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Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

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Are you experiencing this issue?

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super chimp said:
Apparently that toggle seems to work for some but not others but it appears to be entirely potluck which way of the line you fall. I mean is it less sensitive people who are fine, and more sensitive who still have issues. Or is not that simple I wonder?
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I genuinely believe it is screen lottery and calibration that has a big part on the hardware front (along with modulation). For the users, with me I think it's my astigmatism that is the problem. Also I'm very sensitive to sound, feel, look etc.

It still stands that staring at flashing light is not good for you. After a full day of normal use on the 17 Pro yesterday, today my eyes feel sore and dry despite not using the phone anymore.
 
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Maven1975 said:
I would really love for this display to be put in a high spec device. With all the R&D, I can’t believe TCL has not thought about this by now.
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Perhaps they are building slowly to minimise risk. It's likely difficult to scale up a higher spec model that might not sell in large enough quantities vs the big brand players. Their tech is likely considered niche until more of the population realise that eye health is important.
 
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jimmy_uk said:
I genuinely believe it is screen lottery and calibration that has a big part on the hardware front (along with modulation). For the users, with me I think it's my astigmatism that is the problem. Also I'm very sensitive to sound, feel, look etc.

It still stands that staring at flashing light is not good for you. After a full day of normal use on the 17 Pro yesterday, today my eyes feel sore and dry despite not using the phone anymore.
Click to expand...

As well as astigmatism in both eyes I also have very slight amblyopia in one eye. Believe me it’s not a great combination when it comes to OLED screens.
 
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Uncohtwo said:
I’m currently testing the Air after being fairly successful with the 16 pro (LG panel) for the past 9 months. I do feel a new strain in my eyes with the Air; it’s mild (for now) but definitely present. I checked my panel and I have a G9Q (Samsung?). I have the PWM toggle on, fwiw. If it doesn’t smooth out and become perfect for me in the next few days the Air is going back and I’m sticking with the 16 pro.
Click to expand...
Update: the Air is going back. It was fine at times, but overall I experienced an ache in my eyes and a very slight feeling of nausea. To make things more fun, using my 16 pro now comes with more noticeable sharp eye discomfort.

So I decided to play the panel lottery and got another Air. Lucky for me, it has an LG panel (GVC serial) so I get to test the Samsung vs LG theory. I’ll report my findings when the experiment is over.
 
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Uncohtwo said:
Update: the Air is going back. It was fine at times, but overall I experienced an ache in my eyes and a very slight feeling of nausea. To make things more fun, using my 16 pro now comes with more noticeable sharp eye discomfort.

So I decided to play the panel lottery and got another Air. Lucky for me, it has an LG panel (GVC serial) so I get to test the Samsung vs LG theory. I’ll report my findings when the experiment is over.
Click to expand...
I just returned the 17 Pro which had the Samsung panel. I went back to the SE 2022, took 2 or 3 days for my eyes to recover. Swear I wouldn't buy another iPhone but I had to satisfy my curiosity so I bought Air to try out. Will see check which panel it has shortly. Guess I will probably suffer again.
 
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2mw2 said:
I just returned the 17 Pro which had the Samsung panel. I went back to the SE 2022, took 2 or 3 days for my eyes to recover. Swear I wouldn't buy another iPhone but I had to satisfy my curiosity so I bought Air to try out. Will see check which panel it has shortly. Guess I will probably suffer again.
Click to expand...
My early results are promising. I definitely feel better looking at this one than the last one.

May the odds be ever in your favor.
 
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Like Jimmy UK, I have elected to initiate a return for my 17 pro. Pretty bummed because the cameras were great and something I could've used with my work. Back to the 16e.
I didn't get headaches or anything but I was feeling like my nervous system was accelerated, almost tachycardia, and I was grouchy and not sleeping well and also just felt like a certain kind of dizziness. Very mild and sporadic but once I went back to the 16e I felt much more relaxed.

Hopefully, Apple can change some software algorithms with this PWM switch or even better try DC dimming or something.

Glad for those that it works for though.

Is Pwmmen the only one?
 
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john g. said:
Back to the 16e.
Click to expand...

It seems (subjectively speaking) that the 16e has worked for a greater number than usual (myself included).

If this article is to be trusted, then the 16e displayer supplier is BOE. I've previously seen info about BOE in the past, regarding their better PWM implementations, as well as it being used in some mid - high end phones that have better PWM implementations.
 
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pwm away said:
It seems (subjectively speaking) that the 16e has worked for a greater number than usual (myself included).

If this article is to be trusted, then the 16e displayer supplier is BOE. I've previously seen info about BOE in the past, regarding their better PWM implementations, as well as it being used in some mid - high end phones that have better PWM implementations.
Click to expand...
I have wondered about this as well. Some sources say that the 16e screen is identical to the 14 screen. Ironically, those are the only two OLED screens that have worked for me. In addition, some sources including notebook check, said that the PWM modulation rate[?] for the 14 screen was a super low 60 Hz. There was some speculation that because the low number matched the 60 Hz screen refresh rate that that was advantageous for some PWM sensitive folks.
Here is a link that I admit I don't understand, but deals with that theory a bit:

 
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pwm away said:
It seems (subjectively speaking) that the 16e has worked for a greater number than usual (myself included).

