MBP screen real estate

[KevinRightWing]

I apologize if this seems like a really elementary question to most:

I have a 17in mbp currently, but have been thinking of updating to a new 15in mbp. If the new 15in mbp has a screen resolution of 2880 X 1800 and my 17in screen has a resolution of 1920 X 1200, does that mean that you technically get more screen real estate with a 15in screen vs a 17in screen? I don't really understand how that works, but ultimately I am trying to determine if more windows/items fit on the 15in screen vs the 17in screen.

Thanks

 

[chabig]

The screen resolution is the actual number of pixels built into the display panel (yes, there are many more on the 15" retina screen than you have on your 17" machine). You can choose to run at that full resolution, or you can set a scaled resolution in System Preferences > Displays. Experiment with the default resolution and the scaled resolution options to find out what works best for you.

 

[snaky69]

I apologize if this seems like a really elementary question to most:

I have a 17in mbp currently, but have been thinking of updating to a new 15in mbp. If the new 15in mbp has a screen resolution of 2880 X 1800 and my 17in screen has a resolution of 1920 X 1200, does that mean that you technically get more screen real estate with a 15in screen vs a 17in screen? I don't really understand how that works, but ultimately I am trying to determine if more windows/items fit on the 15in screen vs the 17in screen.

Thanks

The short answer is yes: the more pixels there are, the more information you can fit in a screen, regardless of its physical size. A window's size is calculated in pixels, not with a ruler.

The longer answer is: it depends. Even though there are more pixels, which theoretically means you can fit more in the screen, they are packed much closer together to fit in that smaller surface area. A good example I can think of to illustrate this is that a 1080p movie will take up nearly your whole 17in screen's surface area (90%, to be exact, I'll spare you the math). That same 1080p video, when the retina MBP's screen is run at full resolution will take up just 40% of the screen, leaving the rest to do whatever you please with. 40% of a 15in screen though is quite small and most people will run a "scaled" resolution, meaning your screen will act as if it had a different (lower) resolution than native.

I hope this helps.