Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up

[Heman87]

I have tried 3 iPhones 16 in the last year.
- the first one was pretty good with RWP
- the second one gave me headaches
- the third one made my eyes burn.

I don’t know what kind of screen they had. I’m just amazed how different these individual panels can be. So I just want to say the screen lottery is real!

 

[2mw2]

Just throwing a question out there, we see PWM everywhere in all sorts of LED lighting. Has there been any evidence shown that these lights themselves are impacting the ambient light sensors on the phone itself ?

 

[jtl_]

Just throwing a question out there, we see PWM everywhere in all sorts of LED lighting. Has there been any evidence shown that these lights themselves are impacting the ambient light sensors on the phone itself ?

In terms of auto brightness, or?

Can't say I've ever liked auto brightness.

 

[2mw2]

Yes. If I could go back to incandescent bulbs I would.

 

[ultravegeta1981]

I have tried 3 iPhones 16 in the last year.
- the first one was pretty good with RWP
- the second one gave me headaches
- the third one made my eyes burn.

I don’t know what kind of screen they had. I’m just amazed how different these individual panels can be. So I just want to say the screen lottery is real!

Yep,first 15 pro my eyes were watery,2nd 15 pro was ok. Same with first 16 pro and 2nd 16 pro which i could use alright. Really strange. They were all samsung displays.

 

[AshX]

Just throwing a question out there, we see PWM everywhere in all sorts of LED lighting. Has there been any evidence shown that these lights themselves are impacting the ambient light sensors on the phone itself ?

I don’t necessarily think it’s affecting the sensor. I notice in public lighting it becomes much more difficult to read text on my phone. I think it’s partially because at stores and restaurants there’s usually a lot of overhead LED and fluorescent lighting which produces glare on the iPhone screen.

The other aspect is often there is a variety of different mixed lighting sources. I see this a lot at malls or department stores where you have old fluorescent overhead lighting and then angled LED spotlights. So effectively you have multiple different lights flickering at different frequencies. It’s usually tolerable but as soon as I try to read even printed text it becomes a problem.

Contrast that to my lighting at home which is mostly warm GE LED bulbs in lamps that are not overhead and at a very high frequency and I have no problems. But if I’m directly under the recessed LED lighting in the kitchen for example it’s again difficult to read the phone, but printed text is tolerable.

Yep,first 15 pro my eyes were watery,2nd 15 pro was ok. Same with first 16 pro and 2nd 16 pro which i could use alright. Really strange. They were all samsung displays.

This to me just adds more data to the anecdotal reports of a serious variation in quality control. It also may explain why we are struggling so much to identify what makes a device good vs. bad because it’s clearly not just flicker (although that is probably the biggest driver here) but also the quality of the manufacturing itself.

 

[ultravegeta1981]

ze

I don’t necessarily think it’s affecting the sensor. I notice in public lighting it becomes much more difficult to read text on my phone. I think it’s partially because at stores and restaurants there’s usually a lot of overhead LED and fluorescent lighting which produces glare on the iPhone screen.

The other aspect is often there is a variety of different mixed lighting sources. I see this a lot at malls or department stores where you have old fluorescent overhead lighting and then angled LED spotlights. So effectively you have multiple different lights flickering at different frequencies. It’s usually tolerable but as soon as I try to read even printed text it becomes a problem.

Contrast that to my lighting at home which is mostly warm GE LED bulbs in lamps that are not overhead and at a very high frequency and I have no problems. But if I’m directly under the recessed LED lighting in the kitchen for example it’s again difficult to read the phone, but printed text is tolerable.



This to me just adds more data to the anecdotal reports of a serious variation in quality control. It also may explain why we are struggling so much to identify what makes a device good vs. bad because it’s clearly not just flicker (although that is probably the biggest driver here) but also the quality of the manufacturing itself.

dunno man its just weird. The screens have all the same specs provided by apple,so maybe the modulation depth are a bit different? Dunno and im gona sell my 17 pro,with a loss, and buy another one and hope for the best.

 

[AshX]

ze

dunno man its just weird. The screens have all the same specs provided by apple,so maybe the modulation depth are a bit different? Dunno and im gona sell my 17 pro,with a loss, and buy another one and hope for the best.

I know the feeling. I’ve returned and sold multiple Apple silicon Macs trying to find a usable one. It’s absolutely ridiculous that this is essentially all we can do, but that’s where we are.

