Related
This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

Critical flaw: the aggressive auto dimming makes this watch unusable during and outside of activities as well

pxl
over 2 years ago

During activities -after a timeout period- the display will be so dim that it is almost impossible to read. In some activities (such indoor rowing), activating the display with a gesture is not an option, so checking HR is basically impossible.

It is also a problem outside activities, because it makes hard to read even the time with just a glance on a display - you'd need to activate it with a gesture, and this makes the AOD completely irrelevant.

That's it, it will go back to garmin, because this way it is unable to 

  • show my HR during activities
  • display the time in AOD

so it is completely useless as a sport watch and as a regular watch as well.

Top Replies

All Replies

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to abbottj123
    abbottj123 said:
    I dont see an x65 you just referenced.

    He's sarcastically saying that 265/965 is the best choice for a mediocre watch that's the worst of both worlds.

    abbottj123 said:

    "For the dim issue, it will timeout to preserve power and help with the display pixels over time. It should not go completely dark, it just goes to a lower power display. 

    Unfortunately, this is all by design with how we have created the watches. We want to preserve the pixelation of the display as well as the battery life of the watch."
    This doesnt quite make since in Activity Mode. Since during an activity, in theory every pixel would be changing as the time, distance, pace, hr, etc would all be constantly changing

    I think they mean that they're reducing brightness to avoid OLED burn-in.

    As far as pixels changing state, devs have found that Garmin actually subtly shifts all the pixels around (or at least the dividing lines for data fields) during an activity (probably to prevent burn-in), so yeah, every pixel is probably changing (but not just because your stats are changing -- I can think of data fields such as sunrise/sunset which would stay static during an entire activity, and of course there's the dividing lines).

    However, afaik, brightness is still one cause of OLED burn in. And ofc there's the other issue of power consumption.

    IMO the real problem is that obviously OLED is going to be Garmin's default screen going forward, so hopefully the user experience improves. I know a lot of Garmin users like to hold on to their watches for 5-10 years, but personally I want my next Garmin watch to be an upgrade.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    See, the thing is:

    - Making Amoled readable outdoors require insane levels of brightness

    - Insane levels of brightness will degrade the organic compounds that form the Amoled display pretty quickly.

    Can't have it both ways, and it can't be made better. That's why MIP displays were always used for this kind of watch after all in the first place.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to ep013

    sure, but there is a serious problem with garmin's MIP: the QC aka display lottery: sometimes the MIP is excellent (like my Fenix 6X), sometimes it is pure garbage (like many if not all forerunner 255)  

    also, the amoled burnout can be prevented by adaptively changing the brightness / timeout (ie., in full sunshine, it could dim, but there is no acceptable reason to dim quickly when someone do anything indoor)

    also, in normal AOD (outside activity) it is so much dim that there is no point to call it "always on"

    also, the gesture algorithm is terrible, it is not enough to turn your arm, you need to raise as well, like a stupid, idiot moron: "look' ma! I am now checking the time, my watch, can you understand now?"

    the AOD now is simply a checkbox feature with a rudimentary and primitive implementation without any analysis of real situations, refined algorithms, nuanced approaches, or options that the user can decide

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Garmin-Sierra

    I reported this exact problem when the watch came out. I'm in the US. Here is my thread on it from earlier this year:

    forums.garmin.com/.../bug-watch-requires-gesture-to-see-screen-during-activity

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    I completely agree with you, i wanted to use my watch on a reacebike handlebar, but Garmin has no solution for this situation. Display is unreadable dark after a few seconds. Crazy.

    As Garmin "forgot" to provide an option to have the always on display AT FULL BRIGHTNESS, you really should request your "idea" here: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/forms/ideas/

    >I ask everbody to do so, maybe someday Garmin will fix this problem if there are enough complains. I suggest to add the information, that you agree with shorter battery runtime.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to RNRgirl26

    You may also want to keep eyes on this thread which describes the same problems:

    https://forums.garmin.com/sports-fitness/running-multisport/f/forerunner-265-series/326902/bug-watch-requires-gesture-to-see-screen-during-activity/1631016#1631016

    You have permission to email me about any bug that I raise or comment upon.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to pxl

    Regarding the gesture detection algorithm, hopefully it will be implemented in, and then will trickle down from the 965.

    The Venu 2 already implements a sensitivity setting.  This bug is about that feature being missing from the premium 965:

    forums.garmin.com/.../bug-gesture-sensitivity-control-needed

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Garmin-Sierra

    Australia

    Welcome to email me. 

    Just find the forced dull screen very frustrating. Wish Garmin would tell us that - #newWatchDissapointed :-( 

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Garmin-Sierra

    Hi,

    Is this auto dimming problem solved now? We need screen that can be read ALL THE TIMES, that do not dimm for workouts/activities, etc.

    There must be option added: (4s, 8s, 15s) + NO SCREEN TIMEOUT (Or, option to adjust dimming brightness.) "No timeout" is best, it is easy software fix.

    We need the option "no timeout" IMMEDIATELY added/fixed as otherwise the watch (my 965) is unusable.

    Please email me ASAP

    Thank you.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Activeman

    Garmin marketing is only interested in keeping the featurelist longer than their competitors. They are not interested in improving usability. Garmin marketing focus on people with fomo and who want to overquantify their lives. They know long featurelists sell watches. 
    Improving usability and fixing bugs is no priority for garmin.