WatchOS 5 + Series 3 = Blurry UI?

[Confuzzeled23]

Hey everyone,

I installed WatchOS 5 on my Series 3 today. I have noticed the UI appears to be less crisp than it was prior to OS5. Am I the only one noticing this? It's almost as if the UI has been squeezed down from the Series 4 display size and now things appear more pixelated. Especially with "no notifications".

Maybe it's just my eyes but it looks different to me.

 

[Aston441]

Interesting theory. I personally haven't noticed. Have you tried changing the font size?

 

[iFan83]

Just finished the update and I notice it being blurry as well, nothing too distracting but I would think a future update will solve it.

 

[Tofupunch]

I was about to update the watch but I'm going to hold off if this is the case. It would drive me crazy.

 

[Broken Hope]

Check your text size option, mine on a series 2 looks fine.

 

[Nozuka]

No issue with my S3 either

 

[Birkan]

I wonder if it is related to removal of subpixel antialiasing in MacOS Mojave. Maybe they removed it in WatchOS as well to improve performance. I don’t know if it ever was enabled on WatchOS to begin with.

 

[Nozuka]

No issue with my S3 either

actually i take it back. it does seem a bit blurry.

 

[friednoodles]

I wonder if it is related to removal of subpixel antialiasing in MacOS Mojave. Maybe they removed it in WatchOS as well to improve performance. I don’t know if it ever was enabled on WatchOS to begin with.

Subpixel antialiasing has never existed on iOS or watchOS.

 

[matrix07]

How can the UI be blurry when all of them likely are vector base?

 

[friednoodles]

Sharp as a tack on my Series 2.

 

[jhfenton]

I have not noticed any change in text quality in Watch OS 5 on my S2.

 

[Tofupunch]

I wonder if S3's are affected and not S2's? Though I'm not sure why that would be.

 

[gmikesell]

My series 3 looks as sharp as it ever did. Of course, I'm far sighted so everything within 20" of my eyes looks a little blurry. I guess that's a kind of blessing in this case?

 

[Tofupunch]

For comparisons sake, from my 42mm  watch 3. Is there a difference?
[doublepost=1537400692][/doublepost]After comparing them, it looks like it's blurrier in watchOS 5. It's mostly evident in the "no notifications" screenshot. Boo.

 

[michaelb5000]

I can't see what we are supposed to see in the screenshots here, and I can't see any blurriness on the watch after going to Os5 on my S3. I do think some of the fonts changed, particularly in apps, and the overall interface may be different in minor ways. Did you check the brightness and font size settings after upgrading, or the setting to have text be bold; just wondering if those returned to default or are also different.

 

[Tofupunch]

I can't see what we are supposed to see in the screenshots here, and I can't see any blurriness on the watch after going to Os5 on my S3. I do think some of the fonts changed, particularly in apps, and the overall interface may be different in minor ways. Did you check the brightness and font size settings after upgrading, or the setting to have text be bold; just wondering if those returned to default or are also different.

That's promising to hear that you don't notice any blurriness. I compared the OP's pics (particularly the one with "no notifications") to mine (watchOS 4) and do see that the font is not as crisp. It could be that the font size was changed, not sure.