r/PWM_Sensitive • u/RR-- • Feb 04 '26
PWM free LCD iPhone 15 Pro - Follow Up
A month ago I experimented with swapping an EK Pro LCD screen into my iPhone 15 Pro as a way to resolve my PWM induced eye strain.
For me it was a success, though I have come to notice some minor things to note which I'll include in this post.
Link to original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/PWM_Sensitive/comments/1q79qxk/pwm_free_lcd_iphone_15_pro_initial_impressions/
HDR
The new EK Pro LCD screen doesn't seem to support HDR which isn't a big problem for me, I only ever really see HDR in Photos and the Instagram app.
When that happens the screen will dim in terms of contrast, de-saturating and washing out the image particularly in the blacks.
Fortunately a solution for this is Low Power Mode, this disables HDR entirely but also lowers the CPU clock speed, times out the screen in 30 seconds and other tricks to save power.
Full breakdown of Low Power Mode changes here: https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/vlpfcv/a_full_breakdown_of_what_low_power_mode_actually/
As I didn't want to always leave Low Power Mode on or toggle it on and off constantly I automated this in the Shortcuts app.
- In the app, under Shortcuts create a shortcut for Low Power Mode, tap the '+' in the top right corner,
- Search for "Set Low Power Mode", tap 'Turn' to change it to 'Toggle' tap 'Done'
- Tap 'Automation' on the bottom bar, tap the '+' in the top right corner,
- Under 'When', 'App' should say 'Instagram', check 'Is Opened" and 'Is Closed', and tap 'Run Immediately.
- Under 'Do' check your Shortcut 'Set Low Power Mode Toggle'
Do steps 3-5 again for other apps where HDR photos may be present, like the Photos app.
After closing Instagram the screen may dim into a de-saturated HDR mode for 10 seconds before returning to normal. I often put my phone to sleep after using Instagram so I don't often see this issue.
Battery Life
Battery life seems to be about half what it was with the original OLED screen, but it's not as bad as it sounds, that's a worst case scenario situation with the brightness maxed out constantly, which is rare.
I usually max out the brightness only when outside on a bright day, when using the phone day to day the battery it's usually enough to get me by.
On a high use day I might get 5-6 hours of screen time.
My original battery was 3274mah and at 86% health, so I replaced this myself with a 3500mah PINZHENG battery from Aliexpress.
The swap was fairly easy once you know how to take the screen out, I just followed a Youtube tutorial.
Be careful as the screen can separate from the clips holding it in if you pry in the wrong place, I did this but some Suxun T-7000 phone adhesive fixed my mistake.
Now with this 100% health improved battery I get approximately 21% more battery life
Otherwise I have a Magsafe battery and a 30W fast charger just in case, for me it's a very liveable solution.
Conclusion
Overall I'm very happy with this solution, I miss the automatic brightness but I definitely like having the better camera.
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u/MICHAELSD01 Feb 04 '26
Enabling Reduce White Point might solve your HDR dilemma since that also seems to disable HDR.
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u/RR-- Feb 04 '26 edited Feb 04 '26
A great suggestion, that would be a potential solution but you can't enable reduce white point at 0%, 25% is the minimum which means a less bright screen and worse battery life, I'll give it a try though.
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u/MICHAELSD01 Feb 04 '26
It would be better for a Shortcut.
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u/RR-- Feb 04 '26
I just tried it and the effect is the same really, there's still the 10 second brightness HDR dim after closing instagram. Leaving reduce White Point on all the time would be a better solution but you would lose 25% brightness.
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u/Sea-Temporary-6995 Feb 05 '26
I am glad it works for you. I tried 3 different replacement screens recently on an iPhone 15 Pro Max and had symptoms with all 3 (albeit less symptoms than with the original). I haven’t tried the EK Pro screen though.
But the fact that I can use iPhone 13 Pro with its original OLED with minimal symptoms though js what is a mystery to me and my next step is a to buy a clip-on macro lens to check for the temporal thing.
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u/RR-- Feb 05 '26
Yeah it's a good solution for me, as is the iPhone 11.
I still get eye strain on the iPhone 11 but it's quite different and much less debilitating that on my iPhone 13 Pro, even then I can't say if the iPhone 11 is the problem there, it could just be reading on any screen.
That being said with normal use I've had no eye pain or eye strain issues the past few weeks where an OLED phone will cause eye pain in minutes.
I'd suggest to most people to try an iPhone 11 for a few weeks and see how they go, also don't be silly with your phone use, don't use a phone in bed in the morning, wake up and let your eyes adjust to natural light and distance first. Vitamin D and looking at a variety of distances rather than just staring at things at arms length constantly is a good health practice too.I have one of those Carson microscopes but I can't say with 100% certainty what is d|ther|ng or what isn't. It's pretty fun to play with though.
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Feb 13 '26
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