! I’m also losing tolerance to fluorescent lighting since those obviously flicker at 60hz also.

Once you notice this crap, I don’t think you can ever unsee it.
All I know is that it’s incandescent bulbs for me from now on.

Says Now I see it. Ha

 

[jimmy_uk]

Is anyone being the iPad OLED test subject?

 

[kerplunknet]

Now that I’ve become very attuned to flickering light sources - as in I now can clearly notice it in all bulbs that flicker - except incandescent bulbs since the modulation on those is so smoothed out / I really despise the flickering LED light bulbs that have replaced the standard frosted bulb used in lamps. They’re flicker monsters too! I’m also losing tolerance to fluorescent lighting since those obviously flicker at 60hz also.

Once you notice this crap, I don’t think you can ever unsee it.
All I know is that it’s incandescent bulbs for me from now on.

Says Now I see it. Ha

I've had great success with Waveform Lighting's A19 bulbs. I can't measure any PWM at all, and they claim they are completely flicker-free. I think the PWM rate is just insanely high.

CENTRIC HOME™ Flicker-Free A19 10W LED Bulb

Available in 2700K or 3000K Completely flicker-free light output (Learn More) Full spectrum, 95 CRI light quality (Learn More) Compatible with global voltage input (AC90-240V/50-60Hz) Conveniently screws into any standard E26 or E27 Edison socket 10 Watt power consumption 800 lumens - equivalent...

store.waveformlighting.com

I highly recommend them. 3000K is what I use.

Oh, and they are 95 CRI. They offer beautiful color rendering.

Thanks to these bulbs, this is one light source I don't have to worry about anymore.

FWIW, I also use their BR30 bulbs for my can lights. They used to claim they were flicker-free as well, but now they say: 6% or less flicker & flicker index of 0.02 -- confirmed through my own measurements. They are still very good if you need this format of bulb.

 

[ocean10]

Notebookcheck in one month:

The iPad Pro Tandem OLED flickers at 240Hz. However, the flickering is constant and similar to DC dimming so it should present a problem only to very sensitive users.

Very sensitive users:

😢

I'm ever so slightly hopefully because I was able to use the Vision Pro without any issues. I know it's theorized that could be because of the two screens on the Vision Pro but there was definitely a difference in the "quality" of light. It looked much more "normal". For modern iPhones it's instantaneous for me when I look at them that something is off. (Less than a minute of use will give me symptoms for sometimes hours afterwards.) I've seen videos of the Vison Pro that show there is definitely flicker on the screens. Not sure what makes it different but I'm just hoping something new in how they are rendering graphics will help us.

I'm one of the group that also can't use the LCD iPhones/iPads once they've been updated to later versions of iOS 15 and 16 (and also what seems like all versions of iOS 17). Those updates make previously perfect devices (like the original iPad Pro, iPhone 7, 8, SE2 etc.) unusable for many of us as well. I also wear an Apple Watch Series 6 that is OLED and has PWM but gives me no issues no matter how long/close I look at it.

For a while I attributed all of these problems to be the difference between OLED and LCDs but now I have LCD devices that are unusable but also an OLED device that IS useable. This makes me wonder how much of this is a software/rendering issue and if something will change (or if we could get Apple to tell us what is different maybe we could figure out what's causing the problem for many of us)

 

[now i see it]

how much of this is a software/rendering issue

The drivers for the LEDs are 100% software. It is 100% software that’s creating the flickering. The LEDs just do what they’re told to do.

 

[jimmy_uk]

I just had to visit my local Apple Store to see the new iPads.

First up was the iPad Pro 13. After just five minutes of use, I felt my vision start to blur and a wave of discomfort coming over my shoulders, a very unsettling and fast reaction. Yes, this device would definitely ruin me.
The thinness I could care less about but the weight reduction is appreciated. The nano display wouldn't be my pick. The Magic keyboard is much better quality now.

Next, I tried the iPad Pro 11. I was disappointed to see the jelly/angled scroll while in portrait mode. My vision still felt blurry.

Then, I moved on to the iPad Air 11. Very lightly pressing on the back with a normal finger grip showed on the front of the digitiser, just like last year’s Air. The iPad Air 13 didn’t have this issue. The screen looked okay and felt fine on my eyes, but I don't think either of the Air models are worth the price (especially when you can buy refurbished iPad Pro M1s). So, I put it back on the table and shrugged them off.

