RECOMMENDED MBA 11" scaled resolution

[jamesjingyi]

So I was messing around and asked in a previous post whether someone could point me in the direction of an Application which would scale my resolution down so that icons and text were smaller. I was pointed in the direction of SwitchResX which I have now bought as I find it to be one of the most useful decisions I have made. Scaling down to 1920x1080 seems the best size for me; I find that I can drag and drop easier in Finder and it almost seems like I have a larger screen. After you get past the initial settling in period where you criticise the small text and slight fuzziness of everything, it seems a better option.

I recommend fully!

Some screenshots

 

[iParis]

I can't figure out how to use this for the life of me. D:
I'm trying to increase the resolution on my MacBook to at least something like 1440x900.

 

[jamesjingyi]

I can't figure out how to use this for the life of me. D:
I'm trying to increase the resolution on my MacBook to at least something like 1440x900.

Have you got the App? I would then suggest activating the menu extra. Then just click on the icon and switch...

 

[iParis]

Have you got the App? I would then suggest activating the menu extra. Then just click on the icon and switch...

Yep. And let me try that now. I've been in the Color LCD panel. >.<

EDIT: Well I did that, but higher resolution isn't there.

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Never mind. And no, I don't have it figured out yet, but I keep discovering more stuff and feel stupid, haha.

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Yeah.. I still can't figure it out..

 

[jamesjingyi]

Yep. And let me try that now. I've been in the Color LCD panel. >.<

EDIT: Well I did that, but higher resolution isn't there.

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Never mind. And no, I don't have it figured out yet, but I keep discovering more stuff and feel stupid, haha.

Im pretty basic so I just chose a custom resolution that they had... Just tried it on my old MacBook and its weird... Ill have to have a play

 

[willgreene99]

Thanks for the tip. I was about to purchase the new rMBP to gain the extra screen resolution but didn't like the idea of giving up my light-weight MBA 11'. This will help when I need to work on large gantt charts and spreadsheets.

 

[Boyd01]

Those screenshots seem a little misleading to me. I believe they really are the full 1920x1080 resolution and not the scaled image you actually see on the screen. I also have an 11" MBA and find things are already very small on the screen. Making them even smaller and fuzzier doesn't seem like it would help me much.

 

[jamesjingyi]

Those screenshots seem a little misleading to me. I believe they really are the full 1920x1080 resolution and not the scaled image you actually see on the screen. I also have an 11" MBA and find things are already very small on the screen. Making them even smaller and fuzzier doesn't seem like it would help me much.

I assure you that they are screenshots. Everything turns to the resolution, even when I do screen recordings in QuickTime Player.

 

[Boyd01]

Of course they are "screenshots", but it's a virtual screen that is actually 1920x1080.

I have a Windows 7 tablet with a low resolution screen and you can choose a higher resolution for that in the control panel too. When you do, it uses a virtual high res screen and that is what you get if you take a screenshot. But on the device itself the image is scaled to the hardware pixel dimensions.

That is what your software is doing. It cannot increase the physical number of pixels on your screen. Here's a Get Info from one of the files you posted. There is no way that it could be 1920x1080 if it were a screenshot of the built-in 11" MBA screen.

 

[bizzle]

It's funny how I'm the person who recommended it and have used it before, but for the life of me I can't get the scaled resolutions to work on my 2010 Air 11". They always say "not activated - invalid?" after reboot :/

 

[robvas]

Tried this last night - I probably wouldn't run scaled resolutions all the time but this will be very useful in the few times that I need 1920x1080 on my 11"

It looks better than I thought it would.

 

[bizzle]

Any ideas on why it won't work on my 2010?

 

[inselstudent]

All I can say is that I envy you for your eyesight

 

[parestailor]

has anyone used switchres with the new macbook air 13" 2013? how high can the resolution scale up to before it loses some serious quality?

thank you

 

[Boyd01]

I just got an Apple TV, and remembered this old thread when I was trying Airplay Mirroring. If you have an Apple TV, you don't need any apps to view 1920x1080 on the MBA screen.

Just activate AirPlay and choose the option to scale the Mac screen to match the TV. Since my 11" MBA has a 16:9 screen, it already matches the proportions of the HDTV. Everything will be scaled to fit on the smaller screen.

Works fine, but as you might imagine, small text is difficult or impossible to read. Anyway, this might not be a good all-around solution but it's quick and easy and doesn't require the purchase or configuration of any "apps". It might help you decide whether or not such a capability would be useful. Personally, I don't care for it and use the option to scale the TV to the MBA screen instead.

 

[bjet767]

I just downloaded this app and it works as they state.

For the Early 2014 11" Air I would say the native screen pixel count makes the text a bit blurry. However, should a retina display version come out this could be a very useful app.

 

[Mac.User]

How do I add a custom resolution? I want to add 1600x900 but it doesn't seem to let me use it.

 

[abta1]

I've been looking for an application like this since getting my 11" MBA, thanks!