Apple Watch Series 8-9 is too dim at night

I've got the same problem. the automtic brightness control dims my series 9 when there is no ambient light so low that i can't read it anymore. As soon as i e.g. point a flashlight at the watch it turns brightness up and i can read it.

This is unacceptable. There are plenty of persons with this problem.

Please provide a setting to control brightness in dark environment!

Mine if the same way. Brightness all the way up, text as big as it goes and bold text on. I’m in my 40s and had cataract surgery, my doctor says my cataract lenses are not good in low light, I just paid $800 for a watch that won’t let me increase the brightness to a level I can see.

you better fix this or you will only be able to sell to the young generation which doesn’t have as much disposable income as the older generations

^^^ Do not complain, this is 'new feature' of Series 9, so that the display can go down to just 1 nit of brightness. Apple invested in this tech and now needs to show it off to everyone.

But seriously, just bought 2 Series 9 watches for my wife and myself and already regret (both coming from Series 4). Maximum brightness level that is possible to set up, persomnally I'd consider absolute minimum of what it should be allowed to be set. Hey Apple, bring us back ability to see the time in darkness! I do not care about 5 minutes of lost batery capacity due to power drain, if I can't use the watch at all, because I can't see anything on the screen!

Awesome! Version 10.4 has finally given us a fix for the too dim screen on watch 9. In accessibility, there is now a minimum brightness toggle setting available. For those of us with vision issues, this is a welcome change. Thank you, Apple.

Having the same night dimness issue with Watch series 9. My series 4 is much brighter at night and I can easily read texts and emails with it but impossible with series 9 even though the screen is larger and supposedly double the brightness. Called support and they checked all settings and ensured the watch was working properly but couldn't help past that. Poor design.

I just upgraded for Apple Watch 4 to 9. The 9 is too dim in darkness to be useful. It is impossible to even see the time while driving at night. There should be an Accessibility feature to compensate for those of us with vision issues. I do not have this issue with the 4 and the battery performance is just fine for a while day usage.

I’m having the same issue as well on a Series 9 that I’ve just bought. Great most of the time, but far too dim in low light even with brightness turned up to the maximum setting. Surely they have to fix this. It makes reading the screen very difficult. If it’s intentional, it’s very bizarre. I just want an option to turn off auto brightness.

I ended up returning the Series 9 watch since the screen was too dim to read in low-light environments and there is no way to adjust this. I had the brightness on the Series 9 set to maximum. I'm going to continue to use my Series 4 which is very readable in all lighting conditions. I hope this problem with the Series 9 can be fixed in the future as the battery life for my Series 4 is starting to deteriorate, it has a cracked screen, and it becoming sluggish. I can read the screen however!

I decided to return my new Series 9 and keep my 4. I couldn't justify spending the money and not being able to see the watch at night without putting my iphone flashlight on it. Too bad since I like the larger screen and brighter screen in sunlight.

^^^ I just bought a series 9 41mm today and noticed that the watch was SUPER dark while sitting in my living room with the lights off.

I came here to find some answers and it seems like it’s not just my watch!

it must be a new feature and I DO NOT like it!! Coming from a series 3 watch!

it’s almost like it’s an automatic brightness setting that you cannot shut off.

Apple please fix it.

Could this finally be the fix??? A new accessibility option, minimum brightness. Haven’t tested yet, but here’s hoping it’s the fix we’ve all been waiting for. Fingers crossed.

thanks, but scrolling the crown moves my screen up she’s down, it has no affect the brightness. All my settings match your suggested solution, right it is a 7.

I 150 percent agree, this is sad that Apple has no sympathy for those with eye sight issues nor desire to assist with accessibility issues by giving options. Just make the auto dim a setting switch and let us decide if battery life is more important than seeing the watch face. Sad really.

You used to be able to bring up the phone app and press the keypad option to brighten the face so you could see it. Even that is gone now in the later OS release. Inconsiderate.

I just tested this on my older series 7, and in watchOS9, the rotate up from a black screen in Theater mode still works as described.

If scrolling your crown up in watchOS 10 is showing the screen up to show the complications, that means your screen was on to begin with.

To Clarify: I have an automation that turns on "Theater Mode" after I go to bed. This makes the Apple Watch always on feature turn off. When it is in Theater Mode, and the screen is black, you can rotate the Crown Up slowly to brighten the display one click at a time. Then from there you can tap the screen and the brightness setting will remain.

This rotation feature only turns the brightness up to the max that you have it set in Settings > Display.

Without theater mode on, I found that activating the "Flashlight" tool, and increasing its brightness will also increase the watches brightness if in a dark area. When you turn off the flashlight (screen bright white), the brightness of the screen setting is left at the brightest you had it set in Settings > Display.

Good luck!

Yes it is fixed. There is now a minimum brightness toggle available in the accessibility menu. It is now very easy to see in dim light, and in the car at night. I have not noticed any battery issues leaving this feature on.