Last of the iPads - iP10. Very lightly pressing on the back with a normal finger grip showed on the front of the digitiser, just like the Air. The screen was a lot yellower than the Airs - I did not like this. I don't think I would buy a 10 as it only has 4GB of RAM so not future proofed + I don't like its keyboard accessory. It felt ok on my vision but the air gap was distracting.

Afterwards, I visited the iPhone table. Instead of touching the Pro Max as I normally would, I used the 15 Plus. It felt fine for the ten minutes I used it. While this isn’t long enough to determine if it would work for me in the long term, it has me considering a purchase. A larger iPhone would fill some of the gap left by not owning an iPad as I'm still doing everything on my iPhone 11. I'm starting to get frustrated with constant app reloads on my 11.

I did buy the 15PM on launch day and it was fine in the evening I used it but the next day my vision whited out when I opened my curtains in the morning and the sun hit my eyes. I had a lot of eye strain which led to a migraine - so maybe this should be my last lesson in not using any Apple OLED device....

In all cases, I turned off true tone and reduced to 80% brightness.

Frustratingly and worryingly, now that I’m back at my desk using my Mac Studio, my vision still feels slightly blurred in my right eye! That new iPad Pro OLED is definitely not for me! I'm starting to think that for whatever reason, looking at these displays is making my eyes react and start to dry and this is interfering with my contact lenses. I have lenses that have a combination of three hydrating agents so blinking refreshes them and yet my vision remains lightly blurred.

 

[jrajpaul]

I just had to visit my local Apple Store to see the new iPads.

First up was the iPad Pro 13. After just five minutes of use, I felt my vision start to blur and a wave of discomfort coming over my shoulders. Yes, this device would definitely ruin me.
The thinness I could care less about but the weight reduction is appreciated. The nano display wouldn't be my pick. The Magic keyboard is much better quality now.

Next, I tried the iPad Pro 11. I was disappointed to see the jelly/angled scroll while in portrait mode. My vision still felt blurry.

Then, I moved on to the iPad Air 11. Very lightly pressing on the back with a normal finger grip showed on the front of the digitiser, just like last year’s Air. The iPad Air 13 didn’t have this issue. The screen looked okay and felt fine on my eyes, but I don't think either of the Air models are worth the price (especially when you can buy refurbished iPad Pro M1s). So, I put it back on the table and shrugged them off.

Last of the iPads - iP10. Very lightly pressing on the back with a normal finger grip showed on the front of the digitiser, just like the Air. The screen was a lot yellower than the Airs - I did not like this. I don't think I would buy a 10 as it only has 4GB of RAM so not future proofed + I don't like its keyboard accessory. It felt ok on my vision but the air gap was distracting.

Afterwards, I visited the iPhone table. Instead of touching the Pro Max as I normally would, I used the 15 Plus. It felt fine for the ten minutes I used it. While this isn’t long enough to determine if it would work for me in the long term, it has me considering a purchase. A larger iPhone would fill some of the gap left by not owning an iPad and still doing everything on my iPhone 11.

In all cases, I turned off true tone and reduced to 80% brightness.

Frustratingly and worryingly, now that I’m back at my desk using my Mac Studio, my vision still feels slightly blurred in my right eye! That new iPad Pro OLED is definitely not for me! I'm starting to think that for whatever reason, looking at these displays is making my eyes react and start to dry and this is interfering with my contact lenses. I have lenses that have a combination of three hydrating agents so blinking refreshes them and yet my vision remains lightly blurred?

If you are getting blurred vision from using displays, it may be that your eye muscles are straining when viewing content up close. When you do your next eye assessment, ask your optometrist to test for binocular vision dysfunction. If they add a small amount of prism to your prescription it eliminates the blurred vision issue after using screens. It’s helped my eyes tremendously. I still can’t use oled comfortably but it has improved my usage of my wife’s iPhone 14 which I can tolerate for a few minutes. Previously I couldn’t use it

 

[now i see it]

Yep. I’m no eye doctor but I bet you strained your eye focusing muscles screwing around with that toxic OLED iPad. Once the muscles recover, you’ll be fine. You definitely didn’t permanently damage anything.

The vision pro googles come with health warnings. All Apple products should too.