High Res Screens in 15'' Macbook Pro

[dcurtis]

If you buy the hi-res screen and don't like the high resolution, can't you just turn it down? I'm sure it won't look *AS* good because it's not the native resolution, but with the lower-res screen, you don't even have the option!

people in the "waiting for arrandale" threads did nothing but beg for higher res. I guess this is Apple's response. I'm happy about it and think it's worth it but it's up to whoever has view it!

 

[the.snitch]

I just read about using quartz debug to increase DPI in mac os and the results don't sound very good!

I just gave it another go (haven't done it since 10.5), and the results seem worse now than ever. Bumping from 72dpi to 90dpi... Not even calculator can draw itself properly.

The day that Apple's own apps work with it, is the day the feature could be recommended as a solution for scaling up small elements onscreen. As of this point, I wouldn't recommend UI scaling to anyone, it's not even worth developers to make the effort until there is some momentum from Apple for this feature.

If you want to make things bigger, use ctrl+zoom to zoom in on screen regions, or set the screen res to a smaller one with the same display ratio (16:10), and suffer the fuzzies - they're the only solutions other than buying the computer with the smaller PPI LCD.

Anyway, I'm convinced the High-res MBP is for me, and I'm itching to see some pictures of what it looks like (here or otherwise). If somebody receives one, Please post your pictures here

 

[Chupa Chupa]

If you buy the hi-res screen and don't like the high resolution, can't you just turn it down? I'm sure it won't look *AS* good because it's not the native resolution, but with the lower-res screen, you don't even have the option!

people in the "waiting for arrandale" threads did nothing but beg for higher res. I guess this is Apple's response. I'm happy about it and think it's worth it but it's up to whoever has view it!

Sure, but it's going to be fuzzy and pixelated -- basically un-viewable. Try downrezzing any monitor and you'll see what I mean.

 

[KnightWRX]

Mac people are always good for a laugh. OS X already has HUGE fonts compared to Windows. Mix that in with the awful low resolution of the 15" and you have a disaster.

People on Windows don't whine about font sizes on higher resolution displays, there's no reason to turn down the resolution on a 15" MBP unless you're blind as a bat :

High resolution is an emotive title, wrongly taken as suggesting greater quality,

Uh ? what a load of horse manure. High resolution is a fact. The resolution is higher. 1680 is greater than 1440. That's a mathematical fact, not some kind of emotional response.

 

[anarchron]

Even as a coder who uses Eclipse and Xcode on a regular basis, I decided to stay with the native 1440x900 resolution so that my fonts are large and readable.

I'm not blind as a bat yet, but I would much rather have my screen nice and readable to preserve my vision. My 2c is take the $100 extra that you would spend for 36% more pixels and spend that on an external 1920x1080 monitor which would give you more than a 100% more pixels.

 

[gent11]

People on Windows don't whine about font sizes on higher resolution displays, there's no reason to turn down the resolution on a 15" MBP unless you're blind as a bat

Nice try, but you have forgotten to switch on windows font smoothing though

Anyway, could anyone provide real screenshots of HR display, pls. I'm kinda tired reading this theoretical blah blah
thnx.

 

[dreven79]

My 2001 laptop was a 1600x1200 15". (Apple wasn't interested in the high-res market back then; cue crowds of fanboys deriding me for imagining that people who wanted higher-res displays mattered to Apple.) My 2007 was a 1920x1200 17" MBP. I had been about to give up and get a PC when that refresh came out. Ordered the Mac almost immediately. My primary carrying-places machine is a 12" 1366x768 eee.

Here's the thing.

You can make text bigger, if you want. And then you discover the true magic of high resolution: It is much more pleasant to read, all else being equal. Larger fonts on a higher-rez screen look cleaner and crisper, and I get a lot fewer headaches working with them.

Qn: Can you just make the fonts larger permanently while keeping the high resolution setting.

i cant stand to look at extremely tiny fonts.

My current display is 17" LG monitor @ (1280x1024) the fonts look pretty sharp as i am typing them right now ...

 

[ubercool]

Mac people are always good for a laugh. OS X already has HUGE fonts compared to Windows. Mix that in with the awful low resolution of the 15" and you have a disaster.

People on Windows don't whine about font sizes on higher resolution displays, there's no reason to turn down the resolution on a 15" MBP unless you're blind as a bat:

Haha, so true! I've always thought that font rendering on the Mac was poor compared to Windows! Glad that we finally have hi-res screens, so we can reduce those big, hoky fonts!

