iPhone 11 Pro Are PWM headaches real, and if so should I swap to iPhone 11?

[251920]

What does mean 3-3,5% for xr/11 ? Shouldn’t be lcd models flicker free ?

As I said before, I’m no expert, but from what I’ve read, all displays flicker, it’s just that lcd displays r considered flicker free, coz the % is just so low. It’s like with radiation (I know that this is a very bad example, dunno y it was the first to cross my mind), it’s natural and is everywhere, but the % is so low(higher when you fly on a plane) and considered safe, so it is said that there is no radiation.
Well the PWM in iPhone 11 is 0,79% @ 25% brightness, and 109@25% brightness in the 11 pro.
I said 3,5% coz it is max what I saw in the previous iPhone lcd displays.

 

[251920]

is there any chance for a flicker-free oled iphone ?

LG had flicker free oleds, but in order 4 that 2 b achieved the brightness had 2 b turned down in a specific way(in plain words-not with having the crystals turn on/off rapidly, but with relaying less power in order to dim the crystals like one would with a regular home light dimmer), this method has its downsides it consumes more power and distorts the color reproduction.
Most manufacturers now use a hybrid system, that means that from 100% to 50(40)% dimming is used so the flicker % is within the 10% limit, but when the brightness is turned down and goes below 50/40% the PWM method is engaged and the flickering % usually gets to over a 100%.
With lcd displays the flickering is well below 1% at any brightness level.

 

[vladi]

PWM OLED issues are real and even though not everyone can see it by naked eye, actually most can't see it, everyone for sure affected by it. The very first moment I got X in my hands I've seen it right away unless brightness was set to eyebleeding level. It was not bad but I could see it and feel it. The worst offender was Samsung until S10, actually Samsung implementation of holographic effect (color temperature shift), oversaturated, wild PWM infested OLEDs in S9, S8, S7 were the textbook case why OLED is actually far worse than LCD in mobile phones. To this day I claim that cutting edge LCD on a phone has less drawbacks than cutting edge OLED small panel. They are complementary technologies not competing. OLED can be great but it needs precise manufacturing and tuning that cannot sustain quality control of mass production in tens of millions of units per quarter. So far Sony Xperia 1 is the only big OLED panel that doesn't exhibit PWM as much but that's because actual peak brightness has been crippled, so another compromise has been inducted in order to tackle the one before it.

 

[jschnee21]

IMHO, the OLED screen is not all that. I've never been blown away comparing an iPhone OLED to an iPhone LCD. In fact I feel my older 6s LCD has better contrast at night than my XSM. I was hoping the XSM would be brighter in the the sunlight. Perhaps it is a little, but not much, still sucks especially with polarized sunglasses on.

I have the XSM and I can definitely perceive the flicker. I dislike bright displays so I often have the brightness turned way down which makes this worse. I even use Dark Mode which I would think would help, but not really. I definitely feel more eyestrain than I did on my 6s despite the much larger screen/print. Can't say whether it causes me more headaches or not. My son has the 11 non-Pro and I find his screen much more comfortable to look at.

Personally, I'd upgrade to the 11 myself, but in order to get the telephoto (2x) optical zoom, you have to get the Pro, and thus OLED.

I've read the 11 Pro's increase the PWN flicker frequency from 240Hz to 290Hz and some have suggested there is "less flicker" on the 11 Pro series versus the XS series.

 

[251920]

IMHO, the OLED screen is not all that. I've never been blown away comparing an iPhone OLED to an iPhone LCD. In fact I feel my older 6s LCD has better contrast at night than my XSM. I was hoping the XSM would be brighter in the the sunlight. Perhaps it is a little, but not much, still sucks especially with polarized sunglasses on.

I have the XSM and I can definitely perceive the flicker. I dislike bright displays so I often have the brightness turned way down which makes this worse. I even use Dark Mode which I would think would help, but not really. I definitely feel more eyestrain than I did on my 6s despite the much larger screen/print. Can't say whether it causes me more headaches or not. My son has the 11 non-Pro and I find his screen much more comfortable to look at.