If this article is to be trusted, then the 16e displayer supplier is BOE. I've previously seen info about BOE in the past, regarding their better PWM implementations, as well as it being used in some mid - high end phones that have better PWM implementations.
Click to expand...
My daughter‘s 16e has a GVC (LG) display, so not all 16e seem to have BOE displays…

Edit: I didn‘t remember correctly as it was a while ago that I checked, my daughter‘s 16e panel is GVH, I tried to find out what manufacturer that is, some say LG, some say BOE, so not sure…
 
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john g. said:
super low 60 Hz
Click to expand...

Interesting ... checking the iPhone 16e review on Notebookcheck, it is also highlighted at 60Hz (albeit with a secondary frequency of ~480Hz, which I don't quite understand)

Screenshot 2025-10-02 at 18.05.12.png
 
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Uncohtwo said:
Update: the Air is going back. It was fine at times, but overall I experienced an ache in my eyes and a very slight feeling of nausea. To make things more fun, using my 16 pro now comes with more noticeable sharp eye discomfort.

So I decided to play the panel lottery and got another Air. Lucky for me, it has an LG panel (GVC serial) so I get to test the Samsung vs LG theory. I’ll report my findings when the experiment is over.
Click to expand...

How do you find out who made the screen on your iPhone?
 
john g. said:
Like Jimmy UK, I have elected to initiate a return for my 17 pro. Pretty bummed because the cameras were great and something I could've used with my work. Back to the 16e.
I didn't get headaches or anything but I was feeling like my nervous system was accelerated, almost tachycardia, and I was grouchy and not sleeping well and also just felt like a certain kind of dizziness. Very mild and sporadic but once I went back to the 16e I felt much more relaxed.

Hopefully, Apple can change some software algorithms with this PWM switch or even better try DC dimming or something.

Glad for those that it works for though.

Is Pwmmen the only one?
Click to expand...

I’m predisposed to tachycardia because of dysautonomia (POTS and IST). Low frequency high modulation flicker I have found to be the highest trigger. I have tested wearing a pulse oximeter on an M2 MacBook Pro Touchbar (no MiniLED PWM) and when I utilize Stillcolor to toggle dithering on or off, my heart rate will spike when dithering is enabled and then drop when disabled. You can of course feel the palpitations and nervous system engagement when dithering is occurring.

You’d have to do a microscope test under slow motion or a capture card test to confirm whether it is iOS 26 utilizing dithering or if it’s that the PWM modulation is so high that even if it’s at 240 or 480 Hz, it is essentially behaving as low frequency would because of the perceptible strobing effect by the brain.

pwm away said:
It seems (subjectively speaking) that the 16e has worked for a greater number than usual (myself included).

If this article is to be trusted, then the 16e displayer supplier is BOE. I've previously seen info about BOE in the past, regarding their better PWM implementations, as well as it being used in some mid - high end phones that have better PWM implementations.
Click to expand...

My OS is too old to unpack the files but I believe the iPhone 13’s also had BOE as a supplier.
 
My iPhone 13 (very usable for me 🙏) has a GH3 screen, which is LG. I read somewhere that someone supposed that GVC was the better LG screen, better than GH3, but GH3 seems great for my eyes…
 
Sorry everyone, I just checked again to be safe, my daughter‘s iPhone 16e has a GVH screen, not sure yet whether it is LG or BOE…
 
super chimp said:
Ordered an iPhone 17 Pro so wish me luck.

Can I repeat again how would I find out what screen make it is?
Click to expand...
Someone on Reddit explained how to find out, I copy and paste it here:

“For those wondering how to check your display manufacturer...

You can run sysdiagnose on your phone (press volume up, volume down, and lock button) all together for around a second. You will feel the phone vibrate.

Wait a couple of minutes and then go to Settings -> Privacy and Security -> Analytics and Improvements -> Analytics Data.

You will then scroll down and look for a file titled: sysdiagnose_XXXXXXXX.

You will click on that file and then dick the arrow in the upper right hand corner and scroll down and click “Save to Files” Once it is saved you will go into your files and click the file to unpack it.

Within the folder that is unpacked you will click on the folder “ioreg” and then click the file “IODeviceTree”.

You will then use the magnifying search glass in the bottom right hand corner to search “raw-panel”. It will then give you a serial number.

I have an LG display which has the beginning letters of GH3.

GVC is the best of the LG panels but not as good as Samsung’s best which is the G9N.

The top 3 panels are:

• Samsung G9N • Samsung G9Q • LG GVC

The worst panel is LG GH3.”
 
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