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In all honesty that is an extreme example. You're taking an app that has not been since probably windows XP, and its still using a windows 3.1 dialog box

Of course its not going to use the scaling. Also who in 2026 is still using ODBC drivers?
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Not many. The point is that they still exist for better or worse. Yes, they are rare to run into these days but they are still there even in Windows itself even if you don't encounter them often.
 
itself even if you don't encounter them often.
I think that most people don't encounter them at all.

I mean you needed to pull up such an old unused app that has not been updated in ages to try to say windows DPI scaling doesn't work is a stretch.

I'd rather deal with windows xp era apps that scale poorly, but I have the ability to alter the scaling factor provided by windows over macos's limited scaling ability.

Edit: in a bit of irony, I'm typing this on my mac studio.

While I do say that windows has better scaling, I'm using my M4 Max Studio as my main machine.
 
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In all honesty that is an extreme example. You're taking an app that has not been since probably windows XP, and its still using a windows 3.1 dialog box

Of course its not going to use the scaling. Also who in 2026 is still using ODBC drivers?
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I can counter his argument. Look at the app on this apple computer. it's Blurry AF....

colormonitor-iic-9.jpg
 
Yeah this is only true at the lower end--and only since the Neo honestly.

My Lenovo Legion Pro 7 has a 16" OLED 1600p screen that can't be matched by Apple in my opinion.

But at the lower end? Yeah. That Neo screen surprised me. A lot better than the crap from Windows in the same price range.
The 16" MacBook Pro's display is more than 3400p and gets way brighter and has better color grading? How can't it match that legion pro's display?
 
I think that most people don't encounter them at all.

I mean you needed to pull up such an old unused app that has not been updated in ages to try to say windows DPI scaling doesn't work is a stretch.

I'd rather deal with windows xp era apps that scale poorly, but I have the ability to alter the scaling factor provided by windows over macos's limited scaling ability.
I never said it didn't work. Here's what I said:
Apple was trying to do that back in the Tiger days ("resolution independence"). They scrapped it. It's more work than what they ended up doing and it requires more buy in from devs, which is why Windows sometimes has blurry apps.
Nothing there says it doesn't work or is bad, but that sometimes Windows has blurry apps and that it requires work from the devs. Which is true. There are non-zero numbers of blurry apps. Yes, again it has improved since the feature first launched in Vista but there is still blurry apps out there. For example I have the painting program ArtRage. It wasn't until ArtRage Vitae in ~2021 that they added support for HiDPI on Windows. ArtRage 6, the prior version, which they still sell does not.
 
I never said it didn't work. Here's what I said:

Nothing there says it doesn't work or is bad, but that sometimes Windows has blurry apps and that it requires work from the devs. Which is true. There are non-zero numbers of blurry apps. Yes, again it has improved since the feature first launched in Vista but there is still blurry apps out there. For example I have the painting program ArtRage. It wasn't until ArtRage Vitae in ~2021 that they added support for HiDPI on Windows. ArtRage 6, the prior version, which they still sell does not.
And how many hi DPI displays were available when artrage 6 was available. Holy grasping a straws. Fantavision is blurry today as well.
 
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There are many windows laptops that have displays that are just as good as apple now. Many of them lower cost than the air. Any Asus or lenovo with an OLED display are going to be better than the air.
If your only metric is infinite contrast for watching movies in a dark room, OLED wins. But claiming any Asus or Lenovo OLED is universally "better" ignores the realities of using a laptop for daily productivity.

Many of the OLED panels in laptops use non-standard subpixel layouts that cause noticeable text fringing, which can be distracting when you're staring at documents, data, or code all day. The OLED panels also often rely on low-frequency PWM dimming that causes eye strain over long sessions in some people. Combine that with the battery hit you take anytime you display a white background, and Apple’s highly efficient, factory-calibrated LCDs remain more consistent, color-accurate, and comfortable for getting work done.

Apple would have already switched to OLED screens in its laptops if they were clearly better than the LCDs Apple uses. OLED is better in some ways, but not inherently better just because it's OLED.
 
The 16" MacBook Pro's display is more than 3400p and gets way brighter and has better color grading? How can't it match that legion pro's display?
Oh I get it, you mean the other number on the resolution. Okay, the full resolution of my Legion Pro is 2560 x 1600p. Your MBP 16" is actually 3456 x 2234 pixels and is best viewed at a lower resolution (OOTB of 1728 x 1117), but we will go with the higher amount of pixels.

Now it isn't an OLED display on the Mac, and that is critically important to me. The Mac also doesn't have G-Sync and up to 240Hz refresh rate. Instead settling for a mere 120Hz.
 
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If your only metric is infinite contrast for watching movies in a dark room, OLED wins. But claiming any Asus or Lenovo OLED is universally "better" ignores the realities of using a laptop for daily productivity.

Many of the OLED panels in laptops use non-standard subpixel layouts that cause noticeable text fringing, which can be distracting when you're staring at documents, data, or code all day. The OLED panels also often rely on low-frequency PWM dimming that causes eye strain over long sessions in some people. Combine that with the battery hit you take anytime you display a white background, and Apple’s highly efficient, factory-calibrated LCDs remain more consistent, color-accurate, and comfortable for getting work done.