Personally, I'd upgrade to the 11 myself, but in order to get the telephoto (2x) optical zoom, you have to get the Pro, and thus OLED.

I've read the 11 Pro's increase the PWN flicker frequency from 240Hz to 290Hz and some have suggested there is "less flicker" on the 11 Pro series versus the XS series.

There’s less flickering on the 11 Pro(Max) compared to the Xs(Max), because of the better use of the hybrid brightness system. So there is less flickering down to 50/40% brightness(the flickering is in the decent range), when the brightness is turned down to lower than 40% the flickering is the same coz PWM is used. So the stats are at a 100% and higher.

 

[jimmy_uk]

is there any chance for a flicker-free oled iphone ?

DC dimming is the only real solution at the moment but it can change colours so Apple may not go for it.

Analysis: DC Dimming vs. PWM – Can you dim AMOLED displays without the flickering?

Some smartphone users have a problem: The AMOLED display of their smartphone causes them headaches, because it flickers at low brightness. DC dimming might be a solution for this. We explain the new technology in this article and evaluate the advantages looking at two examples.

www.notebookcheck.net

 

[imp3rator]

Doesn’t Apple use on some Macbooks 1000hz pwm ? (Or very high frequency ?)

 

[patricksmith04]

To the OP, has the switch the 11 been better? I've been having headaches, blurred vision and dizziness since I got the 11 Pro. Literally been to every specialist doctor, including an MRI of the brain and multiple eye exams - all clear.

It hit me like a sack of bricks the only thing that changed in my life was getting the iPhone 11 Pro (coming from an iPhone 7 and every other iPhone dating back to the original release).

After Googling, I read all about PWM and landed here.

Curious of your current situation and if an 11 is better than the Pro since switching!

Thanks!

 

[MavisMavis]

To the OP, has the switch the 11 been better? I've been having headaches, blurred vision and dizziness since I got the 11 Pro. Literally been to every specialist doctor, including an MRI of the brain and multiple eye exams - all clear.

It hit me like a sack of bricks the only thing that changed in my life was getting the iPhone 11 Pro (coming from an iPhone 7 and every other iPhone dating back to the original release).

After Googling, I read all about PWM and landed here.

Curious of your current situation and if an 11 is better than the Pro since switching!

Thanks!

Hipatricksmith04
Did you change your phone after encounter such issue? I suffered from choosing which phone is better to me. Personally, i prefer small phone. After read lot of article from macrumors, i think oled's pwm issue is serious for some people. I haven't use any oled iphone, i use 6s currently. For now, i am struggling at choosing iphone 11 pro or iphone 11.
Iphone 11 pro is suitable for my hand,but sounds like do some harm to my eyes and kind of luxery(spend 300 dollar more);
Iphone 11 has weried size to me since i only use small phone, but sound like practical (less money spend) and lcd has less harmful than oled.

So, Health issue (may) vs using habbit
What can i choose?
icd screen quality don't bother me anyway

 

[Septembersrain]

To the OP, has the switch the 11 been better? I've been having headaches, blurred vision and dizziness since I got the 11 Pro. Literally been to every specialist doctor, including an MRI of the brain and multiple eye exams - all clear.

It hit me like a sack of bricks the only thing that changed in my life was getting the iPhone 11 Pro (coming from an iPhone 7 and every other iPhone dating back to the original release).

After Googling, I read all about PWM and landed here.

Curious of your current situation and if an 11 is better than the Pro since switching!

Thanks!

Oddly I'm having issues with my Pro Max that I don't get with my LG G8 ThinQ.

It's weird.

Only way to avoid it is with higher screen brightness all the time.

 

[patricksmith04]

Oddly I'm having issues with my Pro Max that I don't get with my LG G8 ThinQ.

It's weird.

Only way to avoid it is with higher screen brightness all the time.

