Resolution - why isn't it like the iPad/iPhone?

[kramerica2]

I'm a previous owner of the 27" iMac.
I loved the machine, except for one annoying problem, the resolution.
On the iPhone and the iPad, when Apple improved the resolution drastically, the "physical" size of the different objects no the screen remained exactly the same as before. Nothing has changed, even inside applications, you see everything exactly in the same size, just sharper and smoother.
On the mac, however, it's different. When the resolution is higher, everything becomes smaller. Microsoft tried to solve the problem, semi-successfully, with the dpi settings. The Mac doesn't even have that option.
You have to try and change settings inside applications in order to view text comfortably, and even that didn't work all the time.
Why is that? Why can't they do whatever trick they do in iOS, with OSX?

Is there any way to bypass that problem?

 

[miles01110]

Why can't they do whatever trick they do in iOS, with OSX?

They choose not to.

Is there any way to bypass that problem?

No.

 

[chrono1081]

I'm a previous owner of the 27" iMac.
I loved the machine, except for one annoying problem, the resolution.
On the iPhone and the iPad, when Apple improved the resolution drastically, the "physical" size of the different objects no the screen remained exactly the same as before. Nothing has changed, even inside applications, you see everything exactly in the same size, just sharper and smoother.
On the mac, however, it's different. When the resolution is higher, everything becomes smaller. Microsoft tried to solve the problem, semi-successfully, with the dpi settings. The Mac doesn't even have that option.
You have to try and change settings inside applications in order to view text comfortably, and even that didn't work all the time.
Why is that? Why can't they do whatever trick they do in iOS, with OSX?

Is there any way to bypass that problem?

Its not a problem, its just something that doesn't exist yet.

Changing graphics of icons is much much more involved than most people realize, it needs done at the operating system level. Mountain Lion has shown indications of support for higher resolution icons for higher resolution screens so you will most likely need to wait until Mountain Lion for this to happen.

 

[Agent OrangeZ]

Retina level screens for iMac would probably be costly.... these are 21.5 and 27 inch screens.... NOT 3.5 and 9.7!

Probably no retina until 2013 at earliest for iMac.