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Sounds like Apple have tweaked the auto brightness to be more aggressively dimmed in low light to conserve battery for the always on
 
Yep. I am comparing the two and prefer the S4. Not sure if I will keep. I’m not as wowed as I thought I would be.
 
I have to admit I was very skeptical when I ordered my AW 5 but after wearing it so far this afternoon I freaking love it ... coming from a series 4 .. not noticing any difference in brightness .. other AW 4 owners .. nothing wrong keeping what you have but I love the always on feature such much more than I thought I would.
 
I do not notice significant difference in display brightness in my new Series 5 watch. I had the Series 4 but gave it to my sister. The gold SS Milanese loop looks more bronze than gold however.

LOVE the always on display. All my complications show up great in the dim state.
 
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Hello,
Today on launch day i was excited to upgrade my Series 4 to Series 5. However, when i compared both watches, i noticed that for some strange reason, my S4 watch was brighter than the S5 at the maximum brightness setting (not the S5 setting where it dims to do it's always-on thing)

Because of that i was quite surprised and you can tell a difference. I wonder if any one else saw this difference?
I was comparing aluminimum models only.
Thanks!
Hello,
Today on launch day i was excited to upgrade my Series 4 to Series 5. However, when i compared both watches, i noticed that for some strange reason, my S4 watch was brighter than the S5 at the maximum brightness setting (not the S5 setting where it dims to do it's always-on thing)

Because of that i was quite surprised and you can tell a difference. I wonder if any one else saw this difference?
I was comparing aluminimum models only.
Thanks!

I am relieved to see your post. I noticed it too thought my watch is defective. But I didn’t find any difference when I turned on flash light on both 4 and 5. It’s watch faces which I guess intentionally made to dim to accommodate 18 battery life.
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I have to admit I was very skeptical when I ordered my AW 5 but after wearing it so far this afternoon I freaking love it ... coming from a series 4 .. not noticing any difference in brightness .. other AW 4 owners .. nothing wrong keeping what you have but I love the always on feature such much more than I thought I would.

always on feature is really good and necessary part of Apple Watch.
 
Not intending to challenge you, but the specs page lists the identical thing. Could you guide me to where Apple discusses the differences between the S4 and S5 LPTO OLED displays?

I remember the keynote talking about the display but don't recall it discussing differences other than driver hardware allowing 1hz refresh and new ambient light sensor.

All I know is what I saw at the keynote. I still have to read up.
 
Yep. I am comparing the two and prefer the S4. Not sure if I will keep. I’m not as wowed as I thought I would be.
I bought a SS on a whim while picking up my iPhone. I returned shortly after before leaving the store after seeing the demo units.

I did compare brightness also, definitely noticeable. I do want a Titanium Series 5 but I'm more on the fence after seeing AOD in action. Not sure if I want to lose my ass on my Series 4 sale.
 
Not sure if I want to lose my ass on my Series 4 sale.
Your S4 Is worth what it is worth. The question is the cost to change to a new one, as the value of what you currently have is low today and will be even lower tomorrow.

That said, the features of the S5 may not be worth to you what the net cost would be to get one. In that case it makes sense to wait, even though your S4 will be worth even last a year from now than today.
 
This might be a show stopper for me. I'll have to check this out in person, but if it is significantly dimmer then I will pass on the AW5. I'm thankful for the reports and feedback here!
 
All I can say is, it can be adjusted with a software update. It’s not a defect. If enough people e-mail Apple that the screen dims to low when in darker lighting I’m sure they will adjust.

I must say I love how smooth the brightening and darkening of the always on display is, it’s like butter!
 
always on feature is really good and necessary part of Apple Watch.

I think it’s the main reason why second hand AW4 prices have tanked so much.

AOD is what makes a watch a watch.

Hopefully AW5 prices hold up a bit better this time next year.
 
I think it’s the main reason why second hand AW4 prices have tanked so much.