 

[KnightWRX]

Nice try, but you have forgotten to switch on windows font smoothing though

It's a VM I use for work, you think I'm going to spend time changing the DEFAULT settings ? Most people don't play around those anyway, so what I posted is what they see.

Windows fonts are smaller than Mac OS X fonts. Not that font smoothing would change that anyhow.

Anyway, could anyone provide real screenshots of HR display, pls. I'm kinda tired reading this theoretical blah blah
thnx.

You can't provide a screenshot of a HR display. Screenshots are a bunch of pixels. The pixels will show up on your screen as your screen displays them. If you have a low-res screen, the screenshot will be low-res, albeit, wider and higher than your display, and you'll have to scroll to see it.

Someone said it earlier. If you've seen a 17" MBP, you know what to expect. And even the 17" MBP has low PPI if you ask me.

 

[dcurtis]

Haha, so true! I've always thought that font rendering on the Mac was poor compared to Windows! Glad that we finally have hi-res screens, so we can reduce those big, hoky fonts!

I think Apple is well-known for having very nice fonts... Much more so than Microsoft which came out with Clear Type as an accident from tablet development!

 

[Thunder82]

I'm holding out for pictures of the high-res displays before purchasing anything. I'm interested to see how the silver bezel of the anti-glare display looks. Given the 15 bezel is larger than the 17, i kinda have a hunch that the silver 15" bezel will look kinda funny.

 

[gooter80]

Could someone kindly explain how this new high resolution screen would appear compared to a 13" screen running 1600x900? That is my current, and I find it to be just a bit too small. I can only assume that the 15" Mac even with the higher resolution would have everything quite a bit larger. Opinions?

edit: first post, and first mac, so go easy on me!

 

[cmhsam]

Has anyone seen the 1680x1050 high res screens yet? I'm wondering if they may be too high res, making everything on the screen too small to read.

Any thoughts?

I saw it last night. Definitely worth the money

 

[Z1NX]

1080i HD video. Enough said.

What about it?

 

[Wallace]

I just realized that my Windows laptop at work (Widescreen Thinkpad 15") uses the whole time a 1680x1050 resolution and I had never issues with it. Actually I really like it. So I assume replacing my old 15" Macbook Pro at home with the new 15" Hi-Res would be great. However, I never saw a Hi-Res Macos X on a 15" before.

 

[McBob]

Spanner in the works!

Well, another decision to comprehend. I spent the best part of an hour in the Apple store near me trying to decide if I preferred the Glossy or Matte screen a few weeks ago and now High Res is an option.

I'm almost certainly going to go for it (after seeing it for myself) as it'll help with my HD footage. It's annoying rendering a sequence and then watching it back on my 1080 TV and spotting things that clearly weren't even visible on the computer screen.

Question: I used to own a 24" iMac (pre 16x9) and always found myself going back to my Matte Powerbook for reading web pages and writing text. I think it was genuinely easier on the eyes, especially as I found the iMac too bright in the evenings. Has anyone had any experience in comparing the iMac screens to the Macbook Pros Glossy one in regards to ease of use on the eyes?

I've not had any problems with my friends glossy Macbook's although the iMac was lovely to watch films on. I do like the idea of the screen being protected as my current MBP had to have the screen replaced as it got damaged by the keyboard pressing into it (somehow).

McBob

 

[gent11]

Windows fonts are smaller than Mac OS X fonts. Not that font smoothing would change that anyhow.

You'd be surprised! The comparison you've provided is absolutely unfair, to say the least... ClearType makes a lot of difference.

You can't provide a screenshot of a HR display. Screenshots are a bunch of pixels. The pixels will show up on your screen as your screen displays them. If you have a low-res screen, the screenshot will be low-res, albeit, wider and higher than your display, and you'll have to scroll to see it.

Someone said it earlier. If you've seen a 17" MBP, you know what to expect. And even the 17" MBP has low PPI if you ask me.

I'd love to get some screenshots in order to evaluate how much more I get on the screen. Some pics of the screen itself would be nice too ... black or silver bezel? HR Anti Glare, please. Anyone?
Thnx.

 

[Hadron]

Could someone kindly explain how this new high resolution screen would appear compared to a 13" screen running 1600x900? That is my current, and I find it to be just a bit too small. I can only assume that the 15" Mac even with the higher resolution would have everything quite a bit larger. Opinions?

