Apple Watch Ultra comes with a built-in Night Mode that puts a red filter on the display. Keep reading to learn how to use it.

2apple watch ultra night mode
To optimize for evening conditions, Apple Watch Ultra features a ‌Night Mode‌ that turns the interface red and removes retina-altering blue light from the display to ease strain on your eyes in the dark.

On other Apple Watch models, if you look at your watch or accidentally tilt your wrist in the dark, it can impact your night vision. ‌Night Mode‌ on Apple Watch Ultra protects night vision, which can be crucial for explorers and astronomers.

Also it just looks cool in the dark. Here's how to turn it on.

  1. Long press on your watch face to enter the watch face gallery.
  2. If the Wayfinder or Modular Ultra watch face isn't already in your gallery, then add one of them to your collection by swiping all the way to the right and pressing the big + button. (These two faces are specially made for Apple Watch Ultra and feature the exclusive ‌Night Mode‌.)
  3. In the watch face gallery, tap the Edit button on the Wayfinder or Modular Ultra face.
  4. Swipe to the ‌Night Mode‌ option.
  5. Turn the Digital Crown to choose from Auto, On, or Off. (If you set ‌Night Mode‌ to Auto, it will be activated in poor lighting conditions.)
  6. Press the Digital Crown to return to the watch face.

1apple watch ultra night mode

Note that Night Mode only works when the Wayfinder or Modular Ultra watch face is being used – it's an exclusive feature for these two faces and cannot be enabled when any other watch face is displayed.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch Ultra 2
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Top Rated Comments

Supp0rtLinux Avatar
36 months ago
Lots of first responders work nights and need to protect their night vision. Its not just ultra marathoners going for 36 hours straight. Some of us also go camping, hiking, backpacking, etc... we want to preserve our night vision but we don't need an Ultra. Apple really needs to make this available to all watches similar to the Theater Mode.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
maccymac42 Avatar
36 months ago
This feature is available on EVERY APPLE DEVICE already.

Go to accessibility and look at colour screen overlay filters. I use the red one when I'm out stargazing all the time. Laughed a lot when this was announced as a feature.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stiksi Avatar
36 months ago
If only Apple had a deep red like that as an available watch face colour on the regular Apple Watch. Really want one for night time.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tenordrum Avatar
36 months ago
As an amateur astronomer, I just wish that the other AW models had this option, as I don't want to impact my or other observers' night vision around me at a star party. I use a very dim setting with red for my current AW5, with the AOD display being off
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hybrid_x Avatar
36 months ago
I wish they'd include this as a standard option for iOS as well. But I found a way to simulate it using the "color overlay" feature under Accessibility settings. It works remarkably well for preserving night vision, sleep quality, and not disturbing those around you in the dark. And it looks cool as hell.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ct2k7 Avatar
36 months ago

So this mode is only for Wayfinder?
> Note that Night Mode only works when the Wayfinder watch face is being used – it's an exclusive feature to Wayfinder and cannot be enabled when any other watch face is displayed.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
terminal macos tahoe

Apple's Terminal App Gets Colorful Redesign in macOS Tahoe

Monday June 16, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's Terminal app is getting a visual refresh in macOS Tahoe, and it's the first notable design update since the command-line tool debuted. The updated Terminal will support 24-bit color and Powerline fonts, according to Apple's State of the Platforms presentation at WWDC25. The app will also adopt the new Liquid Glass aesthetic with redesigned themes that align with macOS 26's broader...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Apple Says iOS 26 Won't Be Available on These iPhone Models

Tuesday June 10, 2025 6:58 am PDT by
Apple this week revealed that iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer. That means that iOS 18 is the end of the road for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, which were all released in 2018. However, those devices will continue to receive security updates for at least a few more years. iOS 26 is compatible with the following iPhone models: iPhone 16e iPhone...
new iphone lockscreen ios 26

iOS 26: Five Changes Coming to Your iPhone Lock Screen

Tuesday June 17, 2025 8:46 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has made some additions to the iPhone Lock Screen that aim to make it more customizable than ever. Of course, things can always change before the software makes its way to the general iPhone-owning public, but here are five new things iOS 26 can do on the Lock Screen as of the current developer beta. Widgets Top or Bottom In iOS 18, the row of widgets on your Lock...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Not Launching Until Next Year, Claims Analyst

Monday June 16, 2025 4:52 am PDT by
Apple may launch the AirPods Pro 3 in 2026, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong, contradicting earlier predictions of a much sooner release. Pu's Apple product timeline (via @jukanlosreve) comes as a bit of a surprise. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said in February that new AirPods with heart rate monitoring were "months away," suggesting a late 2025 launch at the earliest....