 

[ultravegeta1981]

I know the feeling. I’ve returned and sold multiple Apple silicon Macs trying to find a usable one. It’s absolutely ridiculous that this is essentially all we can do, but that’s where we are.

Maybe best bet is to avoid the first batches,cause my second 15 pro and second 16 pro were ok,not perfect but ok. Since i have this 17 pro the moment ive started to use it i have watery eyes,with pwm off or on,with reduce whitepoint on or not. Hate it. My 16 pro was a blessing compared to this ****.

 

[jaapnl]

Maybe best bet is to avoid the first batches,cause my second 15 pro and second 16 pro were ok,not perfect but ok. Since i have this 17 pro the moment ive started to use it i have watery eyes,with pwm off or on,with reduce whitepoint on or not. Hate it. My 16 pro was a blessing compared to this ****.

Have had a similar experience with an iPhone 13, an early one with terrible color uniformity and blasting headaches and a later one with uniform screen and actually tolerable to an extent. Not sure if there's anything to it other than a variance in panel manufacturers and the specific variant, but an interesting coincidence if nothing else. But I'd say that the 13 that I still use is easier on the eyes than the 17 that I'm currently testing even with the PWM toggle sadly.

 

[YarosRed]

Hi everyone,
I’m choosing between three models — iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air.
Based on your experience, which one is better for eyes?

 

[now i see it]

My two brand new SE3 iPhones that were both factory sealed, I recently set up as clones and the two screens (LCD) are noticeably different. One has a very slight pinkish hue and better contrast.
One phone was manufactured Sept/2024 and the other Jan/2025.

So even with the "old school" LCD screens, there are panel variances. Panel variance has probably been true since the first iPhone.
Screen Lottery is real.

 

[PwmMen]

Hi everyone,
I’m choosing between three models — iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air.
Based on your experience, which one is better for eyes?

Here the iPhone 17 Pro Max. I have no issues.

 

[AshX]

My two brand new SE3 iPhones that were both factory sealed, I recently set up as clones and the two screens (LCD) are noticeably different. One has a very slight pinkish hue and better contrast.
One phone was manufactured Sept/2024 and the other Jan/2025.

So even with the "old school" LCD screens, there are panel variances. Panel variance has probably been true since the first iPhone.
Screen Lottery is real.

And these shipped on the original OS? Can you tell us more about which is more comfortable? Do you intend to upgrade their OS? Very curious how they will both compare.

 

[MICHAELSD]

My two brand new SE3 iPhones that were both factory sealed, I recently set up as clones and the two screens (LCD) are noticeably different. One has a very slight pinkish hue and better contrast.
One phone was manufactured Sept/2024 and the other Jan/2025.

So even with the "old school" LCD screens, there are panel variances. Panel variance has probably been true since the first iPhone.
Screen Lottery is real.

Yes, funnily enough I was also one of the first people to bring this to attention to the old sjobs@apple.com email address regarding the panel variance in MacBook Pro displays. I suppose I’ve always been hyper-perceptive to differences in displays.

Of course that didn’t give me eye strain or an issue, I just have a desire to own the best display possible especially when there’s potential variance involved.

 

[Heman87]

Yes so I cant relay on anything anymore 😂 the oppo testresults and notebookcheck and the positive/negative reviews from users aren’t saying a lot. It’s just a matter of luck. Did you get the right screen or not 😭

 

[now i see it]

And these shipped on the original OS? Can you tell us more about which is more comfortable? Do you intend to upgrade their OS? Very curious how they will both compare.

I know this is a eye-strain thread and my story below doesn't follow that theme directly, but the SE3 is definitely an valid consideration for OLED iPhone sufferers, and the course I chose (buy 2 SE3 iPhones) highlights that there are other ways of dealing with OLED trauma and future iOS update problems.
------------

The newer SE3 shipped with iOS 18.1.1 on it, and the "older" SE3 (I eventually discovered) had iOS 17.6.1 on it. Their age is only a few months apart. I bought them from different sellers, so they definitely aren't from the same batch.

Display wise, they are a little different. Neither is worse really than the other, they're just different. Eyes adapt quickly. They are both fine. I no longer stare at an iPhone for long: my course of action for iPhone has evolved to - visualize what I'm going to do before unlocking it, execute the task as quickly as possible... then get off it ASAP. My screen time each day is minimal.

I updated the newer SE3 a few weeks ago to iOS 18.7.1 (current), and my plan was to use the 2nd one as a iOS 26 (and beyond) test mule.

