SE very dim indoors

[bobjonesco]

After I returned the S6 last week because my phone carrier couldn’t figure out how to activate the number, I picked up the SE (ECG doesn’t work in Australia and I don’t care for always on display.

Is it me and my old eyes, or is the indoor setting very dim? I’ve set brightness to max in the app and on the watch and updated the software - but it’s hard to see the screen indoor, even if there’s a bit of shade.

I don’t recall my old series 3 being this dark.
Kinda makes the watch annoying to use and I’ll probably return it.

 

[dsc888]

I too honestly noticed a much more aggressive dimming algorithm after I picked up my S6 vs my S4. Set at the same brightness in the same environment, the newer watch seems to dim the display quicker and won't push the brightness as much. They are both capable of the same 1000 nits, which you can test by shining you phone flash at both and they both get super bright. Apple most likely is trying to eek out as much batter life as possible. This is especially true for the S5 and S6 which has the AOD.

 

[bobjonesco]

I too honestly noticed a much more aggressive dimming algorithm after I picked up my S6 vs my S4. Set at the same brightness in the same environment, the newer watch seems to dim the display quicker and won't push the brightness as much. They are both capable of the same 1000 nits, which you can test by shining you phone flash at both and they both get super bright. Apple most likely is trying to eek out as much batter life as possible. This is especially true for the S5 and S6 which has the AOD.

Yeah it’s annoying. There’s no point saving battery life if I can barely read the display. Wonder if they’ll fix this with a software update - although I’ve seen old posts from people with the S5 complaining too and it hasn’t been fixed for them yet so...

 

[dsc888]

Yeah it’s annoying. There’s no point saving battery life if I can barely read the display. Wonder if they’ll fix this with a software update - although I’ve seen old posts from people with the S5 complaining too and it hasn’t been fixed for them yet so...

People will need to complaint to Apple more to get them to fix. I am sure they did plenty of testing beforehand where people were accepting of the brightness before they locked it in. I used to get 2 days with my S4 with light use and not barely over 1.25 days due to the AOD, which personally was the killer feature for me as I like to glance down and see the time without turning or lifting my wrist.

 

[nordique]

I’ve noticed this too. I just got a series 6, and it is very dim indoors. I’ve maxed out brightness and changed every setting.

it’s very noticeable
Check it out. My series 4 on the left, 6 on the right. Both max brightness.

series 6 is raised to wake (you can see the second hand)

again, both have same settings other than always on display.

aggressive auto dimming indeed

outdoors or bright light they look the same/similar but indoors especially in the evening the series 6 is noticeably dimmer. I found it jarring enough that I decided to return on this basis.

 

[nordique]

One more just to show with a brighter watch face

This is a bit disappointing.

going around the net a bit, this seems to be a relatively unknown but recognized issue since the series 5, with the always on display controller being the culprit.

although the SE doesn’t have the AoD, it does have the S5 chip which has the same controller (and is the entire difference between the S4 and S5 chips) which may explain why this would affect the SE as well