TL;DR: I believe pattern glare is causing some of my problems, this matte glass fixed my iPhone 13.

Pattern Glare

I have a severe sensitivity to laptop and phone displays, My journey with laptops (plus current solution) is well documented here.

A post on this forum about Pattern Glare caught my attention a while back as a possible cause. 'Quirks' that I 've had all my life are actually symptoms of this condition. Simple things like:

  • feeling dizzy / disoriented whilst walking on a stopped escalator - I get this in a big way and thought everyone did! In actual fact the repetetive striped pattern of the escalator is causing my brain to react in some way:

Movin' On Up: The Curious Birth and Rapid Rise of the Escalator

  • walking over this striped mat at my local shopping centre:

  • sitting with a flickering candle at dinner, for example, can trigger a migraine in me
  • and I even get issues with a table mat that has a striped pattern on it

Since realising this I have started realising my brain getting triggered by repetitive patterns all over the place. The movement my eyes feels near-identical to the feeling of not being able to focus properly on an unusable screen - they jitter and feel uncomfortable.

I believe that this may have something to do with my condition, and ultimately it has potentially thrown up a solution for me that I believe is worth sharing.

First Phone: iPhone 13 Pro

I purchased an iPhone 13 Pro and initially thought it was great. I used it continuously for a few days, and suddenly I had the same old spiralling migraines and nausea. Left eye pain, neck pain and all the trimmings. This got returned.

Second Phone: iPhone 13

A couple of months later, and I decided to pick up an iPhone 13 (not Pro). This time:

  • I immediately put this matte screen protector on it

  • I started very gently - 10 mins at a time for a few days

  • I gradually built up my time on the phone over a week

I used the phone flawlessly for months without issue, before I irrepairably broke it.

Third Phone: iPhone 13

6 months later I could afford to buy another iPhone 13. Again, I immediately put a matt screen protector on it, but of a different brand as the one I had previously used was no longer available.

I put this Techgear one on, which by the specs seemed identical.

I started getting continuous migraines, nausea and eyestrain again, despite everything else about the iPhone 13 being the same as my previous one.

I tweaked every setting, and really tried to push through as I refused to believe that there could be any hardware difference in the phones.

Eventually, after 2 weeks I bought a new matte screen protector as a last-ditch effort, and immediately my eye strain ceased and after a couple of days my migraines were gone, no matter how much I use the phone.

It looks different to the Techgear ones, it's more matte, and also slightly fuzzier somehow.

I'm several months in now, and have no issues - I almost still can't believe it!

Working Theory

My working theory is that for me, something to do with Pattern Glare is giving my brain serious issues on non-working setups, including all Apple devices.

The repetition of the pixels is causing my brain to freak out, eyes to jitter, muscles to spasm and ultimately a migraine is triggered.

Perhaps if the repetitive patterns of the pixels are disrupted enough by a anti-glare / privacy / matte screen protector, it no longer causes me issues.

I noticed someone on this thread (post #280) that had the same situation except with a Macbook Pro, so I'm gearing up to try that at some point.

It's at least given me some hope for a universal solution so I hope it helps someone else.

    There has been a few stories on here about Skinomi Matte Screen protectors helping (such as here and here) make a phone usable.

    si_edgey I noticed someone on this thread (post #280) that had the same situation except with a Macbook Pro, so I'm gearing up to try that at some point.

    Interesting they are using a Kensington privacy screen to help with the eyestrain. If you try it, let us know how it goes.

    Skinomi Matte (amazon link) is game changer for me. Even in a glare free env I can't look in the iPhone for more than few seconds, with the Matte skin I can scroll Insta or watch youtube over an hour without problems. I never try to read longer posts on it tho.
    Besides the glare reduction, it is also reducing the contrast (makes colors look washed out, grayish). I think that is the win part for me. It feels like downgrading from OLED to TN picture quality 😃 I had to put one of these skins on my wifes phone too 😃

    I've tried 2-3 other brands before, but none compared to the Skinomi one. Just by looking at it you can tell it's some sort of a rubber or silicone. It's more grainy, I can see some silicone patterns on it.
    Other filters feel more like clear plastic, not adding that grainy texture my eyes like.
    Also Skinomi filter is the easiest ever to apply, no bubbles at all. The trick is that it's not like a sticker, you sprinkle lot of water and put the filter, the filter won't stick, you can easily move it to properly adjust, let it dry out overnight, next day all water has vaporized. If water bubble forms just squeeze them with a credit card. Air bubbles do not form at all (unless there has been dust on the screen and bubble forms around it)!

