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Oion Akif
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I am trying to get an external monitor for my MacBook. I have two requirements:

  • Items on the monitor will be about the same size as items on the MacBook screen
  • Text and other objects will not be blurry

However, I have heard that not all monitors will provide these two things—the monitor needs to be a specific size and resolution. Otherwise either the scaling or sharpness will be off—with certain combinations of resolutions and screen sizes, you would need to choose between proper scaling (how large something appears on a native screen versus the external screen), and good sharpness (how clear the text and images appear on the screen).

To test this, I tried looking at current display offerings that Apple provides. I noticed an interesting trend: most Apple displays have a pixel per inch (PPI) value of ~220. For examples, the 21.5 inch and 27 inch iMacs, all of the retina MacBooks and MacBook Pros, the Pro Display XDR, and both LG 4K and 5K displays.

Older, non-retina displays have a PPI of around 110.

I have a 24-inch 1080p screen, which is the same size but half the resolution of the 4K LG display. It scales perfectly, which makes sense since it hassince it has exactly half the resolution which having the same size. Edit: the sizes of objects on my internal screen and external monitor are not exactly half the resolution which havingsame. This was leading me to a lot of confusion. It turns out you'll only get exactly the same size with very specific panel size and resolution combinations (as described below).

I assume that a 1440p display that is 27-inch will also provide perfect scaling on macOS, since it is exactly half the resolution, but exactly the same size of a 5K display. These two resolution-screen size pairs I can thus add to my list.

Is there a list of complete resolution and screen size pairs available which provides perfect scaling on macOS? For example, would a 1440p or a 4K display that is 27 inches provide good scaling?

I am trying to get an external monitor for my MacBook. I have two requirements:

  • Items on the monitor will be about the same size as items on the MacBook screen
  • Text and other objects will not be blurry

However, I have heard that not all monitors will provide these two things—the monitor needs to be a specific size and resolution. Otherwise either the scaling or sharpness will be off—with certain combinations of resolutions and screen sizes, you would need to choose between proper scaling (how large something appears on a native screen versus the external screen), and good sharpness (how clear the text and images appear on the screen).

To test this, I tried looking at current display offerings that Apple provides. I noticed an interesting trend: most Apple displays have a pixel per inch (PPI) value of ~220. For examples, the 21.5 inch and 27 inch iMacs, all of the retina MacBooks and MacBook Pros, the Pro Display XDR, and both LG 4K and 5K displays.

Older, non-retina displays have a PPI of around 110.

I have a 24-inch 1080p screen, which is the same size but half the resolution of the 4K LG display. It scales perfectly, which makes sense since it has exactly half the resolution which having the same size.

I assume that a 1440p display that is 27-inch will also provide perfect scaling on macOS, since it is exactly half the resolution, but exactly the same size of a 5K display. These two resolution-screen size pairs I can thus add to my list.

Is there a list of complete resolution and screen size pairs available which provides perfect scaling on macOS? For example, would a 1440p or a 4K display that is 27 inches provide good scaling?

I am trying to get an external monitor for my MacBook. I have two requirements:

  • Items on the monitor will be about the same size as items on the MacBook screen
  • Text and other objects will not be blurry

However, I have heard that not all monitors will provide these two things—the monitor needs to be a specific size and resolution. Otherwise either the scaling or sharpness will be off—with certain combinations of resolutions and screen sizes, you would need to choose between proper scaling (how large something appears on a native screen versus the external screen), and good sharpness (how clear the text and images appear on the screen).

To test this, I tried looking at current display offerings that Apple provides. I noticed an interesting trend: most Apple displays have a pixel per inch (PPI) value of ~220. For examples, the 21.5 inch and 27 inch iMacs, all of the retina MacBooks and MacBook Pros, the Pro Display XDR, and both LG 4K and 5K displays.

Older, non-retina displays have a PPI of around 110.

I have a 24-inch 1080p screen, which is the same size but half the resolution of the 4K LG display. It scales perfectly, which makes sense since it has exactly half the resolution which having the same size. Edit: the sizes of objects on my internal screen and external monitor are not exactly the same. This was leading me to a lot of confusion. It turns out you'll only get exactly the same size with very specific panel size and resolution combinations (as described below).

I assume that a 1440p display that is 27-inch will also provide perfect scaling on macOS, since it is exactly half the resolution, but exactly the same size of a 5K display. These two resolution-screen size pairs I can thus add to my list.

Is there a list of complete resolution and screen size pairs available which provides perfect scaling on macOS? For example, would a 1440p or a 4K display that is 27 inches provide good scaling?

