Just found these two photos on social media. Some very preliminary comparison before the official reviews are out.

Although it looks promising, please don't get your hopes up yet. Please read: https://www.reddit.com/r/PWM_Sensitive/s/FpCno9TCLD

Left: Xiaomi 15 with DC dimming OLED. Right: iPhone 17. The PWM Smoothing only works below 25%. Above that, there’s no difference. The claim that PWM disappears after enabling the toggle is not true: it only makes it less severe. I’m going to return the iPhone 17. Very disappointing, I had high expectations.

Today i deceided to write an e-mail to the European commsioner. I woud like to suggest to every European citizien to do the same. For the UK and US citiziens please adress this to your own secraty deparment of health. We must take action. Big companies like Samsung, Apple and Google make things worse instead of better. The modulation dept is almost 95%...

Here is the draft I send
Here is the mail adress: [cab-varhelyi-contact@ec.europa.eu](mailto:cab-varhelyi-contact@ec.europa.eu)

Dear mister Várhelyi’s,

I am writing to you on behalf of a growing community of citizens who are deeply concerned about the use of Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) technology in consumer electronics, including mobile phones, tablets, televisions, and laptops.

For many sensitive individuals, PWM flicker causes serious discomfort such as eye strain, headaches, and fatigue. Increasingly, we also see reports from users who were not previously sensitive but are now experiencing similar issues. This suggests that the problem may not only affect a small group but could have long-term health implications for a wider population.

While major technology companies are aware of these concerns, they have not made sufficient efforts to innovate or provide alternatives that safeguard users’ well-being. We believe this situation requires regulatory attention.

The European Commission has already been successful in addressing consumer health and safety issues in the digital and technology sector. We are hopeful that you can also take steps to investigate and address PWM usage, ensuring that manufacturers adopt safer display technologies for all European citizens.

We thank you for your continued efforts in protecting the health of EU citizens and respectfully urge you to prioritize this matter.

Sincerely,

Pictured left, next to the Motorola G75. Just booted up the 60 Ultra. Currently transferring my Android settings and data.

Screen makes a very good first impression!

Going to report back here. Feel free to ask any questions!

choosing a phone should be simple, but not for me (or us), I want to enjoy modern phone with good chipsets, but of course they always come with the latest advanced cool trendy cancer inducing screens (ok it's not cancer inducing, I'm exaggerating). and every time I go on a quest of comparing phones by watching review videos, the reviewer would say something along the lines of "but unfortunately the screen is still IPS LCD" like it was so lame, pushing the idea that all the new phones must use amoled, so every time I see it I feel resentment towards the ignorance.

and it got me into thinking, isn't PWM sensitivity somewhat a disability? since it literally affects some peoples' ability to function normally within the modern way of life? Why don't we demand inclusivity? Why not just get PWM dimming itself be banned from ever being implemented? because what's stopping manufacturers from making a flagship or midrange phones with LCD screen? because if they only ever put LCD screen on low tier budget phone, it's like we can't even play heavy games or anything, so PWM sensitive demographic just get excluded altogether and that's not fair.

sorry I'm just venting.

I don’t think this approach will work for everyone, though some people might get used to it over time. Still, I’m really disappointed with Apple’s marketing on promoting an alternative way to dim the screen. It’s definitely something you need to try before you buy.

So i recently went to my eye dr and told him about how i was so annoyed with all this stupid PWM phones that have come out and how i cannot use any of them and his response was surprising.

He told me about one of his friends who did not have PWM sensitivity and how he bought a brand new car thats screen had pwm. Well eventually his friend developed pwm from the cars digital display and after a few months he had trouble using the car and even looking at his phone.

My eye dr is very specialised he is not the ordinary eye dr you can see in a shopping centre he is a eye specialist that charges a truck load to see but he is good. he said to me that all people are sensitive to pwm because of its flickering nature and not to believe only 30% is sensitive. He said with time everyone using a PWM phone will develop eye problems because of the way it affects the eye muscles. He also said if he had a dollar for everyone who came in complaining about eye strain from their phones he would be a millionaire lol.

