Level 1

48 points

Apple Watch Series 6 not bright enough in dark environments. (Same issue as Apple Watch 5)

So I just picked up the new Apple Watch 6 (Silver Stainless 44mm) and as excited as I was, that changed pretty quickly when I realized it has the same annoying screen brightness (or rather *dim*ness) issue that made me return the 5 and stick with my 4.

In dark environments the ambient light sensor is too aggressive and makes the screen too dim to the point it can be difficult to read. In a side-by-side with the 4 it is *noticeably* dimmer! The 4 is perfect but for the 5/6, this is problematic for people such as me who wear glasses need that extra brightness to be able to read it.

This is most problematic if you're outside in the dusk, or in a dark environment like watching TV with the lights off or sitting in a movie theater because it ramps down too low.

The screen is more than capable of the brightness too because again, just like with the 5, in daylight, it really is bright. You can see this yourself! Just shine your iPhone's flashlight at your watch face and you'll see it turn practically blinding.

This was clearly a choice by Apple to implement because again, the hardware can easily handle it, and considering they never addressed it last round, I'm not optimistic this is even on their radar to address.

Also, since I've been asked this a few times, yes, the brightness in settings is turned all the way up, and yes, I am comparing the 'active' brighness (i.e. you're tapping on and interacting with the screen), not the 'always-on' brightness which is more of a 'stand-by' mode.

I even tried disabling the 'always on' screen to make it mimic the 4 exactly. Same result. The 4 is brighter. The 5 and 6 are too dim!!

I know why they did this... to eeek out as much battery life as possible. But that's just it... let *me* decide if I want to sacrifice battery life for brightness. I have never ran out of battery and usually end the day with around ~40% so I would happily give some of that up for more brightness because without it, I can't *read* half the text, even with my glasses on!

If it wasn't for the pulse-oximeter in it, this may have been sent right back just like the 5. I'm gonna give it a few days and see how annoyed I am with it before I decide.

Come on Apple... you're always so great around accessibility. A market leader actually. But twice now you've dropped the ball here! Please give us a version of the firmware where we can change the responsiveness of the auto-dimming to not be so aggressive! I want to love your products. #TakeMyMoneyNow! But give me light in return.

Here's the entire discussion about the same thing with Apple Watch 5.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250654320

Anyone else seeing this too? Again, against a 5 it's identical. Against a 4 it's blatantly obvious. It's not a subtle difference.

Apple Watch

Posted on Sep 21, 2020 6:10 PM

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MarqueIV Author

Level 1

48 points

Posted on Jan 29, 2021 12:53 AM

OK… Digging more I think I found out why this trick works. You actually don’t have to go into the keyboard twice. It’s the act of going into the keyboard from the phone app at all that disables the light sensor. (You only need to “go into it twice” if when you go to the phone app the keypad is already on the screen so you have to exit the keypad, then go back into the keypad, and then the light sensor disables.)

This actually makes sense because if you’re interacting with the phone, which is a really important feature, they want to make sure the screen is shown clearly, thus Apple disables the light sensor (or rather ignores it. Not sure which but the result is the same.)

Confirming that’s the case even more, when you are in this “mode” even if you go to settings and try to adjust the brightness, it remains on full. In other words, it’s locking the brightness to 100%.

When you hit the crown button, you’re essentially exiting the phone app before it has a chance to re-enable/engage the light sensor so your watch remains on full brightness until something else engages it.

As others have pointed out, if you have your watch screen set to turn off completely, it will reset every time. If you use the Always-On mode however, it will remain engaged. Be prepared though… It’s actually pretty blinding at this brightness. Still, at least I can read it now.

Of course this is still a hack, but at least it’s easy to do. I’m going to make sure to bring this to Apple’s attention.

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148 replies

luiz74

Level 1

4 points

Jan 29, 2021 2:48 PM in response to MarqueIV

very bad in dark places, is there any solution?

Jan 29, 2021 5:31 PM in response to luiz74

Only the 'workaround' above

I've also tried to bring it to Apples attention but got a standard reply

Feb 4, 2021 1:20 PM in response to MarqueIV

Noticing the same thing with my brand new SE; noticeably darker than my 3 and very annoying. Should be a way to turn off or adjust the ambient light sensor.

nortdogz

Level 1

4 points

Sep 26, 2020 1:03 PM in response to MarqueIV

I had the same issue. For some reason my original post was deleted. I spent over an hour talking to a tech specialist. They concluded the issue has to do with the ambient light sensor engine and that the watch was defective. They said it needs to be send in to be repair.

