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How to change the resolution of M1 MacBook Pro 16" to 4K?
- Thread starter hajime
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Considering the native resolution of the 16" MacBook Pro internal display is 3456-by-2234, I would say no; but it will run external displays up to 6K...
"16.2-inch (diagonal) Liquid Retina XDR display;1 3456-by-2234 native
resolution at 254 pixels per inch"
"Up to two external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors (M1 Pro) or
Up to three external displays with up to 6K resolution and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors (M1 Max)"
4K available to an external 4K display would be 4096 x 2304
I would think that the "best" resolution would also be dependent on the external display that you want to use.
The actual resolution would be whatever looks the "best" to you, eh?
I would think that the "best" resolution would also be dependent on the external display that you want to use.
The actual resolution would be whatever looks the "best" to you, eh?
Didn't know I could add a resolution. How to do it? Is this function only available in the paid version? I don't have a MacBook Pro in front of me now. I don't recall if it is a demo or paid version.
This is the next concern that I don't worry for the time being.
My current problem is that I have a 4K display connected to a PC. When I connected my MacBook Pro 16" to it via jump desktop, I got black bars either on the 4K display or on the MacBook Pro depending on which setting I chose. The developer told me that this is because the MacBook Pro's resolutions/aspect ratio does not match that of the display connected directly to my PC. So if I can get the MacBook Pro to display 4K or 4K's aspect ratio which is 16:9, then the black bars will disappear. As I recall, when I tried it last time, SwitchResX did not have a 16:9 option.
It sounds like you are mirroring the displays, which will require that both displays are the same aspect ratio to avoid black bars, otherwise you will get a distorted image on one of them if you fill the screen. If you use the second display to extend the desktop, you shouldn't have this issue.
I think the demo version will let you add at least one scaled resolution. The SwitchResX.app has a user guide in the Help menu.
You want to add a scaled mode in the Custom Resolutions tab for the display.
Do you know how to use the second display (MacBook Pro's screen) to extend the desktop? Whenever I connected to the PC via JumpDesktop, the MacBook Pro's screen is in mirror mode. Don't recall seeing any option for extended desktop mode.
You must be connected to a display to see these options.
- On your Mac, choose Apple menu
> System Preferences, click Displays
![2f77cc85238452e25cb517130188bf99.png]()
, then click Display Settings.![1a2057bc2197d50759a4554a4f061138.png]()
- Click the name of your display, then choose Extend Display from the pop-up menu.
4K at 3840 x 2160 = 16x9, but the MacBook Pro’s 3456 x 2234 = 16x10.43. Since they have different aspect ratios, if you mirror these two you get either pillar boxing on the external display or letter boxing on the MBP. So select to extend the MBP display to the external 4K display. Then you can set the external 4K display to 3840 x 2160.
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I’ve never used JumpDesktop but it is possible it only supports mirroring. It seems like a kind of hacky solution for what you’re trying to do (remoting in is likely more useful if you aren’t physically close to the Mac). You might want to look into getting a KVM switch to connect both your PC and MBP to the same screen instead.
I added it but when I connected my MacBook Pro to my PC via JumpDesktop, top and bottom black bars show up again.
The black bars, called letter boxing (horizontal) and pillar boxing (vertical) are there to keep the screen from being stretched out of proportion. Do you really not care if your screen gets stretched out of proportion? It is like watching a old 4x3 TV show/movie stretched out to 16x9. People look fat (or fatter), things look warped and/or stretched. Is that what you really want? You Mac screen and your monitor do NOT have the same aspect ratio, so without the letter or pillar boxing, one of those displays will look stretched out. Apple is preventing the stretched look by adding the letter or pillar boxing.
You can extend the Mac display onto your monitor and set it to whatever resolutions it will accept. If you only want one screen, then close the lid of your Mac and you have a 16x9 image on your external monitor. Or leave the lid open, then you have way more screen real estate.
I just tried RDP. On the monitor screen that connects directly to the PC, it just shows a photo. No extended mode nor mirror mode. Looks like I can operate on one screen only. Is there a way to make both screens work?
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