Screen resolution

Hello everyone .After the new update on my MacBook Air m2 ,I saw that the screen resolution is set to default ,but the default one is 1470x956 and not like Apple advertised 2560x1664 .Is this normal and will it affect the quality of the image if I play a video like 1440p ?Is there an option to go to the max resolution without loosing the visual of the display(I have tried to go there from the settings ),but the text on the got smaller)

MacBook Air, macOS 14.1

Posted on Nov 15, 2023 01:37 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 15, 2023 01:54 AM

You can use System Information to check, but I think you'll find that the Mac is running in a Retina "UI looks like 1470x956" mode. It will be drawing on an internal 2940x1912 pixel canvas, and downsizing the image to fit on the actual 2560x1664 pixel screen.


You can get to System Information… by holding Option while clicking on the Apple () menu.


If it was doing perfect 2x scaling, the "UI looks like" resolution would be 1280x832 pixels. That would map to a 2560x1664 pixel canvas that exactly matched the resolution of the 2560x1664 pixel LCD screen.


Either way, the idea behind the Retina modes is to keep text and objects large enough to read (thus the "UI looks like" resolution), while allowing Retina-aware applications (virtually all of them, these days) to draw text, and fill in photo areas, in greater detail.


It sounds like Apple set the default for your machine a notch towards cramming more, but smaller, stuff onto the screen.


You could probably find third-party apps that would let you set your screen to a 2940x1912 non-Retina mode, but then you'd find that while you could cram a ton of text and windows onto the screen, everything would be tiny and difficult or impossible to read.

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 15, 2023 01:54 AM in response to shteryan

You can use System Information to check, but I think you'll find that the Mac is running in a Retina "UI looks like 1470x956" mode. It will be drawing on an internal 2940x1912 pixel canvas, and downsizing the image to fit on the actual 2560x1664 pixel screen.


You can get to System Information… by holding Option while clicking on the Apple () menu.


If it was doing perfect 2x scaling, the "UI looks like" resolution would be 1280x832 pixels. That would map to a 2560x1664 pixel canvas that exactly matched the resolution of the 2560x1664 pixel LCD screen.


Either way, the idea behind the Retina modes is to keep text and objects large enough to read (thus the "UI looks like" resolution), while allowing Retina-aware applications (virtually all of them, these days) to draw text, and fill in photo areas, in greater detail.


It sounds like Apple set the default for your machine a notch towards cramming more, but smaller, stuff onto the screen.


You could probably find third-party apps that would let you set your screen to a 2940x1912 non-Retina mode, but then you'd find that while you could cram a ton of text and windows onto the screen, everything would be tiny and difficult or impossible to read.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Screen resolution

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.