During setup of the 2nd one, like a dummy, I tried to migrate the 1st SE3 (iOS 18.7.1) over to the new 2nd one, but the setup kept stalling and freezing the phone during the "install iOS 26 section". Device to Device setup demanded that the 2nd Phone be upgraded to iOS 26.

After 3 hours with no progress, I knew something wasn't right and canceled it twice, but it continued to freeze at the same point of installation... and then it dawned on me (duh)that it wasn't working because I was trying to setup an iPhone that had an older OS from one that had a newer OS.
That direction has always been forbidden.
But the installation dialog has no warning - the phone just freezes part way through with an endlessly spinning progress wheel.

So I changed plans and started setup of the 2nd phone this time by connecting to my Mac and set it up from a recent iOS 15 backup (my daily 6S plus). This went perfectly and quick as it should. And there wasn't a requirement to update it to iOS 26.
When it was all done, it was on iOS 17.6.1.

After that traumatizing event, I decided to update it only to iOS 18.7.1 so that both my SE3s were on the same OS. That way I could compare the two side by side to identify any potential problems and get to know that phone before installing iOS 26 on it - then blaming everything on iOS 26.

I had played around on iOS 26.0.1 on a different iPhone several weeks ago (now returned) and I don't particularly like it, so I'll hold off installing it on my test SE3 until August 2026 when its finished. That had been my plan from the start.

 

[AshX]

I know this is a eye-strain thread and my story below doesn't follow that theme directly, but the SE3 is definitely an valid consideration for OLED iPhone sufferers, and the course I chose (buy 2 SE3 iPhones) highlights that there are other ways of dealing with OLED trauma and future iOS update problems.
------------

The newer SE3 shipped with iOS 18.1.1 on it, and the "older" SE3 (I eventually discovered) had iOS 17.6.1 on it. Their age is only a few months apart. I bought them from different sellers, so they definitely aren't from the same batch.

Display wise, they are a little different. Neither is worse really than the other, they're just different. Eyes adapt quickly. They are both fine. I no longer stare at an iPhone for long: my course of action for iPhone has evolved to - visualize what I'm going to do before unlocking it, execute the task as quickly as possible... then get off it ASAP. My screen time each day is minimal.

I updated the newer SE3 a few weeks ago to iOS 18.7.1 (current), and my plan was to use the 2nd one as a iOS 26 (and beyond) test mule.

During setup of the 2nd one, like a dummy, I tried to migrate the 1st SE3 (iOS 18.7.1) over to the new 2nd one, but the setup kept stalling and freezing the phone during the "install iOS 26 section". Device to Device setup demanded that the 2nd Phone be upgraded to iOS 26.

After 3 hours with no progress, I knew something wasn't right and canceled it twice, but it continued to freeze at the same point of installation... and then it dawned on me (duh)that it wasn't working because I was trying to setup an iPhone that had an older OS from one that had a newer OS.
That direction has always been forbidden.
But the installation dialog has no warning - the phone just freezes part way through with an endlessly spinning progress wheel.

So I changed plans and started setup of the 2nd phone this time by connecting to my Mac and set it up from a recent iOS 15 backup (my daily 6S plus). This went perfectly and quick as it should. And there wasn't a requirement to update it to iOS 26.
When it was all done, it was on iOS 17.6.1.

After that traumatizing event, I decided to update it only to iOS 18.7.1 so that both my SE3s were on the same OS. That way I could compare the two side by side to identify any potential problems and get to know that phone before installing iOS 26 on it - then blaming everything on iOS 26.

I had played around on iOS 26.0.1 on a different iPhone several weeks ago (now returned) and I don't particularly like it, so I'll hold off installing it on my test SE3 until August 2026 when its finished. That had been my plan from the start.

Sounds very similar to my experience with the 13” MacBook Pro M2. Technically manufactured in March 2024, as opposed to the previous year. Was expecting Monterey and got Ventura instead. At least (for now) you can DFU downgrade Macs. My plan has been to try to downgrade to Monterey because it is the companion OS to iOS 15, which I find usable.

It’s unfortunate the SE’s shipped on iOS 17 and 18. I know SE2 and SE3 users had issues with those.

It’s clear that there are changes made with each OS. Some are dithering changes within versions of each generation - some are larger color, contrast, and UI changes per generation.

 

[gigapocket1]

Returning the air….. I used it for less than a day….
May give a pro max a go again in a few weeks