Apple would have already switched to OLED screens in its laptops if they were clearly better than the LCDs Apple uses. OLED is better in some ways, but not inherently better just because it's OLED.
I work in the industry, I have asus, lenovo and apple devices side by side most every day, I am going by experience not anecdotes.
 
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If your only metric is infinite contrast for watching movies in a dark room, OLED wins. But claiming any Asus or Lenovo OLED is universally "better" ignores the realities of using a laptop for daily productivity.

Many of the OLED panels in laptops use non-standard subpixel layouts that cause noticeable text fringing, which can be distracting when you're staring at documents, data, or code all day. The OLED panels also often rely on low-frequency PWM dimming that causes eye strain over long sessions in some people. Combine that with the battery hit you take anytime you display a white background, and Apple’s highly efficient, factory-calibrated LCDs remain more consistent, color-accurate, and comfortable for getting work done.

Apple would have already switched to OLED screens in its laptops if they were clearly better than the LCDs Apple uses. OLED is better in some ways, but not inherently better just because it's OLED.
I think it has more to do with the tightly packed displays Apple uses. As most of their phones already use OLED.
 
I work in the industry, I have asus, lenovo and apple devices side by side most every day, I am going by experience not anecdotes.
Do your laptops that are cheaper than the Air match or exceed the display in the Air in all metrics or just some metrics? Can you provide an example of a specific laptop you're using?
 
Do your laptops that are cheaper than the Air match or exceed the display in the Air in all metrics or just some metrics? Can you provide an example of a specific laptop you're using?
Goal posts. But ok. Yes, the A14 that's at work right now has a more pleasing display than the M4 air thats there. I can use the A14 longer than the air comfortably. The lenovo Aura display is better as well, but that's more expensive than the air. But I moved the goal posts back. I am not stating apple has bad displays at all, I am countering that windows/linux have just as good and better displays as well.

As I have stated. I am OS/brand agnostic. I use and enjoy all. Blind comments like "why does windows pcs have worse displays than apple" I will respond with the actual facts not anecdotal silliness.
 
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I like to game, and thanks to playing the same game over and over, its more likely to incur burn in.

IPS panels have longevity locked up in that sense
Yeah that is true, and my main 4k monitor is an Acer 27" IPS gaming monitor, so I hear you.

Supposedly they have fixed the burn in issues and Lenovo specifically moves the display a pixel over now and again. Stuff like that. I remain somewhat skeptical, but I have warranty so I am good either way LOL. Either way, there are very few laptops that have non-OLED displays at this point so I didn't have much choice.

It has proven me wrong though, love the OLED's performance and appearance.
 
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Supposedly they have fixed the burn in issues
I think that's largely true, and on YTer had an OLED display he was using for a number of years and wanted to report back on how good/bad/indifferent the burn was. Largely there was very little burn in except for where the game HUDs tended to be, and there was some slightly noticeable burn in

If I'm going to spend hundreds if not closer to a thousand for a new monitor, I'd rather have zero burnin risk.
 
I think it has more to do with the tightly packed displays Apple uses. As most of their phones already use OLED.
Of course, as does the iPad Pro. My question is if OLED screens outclass the screens Apple is using in the MBP at the sizes in the MBP (14" and 16"), why hasn't Apple switched already? Are there 16" OLED screens that can match the screens in the 16" MBP on all metrics that Apple cares about (brightness, color accuracy, PPI, etc.), including battery life? Also, which OLED can maintain full screen 1000 nits brightness basically indefinitely like the screen in the newest MBP and hit 1600 nits in HDR content?

None can do that because of risk of burn-in, but the tandem OLED screens in the Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition that came out in summer 2025 can now basically match the LEDs in Apple's laptops. This means that the tech has only recently met the point where a switch to OLED makes sense for Apple. Add to the the capability to mass produce at the levels Apple needs (the $2000+ Lenovo Yoga with a screen that now basically matches Apple's laptop screens is nowhere nearly as high volume as Apple's laptops), and we can understand why Apple hasn't switched yet. Likely later this year now that the technology at the sizes, scale, and quality Apple needs is a reality.
 
I think that's largely true, and on YTer had an OLED display he was using for a number of years and wanted to report back on how good/bad/indifferent the burn was. Largely there was very little burn in except for where the game HUDs tended to be, and there was some slightly noticeable burn in

If I'm going to spend hundreds if not closer to a thousand for a new monitor, I'd rather have zero burnin risk.
Yes, same here. That's why I am going with the Alogic 27 dual display kit. Great IPS displays that will last. They are touchscreen which I require for my creative work and they are very color accurate. That's all I need out of a display.

Oled is awesome, but the burn in risk is not work the nicer blacks on the display.
 
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Apple was trying to do that back in the Tiger days ("resolution independence"). They scrapped it. It's more work than what they ended up doing and it requires more buy in from devs, which is why Windows sometimes has blurry apps.

Why would Tiger have dpi scaling than they remove that feature?
 
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