    PS I have Skinomi Matte also on my MacBook Air, it does improve it but does not work as good as on the iPhone.

      a month later

      si_edgey

      Hi si_edgey,

      Thank you for making this post. This gives me hope.

      I just got iPhone 13 and just like with iPhone 12 I feel dizzy and strange very quickly. I ordered the Mothca protector you recommend and I am waiting for its arrival.

      I do hope your working theory is accurate as otherwise I won’t be able to use any newer apple phones at all.

      thanks again for taking the time to share your experience.

        Skinomi clear protectors (NOT matte) have made several phones that were unusable into daily drivers for me.

        When I find a phone they don't make a screen for I just buy one for a bigger phone and cut it down to size

        This is ne of the reasons I don't subscribe to the dithering hypothesis. Putting plastic over a screen will do nothing to dithering whatsoever but can completely eliminate symptoms

          si_edgey Interesting post. I have similar reactions. One thing I’ve noticed is that when I try to count a bunch of lines or identical numbers in a row, I gradually get the same feeling that I get when using a bad screen or being under fluorescent lighting. Have you tried counting a bunch of identical patterns and seeing if that triggers symptoms?

          I’m wondering if it’s a type of epilepsy. My symptoms started after I took a drug called salvia back in 2008. I had no issues before. I’ve always thought it was a brain issue and not an eye issue.

            jpark28 Amazon is taking its time to ship it. I will report back after the weekend once it arrives.

            I would like to share this in case it might be of use to someone. I have never had any eye strain issues in my 20 years of using computers or apple devices many hours daily. Last 5 years i had been using iPad Pro 9,5 for my work (writing and reading) with no issues whatsoever. This autumn i decided to update and got an iPad Pro 2021 and an iPhone 12 mini. The phone was ok, although also quite bad on the eyes, but the Pro was just unbearable. Already after 5-10 mins of trying to read a pdf i got all the usual problems described elsewhere on this forum. I really did not want to return the device though, so i decided to keep trying for the rest of the year and spend hours messing with different settings etc.

            Now, after trying all the settings possible, i am able to use my device for hours again. I think for me the blue light was the problem - or the symptom of a deeper problem, i dont know. The more I eliminted it the better it got, anyway. I have tryed anti blue light glasses and it did help a lot - paired with night shift setting to the maximum. But wearing glasses was annoying to me, so i have now settled for applying TWO screen protectors (one against blue light and another to make the screen matte) while also turning off TrueTone and having the Night Shift set to maximum. Its like buying an expensive chair and covering it in plastic. Its silly, but it does work! I am able to read and write basically like i used to on my old ipad.

              macksg

              Please can you confrm what screen protectors you purchased, what brand and a link to them if possible?

              si_edgey

              Yes, I too see patterns like that and get the same feeling, floormatts by doors like you picture make me feel strange, like too my brain doesnt 'like' these patterns.

              I dont have an OLED iphone to test these on, the 13 seems to flicker at 610hz as per notebookcheck https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-iPhone-13-Smartphone-Review-High-quality-Apple-phone-with-an-even-brighter-display.572153.0.html, I cant use devices with PWM anyway unless its really high (1000+hz) my lgg6 only did PWM below 45% brightness so I kept it above that but I do have an iphone 8+ which became unusable for me as soon as I upgraded to ios15 and still unusable at ios16…

              I'll try one of these Mothca matte protectors and will test.

              I never upgraded my regular iphone 8 from ios14 but I have to use it with 'reduce white point' to the lowest setting (or higher) as otherwise the colors are 'too bright' its hard to describle but they will give me a migraine….I cant risk testing this device but I never did have a matte protector on any phone before so its worth a try.

              Just a thought though, I have tried privacy screen protectors in the past with a matte finish, they didnt help at all on laptops that gave me migraines even without having pwm etc.

              Got the Mothca matte screen protectors, applied one to the 8+ on ios16.02, its the same, I can fee my eyes start to hurt and I feel a headache coming on only after a few seconds using the device.

