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iPhone 17 Models Include Toggle to Disable Screen Flickering (PWM)
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My OLED TV only dips in brightness for about 0.15% of the the refresh time. The dip on my Pixel 8 Pro at full brightness is about 12.5% of the total refresh time (it has very similar PWM characteristics to an iPhone, from what I've seen).
Yep, so if 0 is the lowest screen brightness, and 10 is the highest, and the modulation is 100% that means that 480 times a second the screen is going from 0-10 on the brightness scale, increasing the 'strobe' like effect. A lower modulation (even with the same low flicker rate) is better on the eyes as the difference between the min and max brightness on every flicker cycle is less.
50% is still VERY high (Good OLEDs are already down below 10% like the Honor 200 Pro) so this isn't going to be much use to sensitive folk based on those numbers alone (if accurate of course)
I think the testing methodology is broken. Almost all screens, including OLED, refresh from top to bottom (or a rotated version of that). The whole screen does not strobe at the same time.
I think what's happening here is that the light sensor covers an area, so it's reading some pixels that are 100% lit up, and others that are 0% lit up, and essentially taking an average.
Basically, the screens have narrow bands of pure black, but the testing sensor is mistaking them for slightly wider bands of less depth.
So it doesn't disable PWM and it looks like the 17s are still a no go for a lot of us.
I can only hope the attention that's been drawn to the issue will have helped some people who weren't aware, and shown Apple that there is demand for a real solution. Also, Apple at least acknowledging it as a genuine accessibility issue for some people is still massive.
Hold out iPhone 11...
I can only hope the attention that's been drawn to the issue will have helped some people who weren't aware, and shown Apple that there is demand for a real solution. Also, Apple at least acknowledging it as a genuine accessibility issue for some people is still massive.
Hold out iPhone 11...
Problem is for many of us the iPhone 11 doesn't work anymore since Apple insist on using loads of temporal dithering since iOS18 onwards... mine runs on iOS17 and it's 100% comfortable, my 'test' iPhone 11 is BAD on iOS26.
I did the mistake to update my 11 and i have headaches for f shake. How many days do I have to decide if to downgrade ?
I've actually been using my 11 more and more via iPhone mirroring these days for more comfort, I'm not sure if it's a result of iOS18 or just my general migraine/eye strain woes. So I'm definitely going to be cautious about any upgrade to iOS26.
Welp, tried it on the Air at home and didn’t do anything for me. Within 5 min the pressure was already building up in my head and went back to my 16 Plus which is still barely tolerable.
PWM setting is definitely doing it’s job in low brightness (30% and below) so the presumably insane modulation on the Air is most likely the culprit. The Pro arrives tomorrow but those have routinely been the worst for years so not looking good.
PWM setting is definitely doing it’s job in low brightness (30% and below) so the presumably insane modulation on the Air is most likely the culprit. The Pro arrives tomorrow but those have routinely been the worst for years so not looking good.
This is the trend with LCD iPhones, iPads, and Macs: they’re utilizing even more dithering to render the 10-bit MacOS/iOS/iPadOS graphics. OLED iPhones (likely because they are somewhat closer to 10-bit) don’t engage it as often, but it’s still there. This is why I’m still on iOS 15 on my iPhone 13.
iOS 26 and the whole “Liquid Glass” design made me immediately assume they’d utilize dithering for all those gradients. What a mess.
My phone just arrived, hoping setting the toggle feature on and reducing the refresh rate helps…as a tech enthusiast it sucks not being able to use a modern phone.
This makes a lot of sense. My M1 Air became unusable from Sequoia onwards, presumably dithering, had to sell it.
Apple is forcing me out of it's ecosystem.
I'm going to try the 17PM for a short time today under 30% only with the toggle on, I will say it IS an improvement, but it's nowhere near enough for me sadly, and to only work under 30% brightness is a no-go on a phone this expensive.
If you're sensitive, turn the setting on! (Sadly it is not that promising so far and needs more tuning or a complete overhaul)
Tools like Better Display can turn off dithering. It has made my M1 Air comfortable to use again. Could barely use it with an external display prior to this.