I turned my off as well, in fact I didn't use it from the start with my Ultra over the year that's passed. I however blamed my eyes being worse with age, maybe it's not me, it's Apple. 
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Watch Ultra Display Too Dim in Low Light, Say Some Users
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
If that were the case, we wouldn't be noticing a difference since upgrading to newer watches / watchOS versions.
My Series 6 – recently replaced with a Series 9 – did not exhibit this problem, yet the newer model does… And it's noticeable in the space of a week, so unlikely to be vision related.
Not much of an issue.
This can easily be fixed with a software update. And users can increase the brightness...
This can easily be fixed with a software update. And users can increase the brightness...
I mean, the feature of rotating the Digital Crown to gradually increase the brightness when in Cinema Mode / Sleep Mode is the biggest hint that this general dimness in low light is a bug not a feature – otherwise, that feature wouldn't make as much sense as the display would already be glowing with very low light.
Hopefully can be fixed with a software update. But there is a possibility it's due to a defect in the hardware sensor or another component.
I posted further up the thread that increasing the brightness manually doesn't solve the problem as the display remains dim (just slightly less so)…
You mean 1 nit, not 2, assuming you have an AWU2. The best solution here is a user setting for those who want more brightness, back to 2 nits, perhaps, in low light mode.
Seems like a feature to me. I hate how bright my series 7 can be in pitch darkness. Having a display that can dim enough when it is dark is an often overlooked part of a good display.
Very low light in dark environment. I can barely see what is there. Thanks God, I have no problem with my vision.
night mode is unreadable at night, not sure what Apple is doing with all the new releases this year
I think the watch has always had problems with dark tattoos. 😕
You’re sure? If you carefully watch unboxing videos, you see a lot of watches with the same gap.
User-configurable usability options on an Apple product? You are hilarious!
so glad I did not fall for it. very happy with my Garmin Instinct watch. no touchscreen ********.
And whooping two settings for backlight - one of normal use and one for sleep mode! All in 10% increments!! 😳
It would be nice if apple made it where it has an initial large drop in brightness and then slowly drops down to its final dimness over 30 seconds or so.
I have noticed an issue, in the early evenings before the sun is down completely, where my ultra is dimming when going from the hall(overhead light on) to the bedroom(single lamp on) and when I lift my wrist there is a delay and then it comes out of night mode. There is definitely room for refinement on the subject, but I don’t think it is a make or break topic.
Maybe the ones that don't have a gap are defective. There's no room for expansion and contraction of the case and the display under extreme conditions and the display will eventually crack.
Came here to post this. Series 9 definitely has the same issue with loads of people reporting in the forums.Same issue on the Series 9 as well.
I love the 1 nits brightness in dark environments. Don’t have a problem reading the AWU2 display, at all! It’s one of the things I really like about the AWU2 and watchOS 10!
Maybe it's a related issue, but with my Ultra (original), I think that the 'dim' setting is triggered too much. In other words, it has to get much brighter than I would like for 'dim' mode to finally be switched to "ordinary/bright' mode. I have no problems with the brightness level when it's really dark. It just seems that, sometimes, it's like it wants direct full sunlight on it before it returns to normal.
Put it under Accessibility to placate Apple’s self-image, then it’ll be fine.
I hate that I can't tell if you're serious or not.Maybe the ones that don't have a gap are defective. There's no room for expansion and contraction of the case and the display under extreme conditions and the display will eventually crack.