              Accessibility options still enabled same as my regular 8 (but thats still on ios14) reduce whitepoint is on and motion is off, truetone on or off makes no differences.

              I strongly believe for IOS at least, they changed the colour gamut / profile / space (whatever it may be called) at ios15 and continued this into ios16, this will likely mean more dithering to fake a higher color space that the screen can display. I dont think any covers will help with this if it is the cause.

              Of course others may differ, there are some LED lights that I cant look at that dont have PWM, filters / covers may helo with that sort of thing for some but for me and this phone at least it doesnt help.

                7 days later

                HAL9000 Got the Mothca matte screen protectors, applied one to the 8+ on ios16.02, its the same, I can fee my eyes start to hurt and I feel a headache coming on only after a few seconds using the device.

                Sorry to hear that it isn't a solution for you @HAL9000 - sadly there is a comorbidity of issues at play so what works for one person is not going to work for everyone.

                Also worth remembering that I personally need up to a week for my brain to 'reset', and I also need to work through the placebo effect of my brain trying to 'protect' me from screens which have given me years of torture by triggering a migraine.

                That could potentially account for feeling pain within a few seconds - your brain is trying to protect you from something it believes will do you harm? Not that this makes it any less real of course. It makes trying new solutions almost impossible so I feel your pain.

                daniel_mate I've tried 2-3 other brands before, but none compared to the Skinomi one. Just by looking at it you can tell it's some sort of a rubber or silicone. It's more grainy, I can see some silicone patterns on it.

                Very interesting post. thanks - I'm sticking with what works just now but will keep the Skinomi brand in mind.

                GZunit I just got iPhone 13 and just like with iPhone 12 I feel dizzy and strange very quickly. I ordered the Mothca protector you recommend and I am waiting for its arrival.

                Fingers crossed - please report back @GZunit. Do you experience problems with the patterns I mentioned at the top? I believe this solution applies to those experiencing pattern glare symptoms rather than a global solution.

                ensete This is ne of the reasons I don't subscribe to the dithering hypothesis. Putting plastic over a screen will do nothing to dithering whatsoever but can completely eliminate symptoms

                Absolutely @ensete. As ever my understanding of this issue over the last decade has shifted and expanded. Dithering / sub-pixel rendering / flickering is still on the table for me as I don't believe this solution would explain why different drivers on my laptop can turn on or off my symptoms, on the same hardware.

                This is a real 'win' for me though - I have yet to test the theory on a Macbook but I'm excited to have a new route to pursue.

                Web One thing I’ve noticed is that when I try to count a bunch of lines or identical numbers in a row, I gradually get the same feeling that I get when using a bad screen or being under fluorescent lighting. Have you tried counting a bunch of identical patterns and seeing if that triggers symptoms?

                Very interesting @Web, and it's making me remember being young and never understanding which I used to feel so sick when digging through a huge box of lego looking for parts. Perhaps it's related to the patterns everywhere? Things I used to assume happened to everyone I'm now realising are perhaps part of this condition?

                Web I’m wondering if it’s a type of epilepsy. My symptoms started after I took a drug called salvia back in 2008. I had no issues before. I’ve always thought it was a brain issue and not an eye issue.

                I absolutely think it's related to epilepsy, and it would tie in with several period in my life when I've had what appear to be focal aware seizures after using bad devices. I documented this in another post here.

                  13 days later

                  Hi All, unfortunately the mothca protector did nothing for my situation 🙁 I don’t believe I have problems with any of the patterns.

                  si_edgey thank you for your reply

                  @ensete could you please elaborate on your circumstances? I am trying to figure out if I should try Skinomi protector or just sell that damn phone.

                  Interesting piece of info: my wife also got a brand new iPhone 13. She can use hers without any problems but struggles to use mine. Makes her dizzy quickly. All ver confusing to me.

                  Try the SE - much more eye-friendly

                  ensete This is ne of the reasons I don't subscribe to the dithering hypothesis. Putting plastic over a screen will do nothing to dithering whatsoever but can completely eliminate symptoms

                  Even when it isn't the main cause I wouldn't be surprised if a sum of multiple potential triggers would be "pouring gasoline onto the fire" of issues.

                  dev