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Outdoors yesterday, around dusk, The face I was using (brown chrono) was very difficult to read. The thin white hands were almost invisible to these old eyes. Had to swap to Utility, which was very readable.

Yes, even at the brightest setting, the watch isn't all that bright.
 

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Use stock brightness setting. No problem on reading the watch outdoor. However, I live in Hong Kong, we seldom see the blue sky here (due to air pollution), that may be the reason why I can read it easily :D
 
Does it auto adjust to light settings? Seems like if I'm in a dark room, the watch gets dim. Walk into a well lit room area, it get much brighter. I have my phone set on half brightness and the check mark for "auto-adjust" is off.
 
I haven't had issue with the brightness of the Watch. Even in full sun I was able to see it clearly.

This is me also, and my watch is set on the middle setting.

I use a stripped down version of the Utility face - maybe that's a factor? But I don't have trouble reading notifications either.
 
I agree it's not very bright even at full brightness. I would bet that it has the capability to be brighter and maybe on a future update they'll allow for a brighter full setting once they can conserve battery life better. Apple really needs to do something with that because there seem to be too many important sacrifices to conserve battery... Brightness, Screen Timeout, Full Screen Color/Non Black Background Watchfaces, 'Speaking' Siri, etc.
 
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Does it auto adjust to light settings? Seems like if I'm in a dark room, the watch gets dim. Walk into a well lit room area, it get much brighter. I have my phone set on half brightness and the check mark for "auto-adjust" is off.
Yes it auto adjusts. And I find it a little easier to read in direct sunlight than my phone. And I'm usually wearing sunglasses when I'm looking at it. It's not a Pebble but it is readable. If you can see your phone in direct sunlight you won't have a problem with the watch.

One thing that can be done to make the watch's notifications easier to read and save a little battery life is turn on Reduce Transparency. I've done that and it has really made everything much more legible.
 
Apparently the sapphire is more reflective and lets less light through from the display. Source:http://9to5mac.com/2015/04/27/displaymate-apple-watch-display-test/

I owned a glass one (SGS) for two weeks, then returned for a sapphire one (SS). No complaints here. Yes the sapphire is more reflective, and perhaps the display slightly less bright, but it's a small difference. I'll gladly take the glossiness of the sapphire over the less reflective ion-x specifically because this is a watch not a phone. On a phone you are reading web pages and emails and reflections would get annoying. On a watch, you are just glancing, and IMO the glossiness of the sapphire just makes it a much sharper looking watch (along with the shiny stainless). Readability isn't significantly impacted and I really dig the look, feel, and durability of the sapphire.
 
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I'm seeing no evidence that the display brightness auto adjusts, despite claims to the contrary.
 
I'm seeing no evidence that the display brightness auto adjusts, despite claims to the contrary.
You can see it when the watch is half-covered by your sleeve and then turn the wrist. The display is darker then and lightens up when you move up the sleeve.
 
Really? I see it all the time. But then I turned it down to lowest level, and never have any issues, even in full sunlight. So it is possible if turned up high it does less scaling up and down.

That must be it. I've got my brightness cranked up to high and can't notice a difference.
 
Increasing the brightness only increases the minimum level. The sensor still does its work. I have not noticed any impact to battery life. I'm sure there's some, but not enough to matter.
 
What version? I have the Space Grey Sport and I can see clearly in full sun and I keep it at less than full brightness.
 
I'd love to see a side-by-side to see if there's any real difference between the display of the Sport and the SS.
 
I'd love to see a side-by-side to see if there's any real difference between the display of the Sport and the SS.

There might be in some light conditions. In the Apple store, there's no distinguishable difference, either of brightness or glare.
 
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