Why is my iPhone 14 Pro causing headache, nausea and eye strain? PWM Complaint...

My goodness! I have the same problem & I was even admitted to see eyes specialist, ENT specialist & did MRI on brain...spent huge amount to check everything but nothing wrong...only recently I observe I will only not feeling well when I look at my newly bought Mac book & iPhone 14 pro max for more than 30 mins...what a waste of time & money on hospitalisation just because of that.

I am now trying to turn off the True Tone & off the automatically adjust light. It seems a little bit better. I shall monitor & see.

Using a matte screen protector helps massively. I had eye strain from the screen glare which is highly reflective. The matte screen protector subdued that a lot and I'm much better and don't fear looking at the iPhone 14 pro max as much.

Is Apple looking into any ways to fix this problem? Or at very least, continue to release phones with LCD screens for those of use with this issue?

As you know, this is a user-to-user support site. We are all users.....just like you. Apple is not here.

No one here will know what Apple is planning to do about anything, so we can't answer your questions in that regard.

Please contact Apple directly.

Apple Support

I swapped out my iPhone 14 for an iPhone SE 3 to go back to an LCD screen. My eye strain improved with the iPhone SE3 until the iOS version 17. My eye strain returned, similar to the iPhone 14. 

Before returning to an Apple product, I had a Galaxy 9S+ since 2019. I did not have eye strain issues with the Galaxy phone and it is an OLED display. 

I am not trying to debate technology. I am just sharing what helped my eye strain. I only have my search engine allowed to refresh in the background. I still have many features turned off. Blue light reduced, night shift allowed. (Night shift was recommended by Apple Support and did help some.) My experience, turning off many background refresh apps has helped me. 

If anyone else is helped by reducing background refresh apps, please post.

iphone 14 pro have an OLED screen not a AMOLED

if it was me then I would stop using the phone and maybe reach out to apple

Apple Support

iPhone SE 3rd Gen, released in 2022, has a LCD screen. It is the last SE LCD screen Apple is planning to make. I returned an iPhone 14 because I was getting

headaches when I used the phone display.

BTW, very easy to check for PWM on any phone: take another phone, set its camera shutter speed to 1/1000 - if you see gray lines scrolling over the tested phone screen that's PWM.

It’s a real issue that Apple needs to fix because it affects millions of users around the world. You use to be able to turn up the brightness to stop it, but since iPhone 13 Pro it’s presents at any brightness because the phone is always dimming unless out in direct sunlight. It’s impossible to use in a dark setting…you’re definitely not alone and hopefully they can fix it with newer technology. Until then I and many others will not be upgrading.

The refresh rate has absolutely nothing to do with Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) and the problems that people with this sensitivity have. None. And as I've repeated to you several times by seeing a doctor, let's say an ophthalmologist, it creates enough data to be able to get a better idea of how many people have the issue and to justify spending money to research the matter. It also builds a database of people to do research and testing. It would also provide the opportunity to form an organization of people with this medical issue so that facts can be collected and posted, etc.

Hello ~ Apple does not participate here in that way I would encourage you to use the link below to let them know about your issue. We are fellow forum users as you yourself are and I am sorry you are having this issue.

Product Feedback - Apple

~Katana-San~

Did you actually read the article you posted here? The changes that BOE made had nothing to do with the design of the display, it primarily had to do with BOE cannot meet Apple's production needs and they used a cheaper material for transistor film that did not meed the contract that they had with Apple. It did not say that Apple designed the display. And you missed an important part, Apple was only trying to use BOE so they could negotiate a lower price from Samsung and LG who pretty much control the market. If they can't negotiate a lower price with those two why do you think they can force them to design a new display unit with completely designed PWM. And how do you propose they solve the battery issue?

I am not targeting you, you are the one who is making these posts that don't match reality. If this issue is fixed in the future it will not be done by Apple. It will be done by Samsung and LG. I never said Apple was speechless and I'm sure that they have had discussions with all the display makers regarding the situation. But until all of the manufacturers involved have some reasonably accurate idea of how many people are affected by this there isn't much of a chance that it will be there principle talking point in designing in new displays. And all the display parties involved would love to see a battery breakthrough occur which would then make it far easier to deal with the PWM response rate issue. That is what is really stopping Samsung and LG from dealing with this issue.

Modern LCD displays also use PWM to dim their backlights, so there is no way for Apple to “fix” anything.

Ultimately that’s why they have their return policy, so you can determine whether their device works for you.

I am having this same problem. I reached out to Apple and was basically told..”sorry that sucks for you”…I have a 14 plus which I can’t use and I am paying on thru my cellphone provider. I had to buy a iPhone SE 3 with an LCD screen to be able to have a phone that I can use that doesn’t give me eye strain, nausea and headaches within 5 min. I’m basically out $900 plus the $400+ I paid for the se. I’m beyond frustrated and feel like Apple got my money and wiped their hands of me and basically told me to bad so sad you don’t fit in with Apple. I’ve had an iPhone since the 4… I noticed I stated having issues when I switch from the XR to the 12mini and then 13 but didn’t figure out what the problem was until the 14 plus. I’m really disappointed and disheartened. Not sure what I will do if Apple doesn’t implement some sort of changes or help for people like me in regard to future phones. Bring back LCD options or find a way to improve OLED. OLED is a bigger problem than they want to acknowledge. Many people are getting sick and don’t realize it’s their iPhone causing it. This issue isn’t going to go away. I believe as people become more aware, it will only get worse.

You expect Apple to do more "what" exactly. You have a medical condition, which makes the screen technology cause you issues. What exactly do you expect Apple to do for you? Don't buy a Samsung OLED phone. Don't buy a Google OLED phone. Don't buy ANY phone with OLED technology. And Samsung, nor Google, nor anyone else can solve this for you. Because you have a medical condition.

If you have a food allergy, what do you do? You don't eat a food which you are allergic too. Should the people who grow peanuts for example, which some people are allergic to, have some responsibility to do something for them, so they can eat peanuts? Of course not.

Your expectation of "more" is unrealistic.

Hey there! You can’t really fix it but here are something’s that will help:

1: set screentime limits, 2 hours a day ( anything above will worsen your vision)

2: for every 20 minutes your on the phone look away for 20 seconds

3: Buy blue light glasses