No matter if you have a regular Apple Watch or the Apple Watch Ultra, here’s how to adjust the Apple Watch screen brightness.
I’ve been an Apple Watch user since the Series 5 and have been in love with the device ever since. Even though the Apple Watch is capable of so much (its health features are a standout) one of the best things about the Apple Watch is its display.
It’s absolutely gorgeous – and this is especially true if you have an Apple Watch with an always-on display, which includes the Apple Watch Series 5, Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Watch Series 7, Apple Watch Series 8, and Apple Watch Ultra.
The Apple Watch display is phenomenal – especially on the Apple Watch Ultra, since it’s capable of up to 2,000 nits of brightness. The Apple Watch Series 8, which also came out in 2022, is capable of 1,000 nits of brightness.
But some people might not prefer the brightest Apple Watch display possible. Or some might want to boost their Apple Watch screen brightness. If either of those scenarios applies to you, know that Apple makes it very easy to adjust the Apple Watch screen brightness – and as a matter of fact, Apple gives you two different ways to adjust your Apple Watch screen brightness.
The first is using the Apple Watch itself to adjust the screen brightness and the second is using the Apple Watch companion app that lives on your iPhone.
We’ll check out both methods below. And also just know that these methods work the same no matter if you have an Apple Watch Series model or an Apple Watch Ultra model. Just be sure your Apple Watch is running watchOS 9 or later.
How To Adjust Apple Watch Screen Brightness: The Apple Watch Method
The first way to adjust the Apple Watch screen brightness is probably the most convenient of the two. That’s because you do so using the Apple Watch, which is strapped right to your wrist. Here’s how to adjust the Apple Watch screen brightness using the Apple Watch itself:
- Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch.
- Tap Display & Brightness.
- At the top of the Display & Brightness screen, you’ll see an APPEARANCE header with a free line below it. On either side of that line is a sun icon – a small one to the left and a large one to the right. Tap the small sun icon to lower the Apple Watch screen brightness. Or tap the large sun icon to increase the Apple Watch screen brightness.
And that’s it! You now know how to adjust the Apple Watch screen brightness on your Apple Watch itself.
However, do keep this in mind: first, the current Apple Watches only have three brightness intervals, which I call low, medium, and high. In other words, there are only three different levels of brightness on the Apple Watch. Also keep in mind that the brighter your Apple Watch screen, the more likely it is to run through the battery faster.
How To Adjust Apple Watch Screen Brightness: The iPhone Method
Some people like using the Apple Watch app on their iPhone to adjust their Apple Watch settings. This is because some users just like to use the iPhone’s larger display when tweaking their Apple Watch controls. If that’s you, follow these steps to adjust your Apple Watch screen brightness using your iPhone:
- Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
- Tap Display & Brightness.
- At the top of the Display & Brightness screen, you’ll see a BRIGHTNESS header with a white line below it. On either side of that line is a sun icon – a small one to the left and a large one to the right. Tap the small sun icon to lower the Apple Watch screen brightness. Or tap the large sun icon to increase the Apple Watch screen brightness. Alternatively, you can drag the dot on the line to adjust the brightness, too.
The brightness on your Apple Watch will adjust in real time even though you are using your iPhone.
Michael Grothaus
Apple expert and novelist, Michael Grothaus has been covering tech on KnowYourMobile for the best part of 10 years. Prior to this, he worked at Apple. And before that, he was a film journalist. Michael is a published author; his book Epiphany Jones was voted as one of the best novels about Hollywood by Entertainment Weekly. Michael is also a writer at other publications including VICE and Fast Company.
