Apple iPhone 17 Pro: Turn Off PWM to Avoid OLED Flickering

Key Takeaways

1. The iPhone 16 Pro uses PWM at a frequency of 239Hz to adjust screen brightness, leading to potential flickering.
2. Users sensitive to flickering may experience eye fatigue and headaches, while others may not notice it.
3. The iPhone 17 Pro introduces an option to disable PWM, potentially improving the experience for sensitive users.
4. Disabling PWM may affect display performance at lower brightness, though specifics are unclear.
5. It’s uncertain if the PWM-off feature will be available on other iPhone models with iOS 26.

In our detailed examination of the Apple iPhone 16 Pro, we discovered that this top-tier smartphone utilizes PWM to lower the screen brightness, similar to most current OLED devices. Our tests showed a PWM frequency of 239Hz with a 15% amplitude, indicating the screen flickers 239 times every second. The way the display behaves can vary a bit based on the brightness level set.

Implications of Low PWM Frequency

A PWM frequency of 239Hz might make the screen flicker noticeably, which can lead to eye fatigue and headaches in users who are sensitive to such changes. On the other hand, those who are less sensitive often do not pick up on any flickering at all. Recently, MacRumors has verified that the Apple iPhone 17 Pro introduces a feature that allows users to turn off PWM completely, which could enhance the user experience for certain individuals. However, this setting needs to be activated manually in the system preferences.

Performance Considerations

When this feature is turned on, users receive a warning that it might negatively impact the display performance at lower brightness levels, but it’s not defined whether Apple is talking about response time, refresh rate, or color fidelity. Additionally, it remains uncertain whether this function will be accessible on other iPhone models running iOS 26 or how Apple will manage screen dimming without relying on PWM. More details on this topic will be included in our in-depth review of the iPhone 17 lineup.

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