AOD is what makes a watch a watch.

Hopefully AW5 prices hold up a bit better this time next year.
Sadly AW just don't hold their value like iPhones do. AW2 prices tanked when AW3 came out and same with AW3 prices... You'll be very lucky to get anything close to 50% in 1 year after a new model comes out. I don't think it has much to do with AOD or not...
 
Sadly AW just don't hold their value like iPhones do. AW2 prices tanked when AW3 came out and same with AW3 prices... You'll be very lucky to get anything close to 50% in 1 year after a new model comes out. I don't think it has much to do with AOD or not...

This is generally true but probably has to do with the Watch being such a new type of device and there being very desirable new features/upgrades with each new version. Smartphones are much more mature than wearables, so a 1-3 old iPhone is still „good enough“ for many people.
 
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Not intending to challenge you, but the specs page lists the identical thing. Could you guide me to where Apple discusses the differences between the S4 and S5 LPTO OLED displays?

I remember the keynote talking about the display but don't recall it discussing differences other than driver hardware allowing 1hz refresh and new ambient light sensor.

I'll be honest that I don't know the difference, technically. I was just throwing the new LED into the mix as to why there was a difference.
 
I'll be honest that I don't know the difference, technically. I was just throwing the new LED into the mix as to why there was a difference.
As I understand it, and I could be wrong, the displays themselves are the same. The difference lies in the display driver hardware, allowing for low refresh rate, thereby drastically reducing the power consumption. Again, I could be wrong, which is why I asked. Perhaps we’ll find out after someone does a tear down
 
All I can say is, it can be adjusted with a software update. It’s not a defect. If enough people e-mail Apple that the screen dims to low when in darker lighting I’m sure they will adjust.

I must say I love how smooth the brightening and darkening of the always on display is, it’s like butter!
I can't see Apple increasing display brightness without it reducing the claimed 18 hour battery life - and that would be a major backward step.
 
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As I understand it, and I could be wrong, the displays themselves are the same. The difference lies in the display driver hardware, allowing for low refresh rate, thereby drastically reducing the power consumption. Again, I could be wrong, which is why I asked. Perhaps we’ll find out after someone does a tear down

I may also be wrong but I got the impression that the LED itself is different. I'm going to try and find out.

Later: All I could find is that the LTPO is lower power so it can accommodate the always-on feature. Still looking.
 
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All I can say is, it can be adjusted with a software update. It’s not a defect. If enough people e-mail Apple that the screen dims to low when in darker lighting I’m sure they will adjust.

I must say I love how smooth the brightening and darkening of the always on display is, it’s like butter!

1. i am sure the S5 screen can be just as bright as the S4.
2. i am sure Apple knows it, so the reason it isn't as bright is battery savings to attempt to match the 18 hour S4 battery life with the S5 despite the always on display.
3. apple will never change the brightness settings the way you describe unless they figure out a way to save more battery yet with the same S5 hardware so they have the margin to up the brightness, this is doubtful to me.

i suspect the real fix... is S6.
 
I haven’t noticed any difference in brightness between my Series 4 and 5, both SS models.

I do think that perhaps the Series 5 has more settings. its like the Series 4 has four brightness levels whereas the Series 5 has sixteen. kinda like comparing a 4 speed transmission to a modern 9 speed.
 
I haven’t noticed any difference in brightness between my Series 4 and 5, both SS models.

I do think that perhaps the Series 5 has more settings. its like the Series 4 has four brightness levels whereas the Series 5 has sixteen. kinda like comparing a 4 speed transmission to a modern 9 speed.
I’m only seeing 3 on the S5, so less than the 4.
 
I’m only seeing 3 on the S5, so less than the 4.
I only had 3 on my S4. How’d you get four?

Are people comparing same front between generations? On S4 the sapphire was slightly dimmer than the ion glass

Brightness on my SBT S5 (sapphire) seems the same as what I had on my SBSS S4 (sapphire).
 
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