Garmin smartwatch users question adaptive brightness feature

Users of the Garmin Fenix 8 AMOLED have flagged various issues linked to the smartwatch’s automatic brightness adjustment feature. This issue has been discussed in the brand’s forum for some time, with a representative for Garmin shedding light on the brand’s current stance.

In a Garmin forum post, which has had over 20,000 views and more than 130 comments since it began, Fenix 8 AMOLED smartwatch customers have been discussing their problems linked to the watch’s brightness levels. For context, this wearable has an integrated ambient light sensor, which is used to automatically dim the display in low lighting. Garmin suggests that this is to prevent the screen from being “blindingly bright” in darker environments.

However, many Fenix 8 users have indicated that, at its lowest brightness level, the smartwatch’s screen becomes hard to read. A second, smaller group of users suggest that this minimum brightness level is not enough. The problem here is that Garmin does not offer a way for users to customize the minimum brightness level to suit their individual needs. 

In Garmin’s first response to the forum post, it appeared that the company’s engineers were keen to investigate this issue further. However, several weeks later, a representative for the brand stated that the team had “determined this behaviour is by design”, and therefore had no solution for these user complaints. A couple of customers have since suggested workarounds, like changing the data and accent color to white to increase the brightness when the watch is in low-light mode.

Other users have asked that more Fenix 8 AMOLED (43 mm curr. $1,099.99 at Amazon) customers should get in touch with Garmin’s support team. They propose that, with enough complaints, they could convince the company to develop a new brightness level setting. It remains to be seen whether or not Garmin will take action to address this issue.