1600x900 on a 13" screen is denser than 1680x1050 on a 15.4" screen, and indeed denser than the 17" MBP. If 13" is really 13", not 13.3", then it's about 14-15% more pixels/cm^2, or about 7% higher dpi, than the high-res 15.4" MBP.

Since we're talking about a different OS from your current (unless you've Hackintoshed) then you need to think about how the different UIs work on different resolutions, as others have been discussing. But if your current is "just a bit" too small then you'll probably be fine with it. Have a look at a 17" MBP if you have a chance (which hasn't changed resolution), and the high-res 15" will give slightly larger fonts/icons than that.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Y
I'd love to get some screenshots in order to evaluate how much more I get on the screen. Some pics of the screen itself would be nice too ... black or silver bezel? HR Anti Glare, please. Anyone?
Thnx.

Someone posted some official Apple pics here, but not sure which thread -- so many duplicates here. But thats only good enough to show you what the bezel looks like, of course, not judge the screen. The bezel on the antiglare is aluminum though, and the screen is plastic.

I saw the 17" antiglare yesterday. It's very nice and unlike the old washed out screens of yore. I don't have a problem w/ the glossy screen, but I don't care for the black bezel which is more reflective than the screen. I ordered an antiglare. Not thrilled about spending the xtra $150. I wish they offered the normal rez antiglare screen for the old $50 upgrade price.

 

[gooter80]

1600x900 on a 13" screen is denser than 1680x1050 on a 15.4" screen, and indeed denser than the 17" MBP. If 13" is really 13", not 13.3", then it's about 14-15% more pixels/cm^2, or about 7% higher dpi, than the high-res 15.4" MBP.

Since we're talking about a different OS from your current (unless you've Hackintoshed) then you need to think about how the different UIs work on different resolutions, as others have been discussing. But if your current is "just a bit" too small then you'll probably be fine with it. Have a look at a 17" MBP if you have a chance (which hasn't changed resolution), and the high-res 15" will give slightly larger fonts/icons than that.

Thank you kindly. The screen I am comparing is indeed 13.1", it is from a Sony Z. I will see if I can find a 17" in my area as unfortunately the closest Apple store is 3 hours away.

 

[GA84]

... there's no reason to turn down the resolution on a 15" MBP unless you're blind as a bat :

Spot on sir.

This is exactly what I always say to the Amish people on this forum who are absolutely terrified of hi-res displays on laptops.

Oooh noooo, hi-res!!! Scary........!!!

 

[GA84]

High resolution is an emotive title, wrongly taken as suggesting greater quality ...
Don't be fooled by some people here who have no real need for a high res screen but who suggest standard resolution is inferior or old or whatever – that's complete nonsense and if they want to kid themselves that it somehow makes their purchase more "deluxe", just smile and let them be happy in their delusion and money-wasting.

Nonsense indeed. Just like the Big Bang, evolution of man, the Moon landing and global warming [sarcasm].

 

[modular]

any chance the 13" will get 1920 x 1200 ?

for real though, can't wait to pick up a high-res antiglare 15" when they're in stock at the stores!

 

[dyn]

Mac people are always good for a laugh. OS X already has HUGE fonts compared to Windows. Mix that in with the awful low resolution of the 15" and you have a disaster.

Those fonts on your screenshots are nearly the same size, it may differ 1 or 2 sizes which do not qualify as "huge". When you use cleartype in Windows this will do the same thing with the fonts as the Mac does, it'll also make them a bit bigger. In the end they'll be the same size. You're greatly exaggerating it.

People on Windows don't whine about font sizes on higher resolution displays, there's no reason to turn down the resolution on a 15" MBP unless you're blind as a bat :

Try using your laptop with something called "laptop stand" and try to read whatever is on the screen. You'll have difficulty reading it because the font is quite small at that distance. The hi-res screens are even worse. You do not have to be blind as a bat, you simple need to be a normal human being. You simply need a certain size as a human to properly read it without getting ill. We'll have this problem until resolution independency has finally arrived. It's also the reason why Windows people whine as much about it as Mac people do.

Windows fonts are smaller than Mac OS X fonts. Not that font smoothing would change that anyhow.

No they aren't, they are the exact same fonts at the exact same sizes. Windows simply uses a smaller font size. However this is not the case for all of the fonts and certainly not in your screenshots. Enabling cleartype will level the font sizes. What you're seeing is an optical illusion due to the OS X font smoothing. The fonts appear to be thicker and larger but in reality they aren't.

 

[Apple Expert]

I would love to see some pictures compared to the other MacBook Pros.