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Oion Akif
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From what I understandam trying to get an external monitor for my MacBook. I have two requirements:

  • Items on the monitor will be about the same size as items on the MacBook screen
  • Text and other objects will not be blurry

However, if you useI have heard that not all monitors will provide these two things—the monitor needs to be a specific size and resolution. Otherwise either the scaling or sharpness will be off—with certain combinations of resolutions and screen sizes on macOS, you would need to choose between proper scaling (how large something appears on a native screen versus the external screen), and good sharpness (how clear the text and images appear on the screen).

Since Apple sells LG 4K and 5K monitorsTo test this, I knowtried looking at current display offerings that Apple provides. I noticed an interesting trend: most Apple displays have a pixel per inch (PPI) value of ~220. For examples, the following resolution/screen size combinations work well with21.5 inch and 27 inch iMacs, all of the retina MacBooks and MacBook Pros, the Pro Display XDR, and both scalingLG 4K and sharpness:5K displays.

  • 4K @ 23.7 in
  • 5K @ 27 in

Older, non-retina displays have a PPI of around 110.

I have a 24-inch 1080p screen, which is the same size but half the resolution of the 4K LG display. It scales perfectly, which makes sense since it has exactly half the resolution which having the same size.

I assume that a 1440p display that is 27-inch will also provide perfect scaling on macOS, since it is exactly half the resolution, but exactly the same size of a 5K display. These two resolution-screen size pairs I can thus add to my list.

Is there a list of complete resolution and screen size pairs available which provides perfect scaling on macOS? For example, would a 1440p or a 4K display that is 27 inches provide propergood scaling?

From what I understand, if you use certain combinations of resolutions and screen sizes on macOS, you would need to choose between proper scaling (how large something appears on a native screen versus the external screen), and good sharpness (how clear the text and images appear on the screen).

Since Apple sells LG 4K and 5K monitors, I know that the following resolution/screen size combinations work well with both scaling and sharpness:

  • 4K @ 23.7 in
  • 5K @ 27 in

I have a 24-inch 1080p screen, which is the same size but half the resolution of the 4K LG display. It scales perfectly, which makes sense since it has exactly half the resolution which having the same size.

I assume that a 1440p display that is 27-inch will also provide perfect scaling on macOS, since it is exactly half the resolution, but exactly the same size of a 5K display. These two resolution-screen size pairs I can thus add to my list.

Is there a list of complete resolution and screen size pairs available which provides perfect scaling on macOS? For example, would a 4K display that is 27 inches provide proper scaling?

I am trying to get an external monitor for my MacBook. I have two requirements:

  • Items on the monitor will be about the same size as items on the MacBook screen
  • Text and other objects will not be blurry

However, I have heard that not all monitors will provide these two things—the monitor needs to be a specific size and resolution. Otherwise either the scaling or sharpness will be off—with certain combinations of resolutions and screen sizes, you would need to choose between proper scaling (how large something appears on a native screen versus the external screen), and good sharpness (how clear the text and images appear on the screen).

To test this, I tried looking at current display offerings that Apple provides. I noticed an interesting trend: most Apple displays have a pixel per inch (PPI) value of ~220. For examples, the 21.5 inch and 27 inch iMacs, all of the retina MacBooks and MacBook Pros, the Pro Display XDR, and both LG 4K and 5K displays.

Older, non-retina displays have a PPI of around 110.

I have a 24-inch 1080p screen, which is the same size but half the resolution of the 4K LG display. It scales perfectly, which makes sense since it has exactly half the resolution which having the same size.

I assume that a 1440p display that is 27-inch will also provide perfect scaling on macOS, since it is exactly half the resolution, but exactly the same size of a 5K display. These two resolution-screen size pairs I can thus add to my list.

Is there a list of complete resolution and screen size pairs available which provides perfect scaling on macOS? For example, would a 1440p or a 4K display that is 27 inches provide good scaling?

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Oion Akif
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What external monitor and size combinations provide best scaling on macOS?

From what I understand, if you use certain combinations of resolutions and screen sizes on macOS, you would need to choose between proper scaling (how large something appears on a native screen versus the external screen), and good sharpness (how clear the text and images appear on the screen).

Since Apple sells LG 4K and 5K monitors, I know that the following resolution/screen size combinations work well with both scaling and sharpness:

  • 4K @ 23.7 in
  • 5K @ 27 in

I have a 24-inch 1080p screen, which is the same size but half the resolution of the 4K LG display. It scales perfectly, which makes sense since it has exactly half the resolution which having the same size.

I assume that a 1440p display that is 27-inch will also provide perfect scaling on macOS, since it is exactly half the resolution, but exactly the same size of a 5K display. These two resolution-screen size pairs I can thus add to my list.

Is there a list of complete resolution and screen size pairs available which provides perfect scaling on macOS? For example, would a 4K display that is 27 inches provide proper scaling?