Don’t update your Apple Watch unless you want this ugly display bug

By Peter Hunt Szpytek Published May 22, 2023

Last week saw the launch of watchOS 9.5, a relatively small update for Apple Watches that added the Pride Celebration watch face as well as fixed a few unspecified bugs. However, the update seems to be causing an irritating display issue for many users.

Posted to the subreddits r/AppleWatch and r/watchOS, users are reporting that the update has added a noticeable green/gray tint to their screens that changes the colors of the display and makes the usually crisp OLED screen look washed out. You can see what it looks like in the photos below.

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An Apple Watch with a gray/green hue on its display. — whosyourdaddy_69 / Reddit

An Apple Watch with a gray/green hue on its display. — Ninolacom / Reddit

Luckily, the issue is purely a visual one, so you won’t need to worry about any functionality problems if you’re experiencing it. That said, it doesn’t exactly make this any less annoying. It also seems to vary in intensity from watch to watch, with some users experiencing a much weaker green/gray tint than those with the very obvious color issues seen in the images above.

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Based on the numerous posts online and the comments beneath them, this issue seems to affect Apple Watches from all generations — including the new Apple Watch Series 8. The only smartwatch that doesn’t seem to have been affected — at least that we’ve heard about from the posts we’ve seen — is the Apple Watch Ultra. Even so, it’s still possible that Apple Watch Ultra owners might still experience the bug.

If you still haven’t downloaded watchOS 9.5 yet, it might be a good idea to hold off until Apple patches the issue. While not every Apple Watch is impacted by the bug, it’s still irritating and is something of an eyesore, so if you can avoid it, you should. Plus, unless you were planning on using the 2023 Pride Celebration digital watch face, you aren’t exactly missing a whole lot with the rest of the update.

Apple has had display issues like the one Apple Watch users are experiencing before, and usually, fixes for them come pretty swiftly. Hopefully, watchOS 9.5.1 is coming soon and completely resolves the problem.

If your Apple Watch is experiencing a display bug, make sure to keep auto-updates on so that as soon as Apple pushes a fix, you’ll be able to get it as quickly as possible.

Peter Hunt Szpytek

Former Mobile Writer

A podcast host and journalist, Peter covers mobile news with Digital Trends and gaming news, reviews, and guides for sites…

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