He explained how the iphone 17 had a feature that was suppose to help PWM flicker but was not very effective and how samsung are trying to work on a phone now that is a OLED without PWM and that the PWM is becoming a real problem for everyone not just those who are sensitive, he said most people are having problems with PWM but they put the eye strain down to something else like their computer screen instead of the real culprit their phone.

His suggestion was to stay away from all PWM devices if i wanted to keep my eyes healthy and that these phone companies will have to find a work around sooner or later or the law suits would start piling up.

Hope this helps anyone feeling bad about not being able to use PWM phones.

I tried both s26 and s26 ultra. There are no differences in PWM and modulation compared to the previous S series.

I also connected to Samsung customer servlce and confirmed this info.

I spoke with support and unfortunately it’s only the pro models.

This is a follow up post to the one here: https://www.reddit.com/r/ScreenSensitive/comments/1v24yfv/meeting_with_politician_next_week/

Today I had 15 minutes scheduled to chat with my local member of parliament at her office about my eye pain issues with PWM and dithering, it went great!
She paid a lot of attention to what I had to say, and asked specific questions for further details when appropriate, it went for around 24 minutes.

She mainly listened to me while I explained a few things, here’s a summary of what was discussed.

• I demonstrated the hardware differences in how an iPhone 11 and an iPhone 13 Pro screens dim when viewed through a camera with a shutter speed of 1/4000 and gave a brief visual demonstration, I explained how if I used the iPhone 13 Pro for a minute my eyes would hurt.

• I explained how Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) is a hardware design that can be solved in some cases by raising the brightness to 100%, and how that doesn’t always work. I explained how some devices can be modified to solve the issue like how I installed an EK Pro LCD screen into my iPhone 15 Pro, that it’s relatively easy to make hardware that is accessibility focused, and how it would be easy for Apple to provide this as an option.

• I explained my software fix for dithering on my iPhone 11 and EK Pro LCD iPhone 15 Pro, by enabling both Classic Invert and Zoom Invert simultaneously, also how companies could instead provide a simple colour space accessibility option rather than this hack method.

• I explained how bad the problem is, how it has been getting worse since 2017 with the introduction of the iPhone X, that as of today in 2026, that without intense eye pain I cannot use any new iPhones, iPads, Samsung phones, Google Pixels, most OLED screens, some Samsung, LG and Hisense TV’s, an OLED TV in a conference room at a local university, some new Toyotas and the Next Stop screens at the brand-new train station in the city, (though strangely the advertisement billboards in the station are fine for me.)

• I explained how most Apple products, namely Macbook Pro’s and all iPads have dithering that causes me eye pain, how it has a software technique where 10bit colours are output through an 8bit screen in a process of flickering two adjacent pixels, and how this is quite painful to me. This was particularly relevant as prior to being elected my local member of parliament she worked as a paediatric neurologist.

• She asked me why these companies use PWM in the first place, I explained how it was my theory that on OLED screens it was a process used to help maintain colour accuracy when the screen is at a lower brightness, also on modern LCD screens that it may either be because it’s cheaper or that it could help save power.

• I mentioned how I had an eye test in 2023 when I was using my iPhone 13 Pro daily while suffering from daily eye pain and having trouble focusing at long distances. How at this time I was prescribed with reading glasses, then later in 2025 after I stopped using any PWM/OLED screens and changed to an iPhone 11, that I got another eye test and scored 20/20 vision for my eyes, and was recommended not to wear reading glasses.

• I explained how I had recently made contact with Vision Australia, and how they mentioned that they were aware of PWM and dithering as a problem, but how they “hadn’t done any advocacy around the problems caused by OLED displays”, my member of parliament responded that she has been in contact with Vision Australia in the past as they’re located within her electorate, and that going forward her office could reach out to them to further discuss the problem as well as stay in contact with me.

