Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[jimmy_uk]

iPhone 17: Everything We Know | MacRumors

Planned for September 2025, the iPhone 17 models could feature larger display sizes, ProMotion across the lineup, Wi-Fi 7, and more.

www.macrumors.com

Display​

There are a few enhancements coming to the iPhone 17's display, with Apple adding a new coating and planning to bring Pro features to standard models.
The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air are expected to use the same OLED panel as the current iPhone 16 Pro models, which is sourced from Samsung. The panel has a 30 percent increase in brightness and improved longevity compared to the prior-generation iPhone 16 display.
The iPhone 17 Pro models may be updated with a scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that will cut down on glare while also preventing minor scratches and other screen damage. It is said to be more durable than the current Ceramic Shield coating.

ProMotion and Always-On​

The 120Hz "ProMotion" refresh rate has been limited to the Pro versions of the iPhone for several years, but in 2025, it is expected to expand to the entire iPhone lineup. Multiple rumors suggest that the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air models will include ProMotion support in addition to the iPhone 17 Pro models. ProMotion refresh rates would potentially allow for always-on display functionality, but it is not clear if Apple plans to expand always-on to the entire lineup.
Apple will use low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) panels for all iPhone 17 models, which is what enables ProMotion thanks to better power efficiency. ProMotion enables refresh rates ranging from 1Hz to 120Hz, and at the high end, the 120Hz refresh rate provides smoother scrolling and video content.

With all four iPhones slated to get ProMotion displays in 2025, ProMotion refresh rates will no longer be a feature that sets the Pro iPhone models apart.



Chatgpt:

What’s Known About M14 OLED:

• Samsung’s M14 OLED is a next-generation OLED panel that brings notable enhancements in brightness, efficiency, and longevity, thanks to improved materials (including deuterium across RGB subpixels)
• These improvements are about light quality and durability, but none of the reports mention any changes to PWM characteristics or flicker behavior.

 

[PwmMen]

The iPhone 16 Plus has been working for me for a year now.
I'll test the iPhone 17 Pro Max and set it to 60Hz right away. 60Hz is enough for me and my eyes.
If it doesn't work, luckily I have the iPhone 16 Plus, which is excellent, and I don't need to use the iPhone SE anymore.

 

[Abiyork]

I've not tried the 16e but tempted after a couple of success stories on here.

It may be that it comes down in price too when the 17 series comes out soon?

 

[ghanwani]

I try all phones as soon as they come out and none have worked for me so far. I'll be trying all the new ones too but from everything I have read about new ones, there's nothing to be hopeful. My issue is with both with PWM and temporal dithering so none of the displays (macbook, ipad, iphone) of currently sold products work, not even ipad pro with nano texture.

 

[Martius]

Same thing since iPhone X (2017). Health first, isn't Apple?

Well, 90% of my phone usage are messages, calls and camera. I need a new phone, so I will try to look at the screen as little as possible. I don't have much hopes for iPhone 17 to be better. One day, when the big manufacturers will search for a new "feature", they will address this issue. But they know they need to market it well, so nobody will sue them for those crappy displays hurting our eyes and brain for so many years.

 

[Abiyork]

I wonder if there will be some legislation in the future that screens have to adhere to certain rules around eye health. Even if there was something to disable that, whilst in detriment to the screen performance, would deem it usable by all.

 

[ghanwani]

I wonder if there will be some legislation in the future that screens have to adhere to certain rules around eye health. Even if there was something to disable that, whilst in detriment to the screen performance, would deem it usable by all.

This seems to have been largely missed by the medical community, so what would be the basis for legislation?

 

[AshX]

This seems to have been largely missed by the medical community, so what would be the basis for legislation?

It’s partially because there has been a lack of research into these particular technologies and also because of a lack of knowledge among users. Most people are unaware PWM and dithering even exists and instead blame symptoms on blue light, screen time, and age. It’s only within the last 5-7 years as companies like Apple have shifted to OLED which relies heavily on PWM and as dithering has been utilized more often to render the P3 colorspace across devices, especially LCD, that more and more users have been affected. At least that is my theory.

We are shifting from sRGB to P3 at a breakneck pace as companies race to market new displays as the most vibrant and PWM modulation is getting worse as smartphone brightness increases. This is a byproduct of a race to beat competitors in terms of display benchmarks, at the expense of health.

As far as the health basis for a lawsuit, you’d be initially relying on decades worth of established epilepsy research. It’s been determined Apple Silicon MacBooks are applying spatiotemporal dithering via the GPU occurring at approximately 15Hz over 4 frames per refresh cycle on a 60Hz refresh rate device. Additionally older Macs and newer Macs have TCON FRC (done via the display panel itself) at approximately 30Hz. These frequencies are well within the epileptic danger zone of 15-30Hz which can trigger seizures, and has triggered them in sensitive users.

More research would have to be done, but the science and data is there.

 

[jimmy_uk]

So, who's ready for the emotional roller coaster and considering going in on a 17 to see if anything has changed?

As always, I'm tempted to try a Pro in the hope it has been updated - being the top of the tree. That said, a standard 17 is all I need (and it comes in black). I assume the 17 will just have a 16 display?

Having seen the 17 Air presentation, it is a stunner.

