Big differences in screen contrast

I picked up a 6X Solar and while it’s a great watch, I’ve wondered if the regular 6 would be a better fit. So I picked one up and the screen difference is startling.

At first glance, the screen on the 6 has much better contrast, the blacks look black and not washed out. But in menus where the screen is mostly white, there is a decided blue tint that is a little harsh.

My first thought was the 6X had the bum screen, but comparing to a Fenix 5 and a Marq, both matched the 6X in how they look.

Thoughts? I like the dark blacks on the 6 but kinda feel like it’s the screen with a problem...

EDIT: Both watches are set to 20% backlight in these pictures.

Top Replies

phn55 over 5 years ago +1

I had same difference on my 2 Forerunners 935. One more bluish other more yellowish led light.

In short - its best not to see the difference from the start because it gets difficult to decide which is …

All Replies

0 Former Member over 5 years ago

The 6X appears to have a bluer LED, and it also appears to be turned up a little brighter than the 6.

Neither screen has an issue IMHO. Both are legible and both would be easy enough to read on a night run.

0 Dr Phil over 5 years ago

Please, please, people search the forum before posting. There are already several threads discussing this.

Would you confirm that both have backlight on and at the same intensity.

Just looking at my F6S. It's black with no backlight but gets a blue tinge with some (20%) backlight.

0 phn55 over 5 years ago

I had same difference on my 2 Forerunners 935. One more bluish other more yellowish led light.

In short - its best not to see the difference from the start because it gets difficult to decide which is (functioning) better. If you can get over OCD both will be fine.

It is indeed shocking how manufacturers like both Garmin and Apple charge so much for devices which can be so hardware different in terms of suppliers of their parts.(Wish they had Samsung's quality control - absolutely rock solid and uniform between devices in whatever they make)

0 jasoncd over 5 years ago in reply to Dr Phil

Both are set to 20% backlight, I’ll see if I can edit that into the original post. Sounds you you seen others people post with similar screen variations!

0 RobKenjiwhe over 5 years ago

For what it is worth, I have a super high contrast on my 6 Pro Sapphire, better than on my previous 5+ Sapphire Titanium. Very pleased with it, also the bright white back light. #happy

0 Former Member over 5 years ago

I wrote to garmin support as I find the 6x pro sapphire difficult to read in low light, as the contrast is terrible and I find the black washed out. i included a picture in the reply.

They informed me that it is working as designed and according to my picture it is fine.

0 zapacitul over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

This has now lbeen fixed, I believed it was a FW update

0 Pseudo-fed over 5 years ago

ALL Garmin watches prior to the Fenix 6 series, and some of the Fenix 6 series have backlight LEDs that are blueish. It's only since some F6 series watches that were blacker that people noticed. My F3, two F5s, my current Vivoactive 4 are all blueish, and it doesn't, nor has it ever affected functionality. Here are my (left to right) F6 Sapphire, F6X Sapphire, and Delta, all 20% backlight.

Out of 10 I would rate them 8, 6, and 9.5 after looking at a variety of watch faces, menus, activity screens, etc. on each of them:

https://flic.kr/p/2itguVj

0 Former Member over 4 years ago

It's sad to see my Fenix 6 Pro with cheap blue blacklight, hard to distinguish numbers or letters in some Watch Faces.