I doubt the paint is smoother as it’s measured in mere microns with the absolute maximum being 25. It’s a uniform coating and won’t be uneven due to the chemical process.
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My observations on Always-on Series 5 vs Series 6
- Thread starter bbates123
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I am by far not the most graceful, so it's entirely possible others may not suffer from my tendency to whack my watch into random stuff. Nor may folks be as finicky about disliking seeing nicks / dings to the casing. ... yet those are my afflictions, and I don't expect others to be the same.
I’ve worn mechanical watches for years so I’ve got a subconscious mindset of not whacking my watch into things. It means I can enjoy the aluminium watch and not feel compelled to spend twice as much as I need to as well. I prefer the material as I’m an engineer also so I’ve got an appreciation for 7000 series aluminium. Most of my job is office based too so my watch is safe from risky situations most of the time.
That's good to hear.
I'm only at about four decades of daily watch wearing so far, perhaps I'll get used to it sometime soon.
Me too and still bang into the occasional door jamb or whatever. My S4 had a slight mark on one corner of the screen. Happened within the first month of ownership. I saw it EVERY time I looked at it. Went with Sapphire crystal on the S6. Loving it so far.
I think you’re a lost cause in that case mate I’m sorry lol. I’m not even 4 decades old yet and I’ve mastered it
I get aluminum because I know I'll be tempted to upgrade each year. My last two Apple watches both got a scratch on the screen that was annoying. I'm carefully with my devices but sometimes life happens and I accidentally hit it on something.
See it as a patina rather than a scratch
No point putting a spotless AW in a drawer after a few years when it could have a bit of character. A scratch won’t make much impact on resale value either as the value of these things drop faster than a brick in the sea.
Very very true!See it as a patina rather than a scratch
No point putting a spotless AW in a drawer after a few years when it could have a bit of character. A scratch won’t make much impact on resale value either as the value of these things drop faster than a brick in the sea.
I absolutely stand corrected on this. I compared my S5 to newer S6 outside today and there was definitely a difference in brightness. I really wonder if the first S6 I got on launch day was defective because it didn't look anything like the one I have now in regards to brightness outdoors on AOD. Anyway, my bad for doubting anyone in here as there definitely is a difference.
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.
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.
Have you tried the Infograph Modular watch face? That one is so good when the display is dimmed that sometimes I've thought it actually wasn't.
No issues here.
I’ve owned S2 through S6. All have been perfectly fine for me in dim/dark environments.
My Apple Watch series 5 is plenty visible in the dark or in dim light I have to say. I’d never heard anybody even suggest it wasn’t until I read you post.
it's not my post,I copy and paste someone else post from the apple site, my English is not that good.I had that problem with the watch.I think it has to do with my eyesight,I am getting older (60)I couldn't even read the complication in the corner of the watch 6 but no problem with the watch 4.so I return the watch and I will wait for watch 7 next year if apple has not install a way to remove the always on setting, then I won't buy the watch.hehehe maybe I'll try the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4...
I definitely see a big difference in how bright the "active" S6 watch face is in low light compared to my S4. I do wish there was a way to control how aggressive the light sensor was. I can see it... but a little more brightness in low light would go a LONG way for me.
The ability to turn off the Always On Display has been there since AOD was first available.
Settings->Display&Brightness->AlwaysOn
Within that page is an On / Off toggle to turn off the Always On Display if you prefer it off.
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Except that is NOT what he is referring to. He is speaking of the overly aggressive light sensitivity of the "auto brightness" when the screen is active in low light situations. If you have a chance look at an S4 and S6 using the same watch face in low light. Tap the screens to ensure they are "on". The S6 is WAY darker.
All I am saying is I would like the ability to adjust that feature to make it a little less sensitive.
Thank you for serving as hall monitor.
I realize the desire was for more adjustability, yet I was answering these two specific questions:
Maybe instead of criticizing folks trying to be helpful you might instead offer your own helpful suggestion to @andre1264 .
As to this - I recall no differences between my SBSS S4 and SBSS S5 with the same brightness setting last year, and I see no difference between my SBSS S5 & SBTi S6 presently.
Are your S4 and S6 both the same display material? The sapphire crystals are slightly less transmissive than the ion-X crystals, and comparing an aluminum watch to a stainless steel watch will show a slightly dimmer display on the stainless steel watch when both are at the same brightness setting.
I am not criticizing anyone!.just saying more ability to adjust the brightness on the watch,for the next series of apple watches..
I only see this difference in low light situations. During normal usage the brightness is excellent. Even the AOD is excellent. In actual fact the S6 I have is SS with the Sapphire Crystal. My S4 was IonGlass with Aluminum. I have read all the reports which seem to originate in the very early versions of the Apple Watch.
Since I only notice the "dimness" issue in low light I am not that concerned... it still is visible just not as bright as I would like. Seems to me it would be MUCH harder to have the screen bright in high light situations. But there the watch has zero issues. So I don't really think this has anything at all to do with Sapphire vs. IonGlass. It is only the overly aggressive light sensor which causes this to occur in low light.