Oddly I read keeping any OLED display at a higher brightness was better

Hipatricksmith04
Did you change your phone after encounter such issue? I suffered from choosing which phone is better to me. Personally, i prefer small phone. After read lot of article from macrumors, i think oled's pwm issue is serious for some people. I haven't use any oled iphone, i use 6s currently. For now, i am struggling at choosing iphone 11 pro or iphone 11.
Iphone 11 pro is suitable for my hand,but sounds like do some harm to my eyes and kind of luxery(spend 300 dollar more);
Iphone 11 has weried size to me since i only use small phone, but sound like practical (less money spend) and lcd has less harmful than oled.

So, Health issue (may) vs using habbit
What can i choose?
icd screen quality don't bother me anyway

After speaking with Apple and ATT, my best option was to pay off my Pro, purchase an 11, and hope I could recoup the money by selling the Pro online.

I like you, like a smaller phone. This why I even got a Pro over an 11. But I’ve had the 11 for less than 24 hours and don’t notice a huge difference in my hand. And even if I did, I’m happy to be away from the OLED since it was obvious I had a sensitivity.

 

[Matthew JSweet]

Also features that do not solve the problem are: turning on dark mode, smart invert, color filters, and reducing transparency.



features that help: classic invert, blue light screen protector, reducing white tone.



disclaimers: using classic invert mode is the best solution however only a solution if you use your 11 pro for making and receiving phone calls all other features I.e using Facebook, Instagram viewing photos, and most all other apps will not be a solution because this mode turns all photos into alien mode and can not see pictures as a result to classic invert.
[automerge]1579390542[/automerge]
Also features that do not solve the problem are: turning on dark mode, smart invert, color filters, and reducing transparency.



features that help: classic invert, blue light screen protector, reducing white tone.



disclaimers: using classic invert mode is the best solution however only a solution if you use your 11 pro for making and receiving phone calls all other features I.e using Facebook, Instagram viewing photos, and most all other apps will not be a solution because this mode turns all photos into alien mode and can not see pictures as a result to classic invert.
[automerge]1579390608[/automerge]
Also features that do not solve the problem are: turning on dark mode, smart invert, color filters, and reducing transparency.



features that help: classic invert, blue light screen protector, reducing white tone.



disclaimers: using classic invert mode is the best solution however only a solution if you use your 11 pro for making and receiving phone calls all other features I.e using Facebook, Instagram viewing photos, and most all other apps will not be a solution because this mode turns all photos into alien mode and can not see pictures as a result to classic invert.

 

[google]

Not sure if anyone tried changing your contact lenses (if you wear them) to Acuvue oasys transition. I just switched and saw slight reduction when viewing my iPhone X screen.

 

[RD207]

TL;DR: I get headaches easily, would I be better of with the iPhone 11 instead of 11 Pro so my phone doesn't have PWM.

I've suffered headaches all my life, always been more prone to getting them than average. Seen plenty of doctors over the years, had scans etc and final diagnosis is always that I'm just 'someone who gets headaches easily'.

I've pretty much always had the latest iPhone, and got the 11 Pro on launch day. During the build up I happened to read about PWM flicker etc, and it got me thinking about it. Over the last year or 2, my headaches have been a little worse. I'm well aware there are lots of other factors in life (I'm 32 with a busy job, just got married etc), but that does also coincide with Apple moving to OLED displays which, if I understand it right, all use PWM. I freqently spend the last hour or so of my day reading news etc on my iPhone, and over the past few years have had more instances of then waking up with a headache.

So it's got me thinking, should I be considering swapping down to the regular iPhone 11, which as I understand it doesn't use OLED and does not use PWM?

Feel free to read my experience with the New iPhone 12 on Friday Oct 30, 2020 here... look for this emoji in my post ?... also I turn off the motion, transition features under accessibility due to vertigo. I came from XR/11, most are fine with 11 Pro FYI.

This is why I will not buy iPhone 12: OLED = PWM

Thank you Samut and Jericho... I’ll check these when I get my 12 in hand.

forums.macrumors.com