Following the recent watchOS 9.5 update, a peculiar green tint has been catching the attention of Apple Watch users. Numerous reports on Reddit and the MacRumors Forums highlight this issue, primarily affecting older models such as the Apple Watch Series 8 and earlier versions. Interestingly, earlier models appear to be more significantly impacted than the relatively newer Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Ultra.
Users have observed the green tint in specific UI elements, including the passcode input screen, Control Center, and notification panel. The general consensus among affected individuals is that the tint is unattractive and stands out uncomfortably against the typically rich OLED blacks associated with their watches. Some have speculated that Apple intentionally introduced the tint, although this seems improbable given the widespread dissatisfaction expressed by users.
While the exact cause of the green tint remains uncertain, user reports indicate that it emerged after the watchOS 9.5 update. This suggests that the issue is software-related rather than stemming from hardware malfunctions. Restarting the device has resolved the problem for some users, while others have not been as fortunate.
In the past, Apple has successfully resolved similar color tint issues on iPhones through software updates to rectify underlying bugs. If the green tint problem is indeed software-related, it is reasonable to expect Apple to address it in an upcoming watchOS update. Although watchOS 9.6 is currently undergoing testing, it remains to be seen if this forthcoming release will resolve the green tint issue.