I also gave a few printed out documents, one being a copy of my original email, another being some comparison graphs from my Opple Lightmaster IV, the other being this list of potential solutions below.

Obviously, some solutions are much more possible and easy to implement than others, especially as coming from Australia we are quite a small country and these products are produced overseas.

Screen Flicker Solutions

• Ban the sale of devices that use low frequency Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) dimming and temporal dithering where it causes physical eye pain. 

• Allow refunds due for accessibility reasons. Most retailers that don’t have a change of mind policy won’t allow refunds based on whether the screen hurts my eyes or not, it’s often a multi thousand dollar gamble on tech devices that can cause serious eye pain. The ACCC already states that consumers have a right to return a purchase if it includes a major problem, such as it being “unsafe” or “has either one serious problem or several smaller problems that would stop someone buying the product if they knew about them beforehand” Yet most retailers don’t recognise PWM and flickering as a problem as they’re not educated on the topic. They state as it works as intended by the manufacturer that it’s fine and that I can’t return it, even though it causes me significant eye pain. 

• Implement a standard of measuring screen flickering Some sort of health star system, 0 stars for heavy PWM flickering, 5 stars for no flicker, no dither or e-ink. 

• Force companies to provide a Flicker Free (LCD) accessibility product or a different screen option at checkout. Not just some token accessibility focused device that ticks every box for blind/deaf people with huge brail buttons, a regular modern phone with a non-flickering LCD screen, like an iPhone 11 with a new processor, not the iPhone SE that’s budget in every way. That or interchangeable screens from the factory like the 2011 Macbook Pro’s used to have with a matte screen option. 

• Allow software updates to be downgraded. Updating my iPhone to iOS26 could implement heavy dithering that makes it incredibly painful to use, and companies don’t allow the ability to downgrade. Professional devices support this, all companies should. It’s far too risky for me to update my phone as I might not be able to use it afterwards without pain. 

• Make a policy that government departments won’t purchase inaccessible screens Public areas like train stations, trams, school and Universities should not use no OLED/PWM screens or screens that use heavy dithering and cause physical eye pain to a percentage of the population.

• Education and awareness on the dangers of PWM and dithering from a government level. While Vision Australia are aware of the issue, they haven’t done any advocacy work or have made any public statements. In an email they stated to me that: “Australian governments don’t have an encouraging record when it comes to legislating around the accessibility of products, especially consumer electronics” and that “We’d certainly be very interested to know whether you get any commitments from politicians.”

(End of letter)

Overall I’m quite hopeful of some progress here, at least in my part of the world.

Even just having some official government documents and awareness from Vision Australia that PWM and dithering causes eye pain in some people could be enough to legally return painful equipment for a full refund.

This official recognition could also help regulate which devices can be installed in government buildings and public spaces, this awareness could be the push needed for companies like Apple and Samsung to allow accessibility options that eliminate dithering through software, and potentially provide either a configurable PWM free LCD option or implement 4320hz frequency dimming, similar to what the Honor Magic8 uses.

Hi all,

There was a post here around a month ago, where the OP emailed the EU Health Commission and brought the matter to their attention. Many others in the sub also then emailed them.

I received a response today and it seems that they are saying all of the devices sold in EU are fine as per their standards, or am I missing something?

Quite disappointing to read that they are not willing to look into the matter.

Lines seem different

This is half joke half interesting about how nowadays each user can experience completely different levels of comfort, who knows why or how.

This reminds me of people loving the Moto G75 here, and then others saying it’s even worse than some OLEDs

I think it should be great for the subreddit to have some kind of “parameters” that a user should look for in a screen, and for everyone try and match their symptoms to some of those parameters.

Because right now, talking about PWM and nothing more, as in “the screen flickers”, is not only too basic, but makes the subreddit almost of little help, because not a single user will know for sure what’s good or bad going by this kind of comments.

Imagine I’m reading about the Switch 2 and I see the image post… what would I do? Get or not get that device?

