Is it possible to get display scaling in Sonoma?

I am installing a 2018 Mac mini with Sonoma, connected via HDMI to a 49" Sony Bravia 4K XBR-49X900E TV.

In Display Settings when I set resolution to

3840x2160 I get a 4k display image ... nice
1920x1080 (default) I get a 1080 display image ... also nice but not 4K; there *is* a visible difference

How can I get a scaled image on 4K in Sonoma? All the text & windows are tiny. There is no scaling option in Display Settings.

Another user posted a claim earlier that by setting resolution to 1920x1080 (default) you would actually get 1920x1080 scaled on 3840x2160 resolution but I do not find that to be true. I checked System Report for each resolution and this is what I get at each setting ... looks like it's either "true 4K" or "true 1080," no "scaled 1080 on 4K."

No setting yields Resolution 3840x2160 with UI Looks Like 1920x1080 as claimed in the linked thread.

At 3840x2160 setting:

At 1920x1080 setting:

Mac mini (2018)

Posted on Mar 26, 2025 2:14 PM

Top-ranking reply

MartinR Author

Level 7

24,011 points

Posted on Mar 27, 2025 8:33 AM

I have been using a good quality HDMI 2.0 (18Gbps, YUV 4:4:4) cable to connect the mini to the TV.

I'm going to try my USB-C to DVI adapter + DVI-HDMI cable just to see if there is any difference.

I checked the specs for the Bravia & did a little calculating. The color space is sRGB. The screen appears to be 90.95 ppi, which is not HiDPI (retina) ... and that may be the reason I get only one option for 1920x1080.

In the end, I guess I'll have to live with 1080 for general use and switch the resolution to 4K when I want to watch 4K material. I had hoped there was a way to get menus & text at a readable size in 4K.

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18 replies

MartinR Author

Level 7

24,011 points

Mar 27, 2025 1:03 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Hi Luis,

This is a home theater setup with the mini as the media server - mostly streaming video from assorted sources (DigitalConcertHall, Disney+, iTunes/Apple TV, BBC, other concert venues, YouTube, etc. Skype & Facetime. Video captures using Screenflow. Home media from videocams that I edit in iMovie, Resolve or FCP. (I do the captures & editing on a different Mac, not on the mini.) The mini is what we use for viewing only.

The Sony Bravia TV is a 49" panel that we usually view from 6'-9' distance. I use an Apple wireless keyboard & trackpad to control things. 1080 works fine for this - I can see the onscreen menus & text well enough to control Firefox/Safari, Facetime, Skype, Music, TV & QuickTime. But at 4K the UI is too small to see from that distance. Even up close it's tiny and hard to see.

dialabrain

Level 10

134,951 points

Mar 26, 2025 4:26 PM in response to MartinR

There's no such thing as 1080 4K resolution. 1080 is scaled on a 4k monitor.

dialabrain

Level 10

134,951 points

Mar 27, 2025 6:30 AM in response to MartinR

FWIW, Larger Text reduces the resolution. For example, on my 24" iMac it sets the resolution to 1280x720. There's no such thing as Larger Text and 4K.

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Is it possible to get display scaling in Sonoma?