MarqueIV Author

Level 1

48 points

Sep 28, 2020 11:53 PM in response to nortdogz

Call them back and reference both this post and the one about the five. That’s the problem… If they don’t know about the issue then they will never fix it, but it’s clear it’s out there. Just look at the number of responses on the five and look how many are showing up here on the six already.

MarqueIV Author

Level 1

48 points

Oct 2, 2020 12:02 AM in response to Benrod229

Yeah, Already up. Technically they are both supposed to sync, but that doesn’t happen from the watch to the phone for some reason. If you change it on the phone it does update on the watch though. Either way, they are both at Max.

Again, this is a conscious decision by Apple and it was the wrong one.

Oct 8, 2020 5:11 AM in response to MarqueIV

My watch was bright the first 2 days, but now I can barely read it.

Very hard on the eyes.

SMALL and DIM does not work!!

Apple please advise about this issue!

Not worth straining eyes all day long.

#HEADACHE!

usmce9

Level 1

4 points

Oct 13, 2020 8:30 PM in response to MarqueIV

I changed to an Apple Watch 6 from FitBit Ionic. I am 60 and this is the main problem for me too. During the day, it looks great, but in lower light, I have to put reading glasses on. Not very happy. It should be an option to turn the ambient sensor off or on. Hoping Apple sends a fix.

P>S> Others I have talked to are displeased also.

Oct 18, 2020 7:20 PM in response to MarqueIV

Clearly the viewing environment and your visual acuity are divergent. Having worked with blind people, I know that the apple watch can be configured to speak. Then you leave your dark glasses on and not worry.

I have a lux meter and I have check several products with it as I cynical about claims.

The brightness of series 6 is more than series 5. What is 2x brighter, apparent brightness or some measured value.

Oct 19, 2020 5:11 PM in response to MarqueIV

@MarqueIV Did you end up returning the watch? I'm in the second evening of using the 6 and I can't read it in low light. Called support and they escalated the case. But for now I'm planning to return. Can't justify the $550 when my 3 works 'better'.

Maybe I'll buy in the future if they add support for disabling the ambient light changes...

TL-LA

Level 1

20 points

Oct 19, 2020 6:44 PM in response to Vegan Advocate

I wish people would stop telling us to just adjust the brightness on the phone or the watch. That is NOT the problem here. We ALL have ALL of our settings set to the brightest setting and that works great - in bright light! But the Watch 5 and Watch 6 have built in light sensors to automatically DIM the brightness in lower light. This feature is deliberate and meant to extend battery life. However, unlike the iPhone, iPad or Mac, this “auto dimming” feature cannot be disabled manually on the Watch. Hence, we are left to strain our eyes trying to see the dimmer watch screen. This is the feature we do not like about the Watch 6 and this is the feature we would like Apple to correct so that we can MANUALLY adjust the brightness and control the battery life as WE see fit.

MarqueIV Author

Level 1

48 points

Oct 19, 2020 7:39 PM in response to hbomb98121

No, I still have it specifically because of the blood-oxygen sensor in the time of Covid. I can say if it wasn’t for that though, yes, this would have gone back, just like the 5 did.

The fact that this is a software issue, not a hardware issue—again as clearly demonstrated by simply shining your iPhone’s flashlight at the watch face—makes it extra frustrating that they did not fix this yet. I’m not hopeful they will.

that’s why the best that we can do is file this as a bug report because it directly affects accessibility, and that’s one area that Apple does seem to place a lot of focus on. So please file actual bug reports. Again venting here is great because you know you’re not alone, but I’m not optimistic this actually changes anything.

Starxd

Level 1

4 points

Oct 20, 2020 11:10 PM in response to MarqueIV

I’ve been very happy with my Series 4, but I finally decided to upgrade. The Series 6 Titanium Edition arrived today and I discovered this EXACT same issue. It is WAY too dim in a dark-ish room, plus the brightness level constantly jumps around. I’ve only been wearing it for about 3 hours and I already decided it has to go back... but I’m going to give it at least 24 hours.

BazAspen

Level 1

4 points

Oct 22, 2020 12:57 AM in response to MarqueIV

Yes, very dis-appointed that it’s not truly always on.

There should be an option to stop it dimming, for people like me who are not worried about battery life, and just want a watch that always looks like a watch, without having to bring your arm up and twisting.

Am contemplating sending it back because of this.

MarqueIV Author

Level 1

48 points

Oct 24, 2020 9:19 AM in response to BazAspen

Could be? Yes. Is it? No. That’s why we need to let Apple know they have to change this. They have to put such an option on the device because right now there isn’t one. There is just the brightness slider but that has nothing to do with the ambient light sensitivity. The ambient light sensor is what we need to tamp down.

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Apple Watch Series 6 not bright enough in dark environments. (Same issue as Apple Watch 5)