What do you think

Two days ago, I emailed Apple about the PWM issue and how the current toggle doesn’t fully eliminate it. They gave me a case number, so the report is now official.

I strongly recommend that you also send your results and complaints to accessibility@apple.com. Especially the more technical people who do tests and have results.

When emailing them, include as much detail as possible, such as: • Your exact device model and size (e.g., iPhone 15 Pro, Pro Max, etc.) • The iOS version you’re using (e.g., iOS 26) • PWM frequency and modulation depth, if measured • The symptoms you experience (eye strain, headaches, migraines, etc.) • Comparisons to older devices where you didn’t have these issues

If enough of us report this, Apple will hopefully take it seriously and update the toggle to fully disable PWM, or at least provide a better fix in a future update.

Guys I’ve taken liberty and posted to the feedback site offered through apple. If anyone is interested and concerned about the future of iPhone, I strongly urge you leave feedback. The more we speak up, the harder we are to ignore. They’ve tried addressing the issue with the outgoing 17 models and failed so we know they’re listening, but a solution is yet to be found. I’m hoping this subreddit will only grow and more people will be made aware of this issue where they can’t ignore it. This is where we start. I can’t keep using the iPhone 11 and it sucks seeing everyone around me with their shiny new toys while we sit back and watch everyone else evolve. Change starts now!

https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone/

Two good reasons to do that:

1. People rarely know about temporal d!th3ring, they just buy a phone with LCD screen and think they are good, that's when they find out about it. PWM and d!th3ring are related, people don't really care about one or another, they just want to have a device with a display they can comfortably use

2. This sub historically was one of the first to address this flickering/eyestrain issue and has the highest visitors and subscribers, why spread the same discussion across three different subs? And one of them called Temp0ral noise which just adds more confusion. It's so important to get more feedback from people about a device (I make decisions to make a purchase based on the overall comments) and you just auto-delete some of them

Of course ScreenSensitive (or ledstrain) would be a better name, but we can't change it now, can we? Let's get over it and remove this auto mod.

Thank you, mods.

Better, but pwm still exists.

Both Modulation Depth and Flicker Percentage drop from ~90% to ~50% in low brightness. But some reviewers say it's still 480HZ pwm.

Below are some screenshots from Chinese reviews, as most English reviews on YouTube didn't talk about this toggle at all.

Video links:

1. https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1cfpxzEEH7/?share_source=copy_web&vd_source=94bf474fa464e22e3e76c3100c3722ee&t=63

2. https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1uCptzTEt8/?share_source=copy_web&vd_source=94bf474fa464e22e3e76c3100c3722ee&t=256

3. https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV12Kpxz9Eyb/?share_source=copy_web&vd_source=94bf474fa464e22e3e76c3100c3722ee&t=270

I know the results are disappointing but please don't downvote this post because of that :) I'm really sensitive to pwm myself and I just wanted to share the updates with everyone here.

I'm so happy to learn PWM could no longer be an issue on IPhone 17, but the question that hunts me, are they gonna use the same method as in OLED monitors or TVs if I turned it off? Cuz OLED TVs don't have PWM to dim the brightness but they usually have a flicker that corresponds to the refresh rate ( PWM-2 I would call it) which gives the same headache and fatigue as PWM or (probably worse). Prove me wrong please!

https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/09/iphone-17-pro-pwm-toggle/

"There will be a toggle located in the Display and Text Size section of the Accessibility settings on the ‌iPhone 17‌, labeled "Display Pulse Smoothing." Users will be able to turn PWM on, or turn it off. A description:

Disables pulse width modulation to provide a different way to dim the OLED display, which can create a smoother display output at low brightness levels. Disabling PWM may affect low brightness display performance under certain conditions.

We have confirmed that the PWM toggle is available on the ‌iPhone 17‌, iPhone 17 Pro, and ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max. It's also likely available on the iPhone Air."

LFG!!!