 

[pwm away]

I assume the 17 will just have a 16 display?

More like a 16 Pro display. The 17 has a 6.3" screen with ProMotion.

 

[jaapnl]

Hey hey. Obligatory checking in due to the event. Still no word from Apple on anything related to this huh. Really is a sad state of affairs. Sticking to my (decent) panel, whichever it may be, since they’d never disclose of the specifics, version of iPhone 13 for another year, suppose I should be grateful.

 

[dannyh5319]

So, who's ready for the emotional roller coaster and considering going in on a 17 to see if anything has changed?

As always, I'm tempted to try a Pro in the hope it has been updated - being the top of the tree. That said, a standard 17 is all I need (and it comes in black). I assume the 17 will just have a 16 display?

Having seen the 17 Air presentation, it is a stunner.

Not looking forward to it but might get the 17 pro to try out

 

[MICHAELSD]

To no one’s surprise, 17 Air still flickers 💔

 

[VineRider]

iPhone 17 Models Include Toggle to Disable Screen Flickering (PWM)

The iPhone 17 models include an Accessibility setting to disable pulse width modulation (PWM), according to information found in the iOS 26 release...

www.macrumors.com

Interesting - This might help some that have PWM sensitivity

 

[du57in]

I’m blown away right now. I never thought I’d see the day.

 

[Maven1975]

Hell has frozen over!!!!!

Thank heavens! Now I can take good pictures of 3i/Atlas 🤓✌️

 

[john g.]

I'm hopeful this will help but I'm also a little skeptical. That said though, I'm ordering one first thing Friday morning!

 

[Heman87]

iPhone 17 Models Include Toggle to Disable Screen Flickering (PWM)

The iPhone 17 models include an Accessibility setting to disable pulse width modulation (PWM), according to information found in the iOS 26 release...

www.macrumors.com

Interesting - This might help some that have PWM sensitivity

 

[ghanwani]

So, who's ready for the emotional roller coaster and considering going in on a 17 to see if anything has changed?

As always, I'm tempted to try a Pro in the hope it has been updated - being the top of the tree. That said, a standard 17 is all I need (and it comes in black). I assume the 17 will just have a 16 display?

Having seen the 17 Air presentation, it is a stunner.

I'm going to try it in store. I will know within minutes.

 

[ghanwani]

I’m blown away right now. I never thought I’d see the day.

No word on disabling temporal dithering, though.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I’m blown away right now. I never thought I’d see the day.

I gasped and exclaimed when I saw the headline. Once I read the post though I became skeptical that this wouldn’t fully disable all flickering and still cause headaches like other phones I’ve tried that had settings to reduce flickering, but there is a lot of hope that this will literally disable flickering and not just the high-modulation PWM.

This could be the climax moment of this entire thread. 🤞

 

[MICHAELSD]

I feel like I’m going to get my hopes up so as of right now I’m still going to operate under the assumption that iPhone 17 Pro will be exactly the same as the previous generation until proven otherwise. This needs to be as nonexistent as the flicker of an Apple LCD for me for this setting to work. I’d like to think they would only finally release an Accessibility setting once that was the case, but I don’t want to stray on the side of naivety.

 

[JM]

Big ❤️ to all y’all.

Hope this helps.

 

[goldmac2006]

iPhone 17 Models Include Toggle to Disable Screen Flickering (PWM)

The iPhone 17 models include an Accessibility setting to disable pulse width modulation (PWM), according to information found in the iOS 26 release...

www.macrumors.com

Interesting - This might help some that have PWM sensitivity

The moment we’ve been waiting for.

Also the remaining LCD display iPhone , the iPhone 11 with the Liquid Retina display like it’s older (and not compatible with iOS 26) counterpart the iPhone XR, they will be losing compatibility with iOS soon an eventually and all the OLED display iPhones 12 and above will be the only ones

 

[AshX]

No word on disabling temporal dithering, though.

Yep. This is still a major problem. But, if this “disable PWM” feature actually works, it proves Apple can just roll out something like Stillcolor that disables GPU dithering and even TCON FRC in the same Accessibility section. It’s just a matter of putting enough pressure on them to realize flicker sensitivity applies to all forms of flicker, not just PWM.

I know not everyone here has a diagnosed neurological, autoimmune, or chronic health issue, but for many of us it is a matter of a disability and Apple seems to finally be recognizing they must give affected users the option to disable these techniques that produce flicker, in all forms. It is a matter of health and for some having a seizure vs. not having a seizure.

If this turns out to be legit and Apple gives us the option to disable all forms of dithering, too, I’ll gladly pay the $1099. And I know many in the community would happily upgrade their devices both for personal and business use across the board if Apple begins taking this seriously. There are over 7,000 of us on the r/PWM_subreddit alone, not to mention LEDstrain, this forum, and other communities. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s not nothing in terms of dollars. They’ve neglected this community of affected users for nearly a decade. We always told them there was money to be had; all it took was minimal accommodations.

P.S. I don’t think we should have to pay a premium for accommodations, but if you’ve dealt with any form of disability, you know you’d gladly pay whatever to not suffer. Hopefully this will apply to multiple iPhone models, but I would question how effective it will be if they haven’t matched the hardware to enable true DC dimming.