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Replace new MacBook Air high res screen with a lower res one?

M

Mr Dobey

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 8, 2008
350
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The 1440x900 resolution of the new MacBook Air 13.3" screen is simply too high, making everything way too small and straining on my eyes. Is there a replacement LED LCD panel with a lower resolution (1280x800 like the old MBA) that could be retrofitted?

This is literally the biggest reason I am second guessing a MacBook Air to a 15" MacBook Pro. I like 1440x900 on 15" but not 13.3"
 
Mr Dobey said:
The 1440x900 resolution of the new MacBook Air 13.3" screen is simply too high, making everything way too small and straining on my eyes. Is there a replacement LED LCD panel with a lower resolution (1280x800 like the old MBA) that could be retrofitted?

This is literally the biggest reason I am second guessing a MacBook Air to a 15" MacBook Pro. I like 1440x900 on 15" but not 13.3"
Click to expand...

Why like that? Just set the resolution lower!? (System Preferences > Hardware > Displays)
I'm almost certain the old one will not fit in your new Air.
 
Yuk, I hate the look of a screen at a different res than native :(

I really hope the old screen is swappable.
 
Corax said:
Why like that? Just set the resolution lower!? (System Preferences > Hardware > Displays)
I'm almost certain the old one will not fit in your new Air.
Click to expand...

Snow Leopard doesn't have OS-wide resolution independence yet, which would mean that all the windows, text, icons, etc would be really jagged and bad.
 
If OS X was resolution independent it would be fantastic. I love the look of PC laptops with super high res screens such as the VAIO 13.3" Z series with a 1920x1200 resolution! But windows you can set the entire OS to 150% zoom so everything is large enough to be useable and still looks great.
 
How about you just go to the eye doctor and get some glasses instead? If you already have glasses, maybe it's time to get your prescription checked.

Mr Dobey said:
The 1440x900 resolution of the new MacBook Air 13.3" screen is simply too high, making everything way too small and straining on my eyes.
Click to expand...
 
There is a company out there that replaces the glossy screen with a matte one. Perhaps they could also downgrade the resolution.
 
Go use a Sony Vaio P, experience 1600x768 on an 8" screen, then your MBA will look like large print!
 
MrMacNasty said:
How about you just go to the eye doctor and get some glasses instead? If you already have glasses, maybe it's time to get your prescription checked.
Click to expand...

I have been to an eye doctor lately, my eyes are fine. My eyes simply get tired after looking at tiny text.
 
My eyes are crap, too many years of woodworking and close-up design work.

That said, I bought a 15" Hi-Res MBP last spring and although the native resolution was very high, I simply used the zoom function in Firefox to set sites like this forum to display a little bit higher.

The PPI of the native 13" MBA is almost identical to that of the 15" Hi-Res so the overall impact is almost identical....I can freely move between the two machines and they don't look different to my eyes.

That said, the 13" MBA screen looks just fine to me. I realize vision is a highly subjective experience but for my eyes, its fine. The 11" on the other hand....whole 'nuther story.
 
I'm having the same reaction to my 13" mba. I've been using a 13" 1280 screen for the past couple years and this new screen looks tiny and uncomfortable. However, I've been forcing myself to keep trying it and after only a few days it is starting to seem more normal. In fact, when I booted up my old 13" mbp 1280 screen, things looked large and bulky by comparison. So I would give your eyes/brain a good week to try and adjust and make your decision after that.
 
Have you tried setting the resolution lower? Just wondering if you have actually tried it with the new MacBook Air.
 
^ Speaking for myself, changing it to either 1280x800 or 1024x768 looks like crap. It only looks good on the native res.

But zooming the image (reverse pinch) is useful.
 
Scottsdale said:
Have you tried setting the resolution lower? Just wondering if you have actually tried it with the new MacBook Air.
Click to expand...

Like others said before, this will make everything very blurry. Non-native resolutions are unbearable.
 
Yeah, my dad is getting old, (not blind, just normal aging) and he is having the same issues on his 17" mac pro.

I love apple, but they need to fix this problem with lion, and not wait any longer.

Maybe if Steve Jobs eyes start aging things will finally be fixed....
 
Richdmoore said:
Yeah, my dad is getting old, (not blind, just normal aging) and he is having the same issues on his 17" mac pro.

I love apple, but they need to fix this problem with lion, and not wait any longer.

Maybe if Steve Jobs eyes start aging things will finally be fixed....
Click to expand...
Maybe his hearing went out before his eyes.:eek:
 
I am not blaming Jobs for this. His natural inclination is to put lower PPI screens in Apple notebooks. I don't think he favours anything above 100ppi himself and I vaguely remember his saying something to that effect.

Apple has usually trailed the rest of the PC market in screen resolution and the shift in the new MBAs is just bringing Apple up to date.

You will find yourself heavily outvoted by the higher ppi camp (myself included) if you think that the newer resolution screens are a shortcoming that Apple needs to address.
 
the other option is to get a 13" MBP which is currently running at a lower resolution.

I'm struggling myself in determining which machine fits my needs better. A smaller lighter (albeit more expensive) MBA with a higher resolution, or a more expandable, less expensive (albeit larger/heavier) MacBook Pro that has a more eye friendly resolution.
 
Seriously that is one of the silliest things I have heard.

In Safari hold down the CMD Key and Press the "+" key... Wow everything gets bigger...

You can also change the font size system wide!

http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20080402181745803

or use Tinkertool

http://www.bresink.com/osx/TinkerTool.html

I have heard stuff like this far to often, :rolleyes: I can't believe no one pointed this out to you.

screenshot20101117at856.png
 
Kenrik said:
Seriously that is one of the silliest things I have heard.

In Safari hold down the CMD Key and Press the "+" key... Wow everything gets bigger...

You can also change the font size system wide!

http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20080402181745803

or use Tinkertool

http://www.bresink.com/osx/TinkerTool.html

I have heard stuff like this far to often, :rolleyes: I can't believe no one pointed this out to you.

screenshot20101117at856.png
Click to expand...

I have the 11.6 inch MBA and have found the Command +, Command - option very helpful. It works for me and my eyes aren't the best, that's for sure!
 
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