Series 5 Apple Watch is too dim when activated

Well mine is. 2 months old and suddenly it’s fine. I’m not returning it

Not so comparing my 5 with wife’s 4. I keep hoping.

Never mind. There are other things to worry about now.....

Other things like making arrogant time-wasting replies.

Mine's ok - it got bright enough / or my eyes became accustomed to it and that's fine.

I don't know what you are talking about. Never mind

Side by side comparison of Series 4 (lowest brightness, watch face needed to be manually turned on) and Series 5 (lowest brightness, Always on Display) in “no light”, “low light” and “bright light” settings.

Please note:

• the AOD face shown in these photos is dimmer than it would be if you turned it toward yourself to view the time (I.e. wake on raise) as the watch brightens when it is “active”. I went with AOD only as this more likely to be the face you glance at without moving your arm.
• It is also worth pointing out that the dimmer Series 5 AOD face is still much brighter than the Series 4 face would be in the same position (I.e. “off”) if I hadn’t had to tap the Series 4 to turn it on for each photo.
• decide for yourself if the watch face is “usable” or “tolerable” as some users (5 on this thread) find it too dim while some users (2 on this thread) find it too bright.
• I previously edited the photos I had uploaded to be the closest visual representation of what I am *actually* seeing in these conditions to ensure that “photos like these” are not “misleading”. But this time it’s side by side comparison so hey, draw your own conclusions. It could also be possible my photos don’t suddenly make the watch appear brighter - my unit may actually be brighter for a number of reasons. I would like to point out again I did mention the issue being described by users here could be the display itself is too dim, period. It could be a faulty ambient light sensor / software calibration which may be resolved in the future or it could be personal preference of whether the default brightness between the S4 or S5 is “better”. I don’t know if anyone here who has a complaint is using the S5 as their first Apple Watch or if everyone is comparing to their experience with previous models.
• and probably the best advice of all: have a hands on and decide for yourself. That is what both fishius and I have done with different outcomes (one returned their watch, one uses their watch) and your outcome will also be individual to you.

Compared my Series 5 to my wife’s Series 4 and it is indeed dimmer but I prefer it over the blinding lamp that is the Series 4.

Personal preference aside, I took the following photo with brightness set to the lowest setting (still not low enough IMO) in a well lit office with my arm fully extended and my phone at eye level and it is still clearly legible (with a screen protector fitted also). Note: I have astigmatism and deuteranomaly colour-blindness so my *opinion* is unless you need glasses you should have no issue with the Series 5.

Anyways, above personal anecdotes aside, yes it is definitely dimmer than the Series 4 so this is legitimate complaint if that affects you.

Hi Fishius,

Please accept my apologies - obviously tone and context are difficult to read in text. This is why I stated twice in my post that my comments were opinion and personal anecdotes which, in hindsight, was insufficient clarification.

My *intent* was to clarify from a side-by-side comparison of the Series 4 & Series 5 (literally side-by-side on two watches) that the brightness was definitely dimmer on the Series 5 but to also provide my experience with this in case the issue was limited to the displays/ambient light sensors on some specific watches rather than an issue with the Series 5 in general. This was not

intended to dismiss or invalidate any other experiences so I apologise if that was how my post was perceived and for the apparent rudeness (also not intended).

I accept that I could have worded my "should have no issue" better, probably in the same way you could have said "almost everyone here already knew that" as you were completely missing what was reported by xvxfrozenxvx ;) but in all seriousness, yes, I could have worded that better.

To address your other comment - photos of low light and no light to follow (again, on lowest watch brightness setting in AOD mode)

Haha, thank you but honestly it’s totally ok - I am diagnosed autistic with anxiety so I am well and truly used to either being misinterpreted or misinterpreting things myself :P and plus, it’s the internet so just another day

It appears the 40mm variant may have a 10% larger battery (https://www.macrumors.com/2019/09/26/apple-watch-series-5-battery-40mm/) which could account for the difference you found (along with the smaller display needing less power than the 44mm display) but as Apple don’t release battery specs and the tear down is far from exact this should be taken with a grain of salt.

Either way, I would support your concern if the watch doesn’t appear to be suitable for your needs. I’ll try to remember to do a side-by-side comparison once WatchOS 6.1 is released, otherwise maybe wait for series 6

Absolutely agree with that, its to bright for me. I would just like to see the time in more subtle manner. Don’t want that whole world look at my wrist. I think if I turn the crown a bit when display is turned off than I have the right brightness. Anyway, there should be an option for setting the brightness in more precise way in either mode: active or inactive.

I think that you could have specific faces for when the the screen is on always on. And yes the brightness needs to be more granular. I’m sure that in coming updates we will see this changes or improved

From series 5 watch owners with whom I talk, they (and I) will gladly trade brighter activated face for increased battery drain. Two such owners have returned 5 watches. Aside, apple store employees (Palm Desert and Boise) seem to be clueless on issue.

The auto-dim setting on the Series-5 is something that has to be fixed NOW! I don't know why Apple has to decide for all of us how bright we want our watch to be in any situation. If it drains the battery quicker that should be up to us, and not them. They can have "Recommended Settings" for longer battery life, and if we choose to not follow those that is on us, and not them.

I thought I must be going blind last night sitting on my couch figuring out my watch in a dimly lit room. I'm thinking I just spent $800 for a watch I can't even see. I didn't even know what was happening and thought I must have a lemon because there is no way this can't be adjusted for low-light environments. I learned quickly from looking on here that I'm not the only one that has an issue with this. Actually, my new $800 watch works perfectly according to what APPLE thinks it should look like in low-light. I use an iPhone, iPad, Mac, and AirPods daily. The watch is a swing & a miss and going back if they don't fix this with an update.

Where are all the angry emoji's when you REALLY need them?!?!?!